Merl Reagle, RIP
August 24, 2015 4:09 AM   Subscribe

Merl Reagle, the imaginative and irrepressibly amusing verbal virtuoso who created the crossword puzzles published each week in The Washington Post Magazine and in many newspapers, died Aug. 22 in a hospital in Tampa. He was 65. (Washington Post obituary)

Tributes from the Crossword World so far:

Will Shortz
Amy Reynaldo
Deb Amlen
Rex Parker (scroll down to the Simpsons youtube image)
posted by chavenet (24 comments total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 
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posted by jefflowrey at 4:09 AM on August 24, 2015


In a crossword where the theme was altered names:
The sound a ripe watermelon makes: Melonius Thump.

Goodbye Mr. Reagle. Sundays just won't be the same.
posted by doctor_negative at 5:22 AM on August 24, 2015 [1 favorite]


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posted by ZenMasterThis at 5:46 AM on August 24, 2015


I love crossword puzzles and I stink at them. Reagle's name on a puzzle would make me sigh with pre-defeat, because it was always so hard for me to click into what his themes/jokes were. But on the very rare occasions when I finished one, I felt like I could conquer anything.

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posted by kimberussell at 6:02 AM on August 24, 2015 [2 favorites]


One of the minor ambitions in my life is to sell a professional crossword puzzle, and as such, I've been an admirer of Merl for years. The man could anagram like a demon, and while his puns would elicit anxiety and groans from me by turns, there was no denying his creativity and sense of humor. This is such sad news for the puzzle-crafting world, and he will be genuinely missed.

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posted by Diagonalize at 6:15 AM on August 24, 2015


Ohhhh, I loved him! I used to show my students the "Wordplay" documentary, and they loved Reagle. The clip of him driving down a road past a series of shopping centers and making crossword clues out of all the business names is especially fun.
posted by a fiendish thingy at 6:52 AM on August 24, 2015


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Bummer. I went through a crosswords phase with lots of digging through newspaper piles at coffeeshops and cafes, and loved finding (and solving) the ones he authored. Your witty and clever mind will be missed. :(
posted by subliminable at 8:01 AM on August 24, 2015


treacherously prime age pie one
posted by the webmistress at 8:19 AM on August 24, 2015


The only crosswords that interest me are the Friday and Saturday NYT, which are extremely challenging. Every other newspaper X-word is so easy I can fill it in as fast as I can write.

Met my match in the London Times puzzle, which uses an entirely different set of principles. Couldn't fill in a single word.
posted by Repack Rider at 8:23 AM on August 24, 2015


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posted by bruceo at 8:29 AM on August 24, 2015




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posted by Cranberry at 8:50 AM on August 24, 2015


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posted by benito.strauss at 9:09 AM on August 24, 2015


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posted by Dolley at 9:20 AM on August 24, 2015


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posted by Going To Maine at 9:39 AM on August 24, 2015


Brendan Emmett Quigley
posted by Going To Maine at 10:01 AM on August 24, 2015 [2 favorites]



posted by mbrubeck at 10:39 AM on August 24, 2015


a man who nullified the Old Mom's Advice: "never have a cross word with anyone"

his passing does bring one down
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:47 AM on August 24, 2015


Oh gee, the DH and I do his puzzles in the pink section of the S.F. Chronicle to fall asleep each night. Whatever shall we do now? Thanks for all the great puzzles, Merl! ♥
posted by Lynsey at 2:48 PM on August 24, 2015


> his passing does bring one down

I feel like that should be acknowledged but I can't bring myself to favorite it.
posted by benito.strauss at 3:41 PM on August 24, 2015


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posted by ottereroticist at 4:56 PM on August 24, 2015


@Repack Rider: "The only crosswords that interest me are the Friday and Saturday NYT, which are extremely challenging. Every other newspaper X-word is so easy I can fill it in as fast as I can write."

Stan Newman's Saturday Stumper should slow you down a bit. (His Sunday through Friday are fairly easy, though.)

Also see Peter Gordon's Fireball Crosswords for harder-than-usual American-style puzzles.

Reagle's puzzles were among the most fun to solve, not necessarily the hardest, and I loved/hated his awful puns. He will be greatly missed among cruciverbalists.
posted by AbnerRavenwood at 6:39 PM on August 24, 2015


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posted by Sublimity at 7:05 PM on August 24, 2015


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posted by smrtsch at 8:02 PM on August 24, 2015


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