Virtual Togetherness Through Partner Crosswords

Social dynamics of the crossworld, a crossword meet-cute, and other ways to puzzle with friends while social distancing.

[bright music]- Okay, we're gonnasolve a puzzle together,which, I should just sayis humiliating for me.Because you are a champion solver, right?Like, do you have atrophy room in your house?[small crowd applauding]You could though.[relaxing music]Okay, 1-Across, Nick Jonassingle that opens with the line,"I don't like the wayhe's looking at you."Jonas Brothers are a serious void in my--- Oh.- I don't know a thing.- I feel like it might be jealous.That's seven letters, and it fits,and it sounds like a song.- Okay, 3-Down, literarysource of the phrases,"foregone conclusion"and "green-eyed monster."Pretty sure that that's Othello?- Love it, yes.'Cause he's jealous.- Ew, little intertexuality there.So, we can write this.- I feel good about writing that.- Okay.- Do you know the Gutenberg Galaxy author?- Marshall McLuhan.- Oh.Wait is that gonna fit withthat, oh, yeah, it does.- Well, it's M.- Give me my sports.- Yeah, sports, we'll go to sports.6-Across, he played onthe 'Dream Team' withLarry, Michael, and Magic.Christian Laettner?I don't know.- That's gotta be Larry Bird,Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson.Right?- Charles Barkley?- As far as I know, they didn't--Does it fit?- It does fit.Disorienting edit, in cinema.Jump cut.- Jump cut, yeah.Love a good, I love a good smash cut.[Anna laughing]I didn't mean to saythat in like a weird way.I just--- All right.- We're doing this.- We are definitely doing this.7-Across, parts of some sleeves?- Oreos.Oh, it's usually Oreos.- [laughs] It's usually Oreos.Let's do 2-Down.No fewer than.- At least?- Obviously.- I figured out the sleeves.- Oh, tattoos!- So good.- That's a really good clue.- Brava, brovo.- 4-Down, they're right underyour nose, question mark.- What is it?- Sinuses?And like usually, when yousay right under your nose,it's, like, not under your nose.- It's not literal.- It's a double fake.- It is a double fake.Ta-da!We did it.[lively music]- I've met a lot of mybest friends through it,'cause there's just peoplewith this similar interest,to build off of.That I care about thisweird, like, tiny thing.Like, yeah, how manyletters are in a word?- Yeah, no, it's totally arbitrary,and not interesting to most people.And yet, it can somehowbring us all together.- Yeah.- In a really charming way.I would say that'ssomething that I love aboutthe crossword community, isthat I've never actually,I feel like solving is really competitive,and can be like, ugh, toxic competitive.But constructing is never competitive.I really, I mean, maybe thathas not been your experience.I have beefs.[upbeat music]I have a crossword meet cute.I wanna hear your crossword meet cute.My college boyfriend was really annoyingabout crossword puzzles.He would go to the, like,campus cafe every night,and he would have The NewYork Times Crossword puzzlein print, and sit there,and not talk to anyone,but just sort of, like,ostentatiously solve the puzzle.And I just remember it being,like, symbolically importantthat he, like, let me help him solve it.And everyone knew that thatwas a big deal, besides me.Then we just started solving together.He's actually the person that, like,encouraged me to send offmy puzzles to The Times.- When you solved together, with him,was it like, would yourecommend that as an activity.- Well, we're not together anymore.[Erik and Anna laughing]- So, we're gonna giveeach other words to clue,and we're gonna try tocome up with an easy clueand a hard clue, for the same answer.The word is friend.So, I actually had a hard time with this.- I also had a hard time with this.So, why was this so hard [laughs].- I don't wanna thinkabout why this was so hard.- I know, exactly, okay.Okay, so, I'll do myeasy clue for a friend.- Go.Emergency contact on "WhoWants to Be a Millionaire."[game show music]- So, good.- Thank you.- I just have"Blank of the show."- Nice.- Thank you.- Okay, hard clue for a friend.- Translation of compa.Is that hard, I don't know.I don't know if I've everseen a clue of that form.But, yeah, it works.This would be edited for sure [laughs].- Great.- Term that Facebook algorithms stretchto its definitional limit.I like that a lot.- The next word is family.- All right, so what'syour easy clue for family?- Okay, to make it easy,I think it needs a parenthetical, maybe.So, I would do chosen blank.Bond sustaining many L-G-B-T communities.- I would say it's gettablewithout the parentheses.What's your easy clue?- It's all relatives.- Nice.[sit-com style laughing]Okay, my hard clue ishomo, e.g., or for example.- Like the scientific family?- Like the scientificfamily, like Homo sapiens.- Fast and furious theme?- There's always room for family.- Would that get you there?- I love that.- Cool.- That's awesome.- The word is share.- So, an easy clue for share would beword with ride and file.Easy word, easy clue.- Demonstrate caring.- That's nice.Okay, hard clue, this is notthat hard, maybe, I don't know.Command to a toddler?[child whimpering]- Yeah, it's good.- I'm literally looking overto my editors every time,and I'm like, "Do you guys like it?"- Tell me if this works.Go in group therapy.- Oh, got it.- Yeah?- Yeah.It's your turn in grouptherapy, so you share.It's, I get it, I'm there with you.- That clue would get edited, it's fine.They can't all be winners.Next word, co-op.- Building with a board?- Cool, yeah.- Is that easy?- That would get me there.- What about you?- I don't know, like campusbuilding with a hyphen,is that a thing?- Yeah, yeah, building with a hyphen.- Here's my hard one, but it's bad.Go blank.- Go co-op?- Yeah, is that not a thing?- Oh, yeah, it goes co-op.Whoa, that's really hard, and good.- Yeah, it's too hard.- No, it's not.You don't just wanna have like--So, my hard clue for co-op is,where to share food but not break bread?You share your food ina food co-op, right?- Right.- But you don't breakbread in a food co-op,because you don't eat there,and also it would be weird to,like, walk around thestore breaking the bread.[bread breaking][both laughing]That's really stupid.