People at SLUH can’t seem to get enough of crosswords. First came science teacher Paul Baudendistel’s impressive archive of Prep News puzzles. Then, a whole club dedicated to the craft, complete with their own merch. Now, math teacher Joseph Stickley, still in his first year at SLUH, is doing his part to contribute to the crossword frenzy with clever themes and even bigger dreams. 

An avid puzzler for much of his life, Stickley’s goals go beyond just solving puzzles. He wants to make them, and at the highest level too. For the past few years, he’s been trying to land a puzzle in the New York Times. Now, after lots of feedback, he’s nearly there.  

Stickley’s puzzle hobby had very simple, almost innocent beginnings, though. A family friend had introduced him to the New York Times’ Sunday puzzle almost 20 years ago. He was very quickly intrigued, and soon after began ordering the Sunday Times just for a shot at the puzzle, which is typically bigger than a weekday crossword.  
“I don’t even know if at the time I realized that there were themed puzzles throughout the week or anything like that. I just enjoyed doing the Sunday puzzle,” he said.

It got easier after a while. Eventually, he upped his game to the weekday crosswords. Now, he can solve a Monday puzzle in one sitting and Tuesday’s after a bit more thought. Things get trickier later in the week for him, though, as the crosswords get more difficult. 

Working on the puzzles became a hobby for Stickley, but it wasn’t until he started paying more attention to the magazine that he realized making them was even an option. Each week, a small bio near the end features that week’s crossword contributor. One week a few years ago, Stickley noticed the creator section for the first time. He noticed that it was not some obscure crossword god, but an everyday reader who shared some of Stickley’s other passions, like math and music. That got him thinking. 

“I didn’t even realize that these were submissions from readers or puzzle solvers,” he reflected. “I thought: ‘If this person can make a puzzle, what’s stopping me?’”

So began his quest to get into The Times, never stopping to think about a lesser publication. 

“For me, it's always been about the New York Times,” said Stickley. “That’s where it really all started.”

He dived into online resources and found book recommendations and tips on forming the perfect puzzle. A lot of his training, though, came from years of raw experience. In that way, Stickley drew comparisons with another passion of his: music. 

“As a songwriter, just listening to music gives you ideas of your own,” he said. “After doing enough puzzles, I started to have my own ideas on what would be a cool puzzle and a cool theme.”

The themes began coming to him one by one, and whenever he thought of a good one, he would make an effort to write it down. After all, good themes are hard to come by. 

Often, they combine his many interests, like math or music. In his most recent project, a puzzle called “Sounds Familiar,” Stickley took famous songs and altered them slightly for theme entries, placing a homophone in the title instead of the original lyrics. 

Stickley submitted this puzzle to The Times, and has been quite pleased with the feedback he received. It didn’t make the cut, but they hinted that with a few changes, he might have a decent shot at the paper. 

“They really liked that theme,” he said. “If they don’t like your theme, then your puzzles are not getting accepted. If you can come up with a novel theme, though, then that’s a good idea. 

With the theme settled away, The Times suggested a few other changes to his puzzle.

“The feedback has been getting better and better,” he said. “I asked if I could rework the puzzle and they said that would be worthwhile. I’m in the process of reworking that.”

If Stickley does ever get into The Times, the Prep News will be the second to report about it (second only to the New York Times itself). In the meantime, Stickley hopes to get involved with others in the SLUH community who appreciate crosswords as much as he does in an effort to perfect his craft. 

To any aspiring puzzle makers, his advice is clear: simple is better. 

“Puzzles are hard enough even when the words are very well known,” he said.

Next week’s Prep News will feature a crossword courtesy of Joseph Stickley.