Crossword puzzles are word puzzles in the form of a square or rectangle with both white and black squares that are to be filled in with letters based on clues. The first published crossword was by journalist Arthur Wynne in 1913 in a Sunday newspaper, the New York World. The two main types today are the American-style and British-style crosswords. Most North American crosswords feature solid areas of white squares with a few black squares. In Europe and Australia, the crosswords have half-white and half-black squares.

The New York Times crossword was first published on Sunday, February 15, 1942..http://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/16/magazine/crosswords-fiftyyears.html?ei=5070&en=eb226eeaee1ab061&ex=1237089600&pagewanted=all Since 1950 there has been a crossword on every day of the week. As of 2010 the crossword is syndicated to over 300 other newspapers and journals.http://web.archive.org/web/20061018093125/http://computernewsdaily.com/le_crossword.htmlGenerally, the puzzles for Monday are the easiest, and the difficulty rises throughout the week.http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/08/magazine/08PUZZLE.html?ex=1236916800&en=c04d7b2df8ca7806&ei=5070 The Sunday puzzle is larger than those on the other days.http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/08/magazine/08PUZZLE.html?ex=1236916800&en=c04d7b2df8ca7806&ei=5070

As of 2010 there have been four editors of the New York Times Crossword:

• Margaret Farrar (1942-1969)http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/32291
• Will Weng (1969-1977)http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/32291
• Eugene Maleska (1977-1993)http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/32291
• Will Shortz (since 1993)http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/32291

Crossword puzzles are constructed by freelance contributors (although some of the more prolific constructors will have their crosswords published more often). The New York Times pays $1,000 for a Sunday crossword and $200 for a crossword for the other days of the week.http://www.cruciverb.com/index.php/page=16