The potentate of puzzles

Will Shortz, subject of the crossword puzzle documentary 'Wordplay,' knows the puzzle world across and down

Will Shortz is a nerd's nerd, a guy so into puzzles that he created his own degree while attending Indiana University, and is reportedly the only person in the world to hold that degree. The degree is enigmatology, or the study of puzzles. This is beyond nerdy. It is, in fact, hazardously geeky. Yet with many geek things, be it "Star Wars" scholarship or spelling bees, it's also impressive — so devoutly geeky that it grazes cool.

Mustachioed, with thinning hair and the mild manner of a nice family doctor, Shortz is the unlikely subject of the documentary "Wordplay," opening today in Austin. The film by Patrick Creadon profiles Shortz, the well-known editor of the New York Times crossword puzzle, before pivoting its camera to the pitched battle unfolding at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, which Shortz helped organize in 1978 when he was 25.

IFC Films Read reviews of "Wordplay."

Shortz says the movie was going to be more about him and his somewhat esoteric job duties — he edits crossword puzzles by 110 puzzle-makers for the Times, never publishing his own puzzles — but the tournament took so many dramatic, movie-perfect twists that plans were adjusted. Shortz admits the film's contest is the most exciting in the tournament's 28 years and that he's "blown away" by who won.

Shortz, who is also the "Puzzle Master" on National Public Radio, spoke to us by cell phone from a car. We forget to ask where he is or where he's going. In any event, the puzzle king abruptly if politely stops the interview when he gets to his destination, cutting our conversation shortz.

Austin American-Statesman: It's rare for a documentary's subject to do all of the publicity instead of the director. He's been eclipsed by you. Are you used to this sort of public scrutiny?

Will Shortz: I've had a lot of publicity over the years, but never this much and this concentrated. My life's out there as it never has been before, especially with people writing reviews of the movie.

What are they saying about you?

The guy at New York magazine says, "Will Shortz seems amiable but somewhat estranged from reality." I am amiable, but I don't think I'm estranged from reality.

You come across comfortable and not camera-shy.

I'm naturally a shy guy, so I've had to overcome this. I was raised on an Arabian horse farm in Indiana. I like to be by myself.

Are you married, have any kids?

No, I'm single. No kids.

Do you think your crossword passion has anything to do with that?

It might a little. Part of it is that I love what I do so much that I don't have time for other things.

Or maybe it's just too nerdy for most people.

Nah, I don't worry about that. A lot of my friends are puzzle people, and most of my friends are smart, so even if they don't do puzzles it doesn't matter.

Which is cool, because the idea of being smart isn't such a stigma anymore.

We're living in a great age to be smart. It's partly due to people like Bill Gates who have been so successful that suddenly you want to emulate them. It actually helps to be smart. And there are movies like "Spellbound" and "Akeelah and the Bee" that show it's sort of cool to be smart.

Were you beat up a lot as a kid in school?

Nah, nah.

What kind of kid were you?

Growing up on the Arabian horse farm, I rode horses everyday. I was always a smart kid in class. My hand was always one of the first to go up. I'd be the winner in the spelling bee.

And you didn't get beat up? I remember in high school some bullies taped a kid like you to a pole.

Oh, my God. No, no, no. If there was anything like that I've blocked it out.

Do you have any outside interests beside words and puzzles and such? Do you play drums?

My other huge interest is table tennis.

Table tennis?

Table tennis. I play about three hours a night, five to six days a week. I live in Pleasantville, N.Y., and I have a couple of clubs near me, so I can play any night I want.

How do you view "Wordplay"? When you place it next to spelling bee documentary "Spellbound," it's almost like the exaltation of the nerd.

Right. I love the movie and would even if I wasn't in the crossword world. It has people who are smart, interesting and passionate about something. The movie is funny and the second half of it, set at the crossword tournament, is genuinely exciting. My hands sweat every time I watch it.

A guy in the movie says that the best puzzle people frequently work in the math and engineering professions or are musicians.

There's something to that. But there are a lot of top solvers who are not math people or musicians. A lot of people who make crosswords have that background or that interest. Solving crosswords is partly a literary activity, working with words and language, and, if you're a speed solver, a mathematical mind helps. As John Delfin says in the film, you have to be able to take a lot of information and process it quickly.

What's your fastest time doing a Sunday New York Times crossword?

My average is probably 25 minutes. The very fastest people can do a Sunday Times crossword is six to eight minutes.

It's interesting to learn in the film that no bodily functions can be used in a Times crossword. What are other rules in creating a puzzle?

The grid has to be symmetrical.

In American crosswords, every box has to be checked, meaning every letter has to appear in two words, both across and down. That's for the solver's benefit; if you don't know the word or fact or name in the across, then you can work it out from the down.

We don't allow two-letter words in American crosswords, because there are only a few two-letter words and they're not very interesting and the same ones would keep coming up again and again.

Black squares can't cut off any portion of the grid from the rest.

Those are some of the basic rules. Plus, most crosswords have themes, so you want something fun and interesting that's never been done before. As an editor, I look for fresh, colorful, lively vocabulary. I love phrases that perhaps come up in everyday life but aren't in the dictionary. I love the letters J, Q, X and Z and unusual letter patterns. Those are things that can turn an OK crossword into a great one.