Oliver Roeder author page
2 puzzles by Oliver Roeder
with Constructor comments
| A | T | E | D | B | R | A | H | E | H | I | M | O | ||
| H | O | A | R | P | A | R | E | S | O | P | E | D | ||
| O | U | S | T | I | S | L | A | S | M | A | N | E | ||
| R | T | T | E | A | C | H | E | R | M | E | D | U | S | |
| A | S | S | E | N | T | N | O | F | A | T | ||||
| T | N | U | T | F | O | R | E | S | T | S | ||||
| A | C | E | H | O | R | S | E | P | G | A | T | O | U | |
| F | O | G | T | E | A | L | S | I | M | A | M | S | ||
| O | B | A | M | A | R | A | T | O | N | L | E | A | ||
| O | B | L | E | T | S | N | O | P | A | R | K | I | N | |
| T | S | E | L | I | O | T | P | E | L | E | ||||
| T | O | Y | O | U | N | I | P | P | L | E | ||||
| C | E | M | A | N | D | R | Y | M | A | R | T | I | N | |
| A | V | O | W | B | A | B | A | R | I | R | O | N | ||
| S | E | L | A | A | T | A | R | I | C | A | N | I | ||
| E | R | D | Y | M | E | N | D | S | E | P | S | O |
My fascination with marginalia began with my childhood love of the book "Fermat's Enigma" by Simon Singh. In the margin of his copy of Diophantus' "Arithmetica," I learned, concerning a vexing conjecture in number theory, the French mathematician Pierre de Fermat wrote: "I have a truly marvelous demonstration of this proposition, which this margin is too narrow to contain."
However, it was some 350 years—and countless mathematical innovations—later that the theorem was demonstrably proved. I hope today's crossword puzzle takes somewhat less time.
Like Fermat, I am a big believer in writing in one's books. I read with a pencil tucked behind my ear, eager to engage with, augment, question, and emphasize the text in the margins. I imagine many crossword solvers feel the same way because there you are, after all, writing in your newspaper! (Or, I suppose, on your device.) What communal joy, too, to find the scribbled annotations of previous readers in a used book.
The ANNOTATION and MARGINALIA required to complete this puzzle are rather literal—spelling, well, MARGIN on either side—and they certainly don't expound on any deep results in number theory. But even they, I hope, engage with, and augment the puzzle within the grid, completing and emphasizing its answers. Here's to scribbling.
Oh, and HI MOM!
| E | C | I | G | L | O | G | A | N | D | R | U | M | ||
| Y | U | M | A | C | R | O | I | A | N | I | N | A | ||
| E | T | A | L | D | E | E | D | S | C | O | D | Y | ||
| T | R | O | D | C | E | A | S | E | L | E | B | |||
| T | H | E | R | O | C | K | A | L | G | O | R | E | ||
| O | R | T | E | G | A | H | O | U | S | E | B | O | S | |
| M | O | S | I | R | R | E | G | N | O | H | O | |||
| C | E | R | E | A | L | B | O | X | ||||||
| A | L | F | A | A | T | E | A | M | B | U | M | |||
| C | O | O | F | A | R | M | S | R | I | A | L | T | O | |
| T | H | R | E | S | H | F | I | T | T | O | E | E | ||
| E | S | T | K | Y | O | T | O | S | O | W | N | |||
| D | O | U | G | T | H | E | G | O | N | A | S | A | ||
| U | M | N | O | H | I | R | E | E | C | R | I | B | ||
| P | E | E | T | M | O | I | L | S | E | E | L | S |
I'm chuffed to bits to have my first puzzle published in the Times. I constructed this one in a rare fit of lucidity in the early days of the pandemic, part of a string of diversionary hobbies that would grow to include backgammon, chess, bread baking, Rubik's cubes, abstract painting, pottery throwing, thoroughbred handicapping, and screenwriting. This puzzle is the sole public fruit of these labors.
I'm a journalist, and having a puzzle out brings the same sort of excitement as having a piece out — along with an extra tinge of sadistic thrill. To my mind, crosswords are a potent democratizing force. If you solve enough puzzles, there are few things or concepts in the world, in all its weird and diverse majesty, to which you will not be exposed, and these things and concepts are all presented on level terms. Constructors are torchbearers of this ethos and I'm honored to join them.
As for the specifics of this puzzle, the theme idea came from the same place as every idea I've ever had, which is to say some mysterious and unknowable recess — perhaps, in this case, a deep-seated association between the puzzle and breakfast. The net result, I hope, is a pleasurable solve and an aesthetically pleasing finished grid that, if you squint, looks like something you might eat in the morning.