Finally, in this puzzle from May 27, every Across answer in this puzzle is thematic. It took the most time to make of any Mini this year, because of all of the constraints on the Down answers. But after a couple days of fruitless effort, I happened upon this configuration, much to my delight. — Joel Fagliano

For years, crosswords have been a popular pastime, stretching brains and broadening vocabularies. The happy click of a pen against paper has for years been a sign of victory over a vexing clue. But in today's digital era, the old-fashioned crossword is not ...

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Printers published the first crossword puzzles in England in children's books and other publications. They were simple word games derived from the word squares where letters were arranged in a square so that the words read the same across and down.