On the other hand, asymmetry alleviates that burden. One way I feel like this manifests is that the right grid is much “blockier” than the left grid – especially in the Northeast corner – with a lot of hard-to-avoid rectangular spaces. But in doing so, they also create some inflexibility for moving black squares around. Look at the right side: The symmetrical grid features “fingers” of dark squares jutting from the sides to fit the themers: both the 12-letter themers as well as the 11-letter themer in the middle. Putting “prettiness” aside, we can see some pretty stark limitations that rotational symmetry causes this theme set. (In fact, a large number of USA Today’s asymmetrical grids have symmetry-allowing themes – such as this puzzle published the day AFTER I started to write this blog post.) The theme answers (located at 18a, 36a, and 53a on the left grid) have lengths of 12, 12, and 11, which could be rearranged to fit rotational symmetry (see the right grid) What’s initially strange about the grid is that there’s no inherent reason why this puzzle’s theme set is incompatible with symmetry. Now let’s talk about Husic and Stock’s USA Today puzzle. asymmetry? As Farrar reportedly explained, “Because it is prettier.” However, Farrar’s influence solidified the symmetrical norm.

Symmetry wasn’t exactly a new concept - after all, Arthur Wynne’s premiere puzzle is symmetrical in more ways than one. From 1942 to 1969, Farrar edited the New York Times crossword, and created standards that are still (mostly) upheld today - such as using themes in puzzles and barring two-letter words. Margaret Farrar started her crossword career as secretary to Arthur Wynne ( the inventor of crosswords). But I do think it’s important to consider the legacy of Margaret Farrar. No, I will not be writing a full-on dissertation about crossword patterns (which undoubtedly would be fascinating). So what’s going on here? Why deviate from the norm? What’s more is that this isn’t a one-off deal either USA Today has published asymmetrical grids before. Clearly there’s some disagreement in the crowd.

Usatoday crosswords