Hidden Political Agenda?
by Dave Fisher

The New York Times is no stranger to controversy but people were gunning for it last week thanks to, of all things, the Sunday crossword. Yes, that benign little pastime, that so many enjoy with their morning eye-opener or evening nightcap, caused righteous indignation among the gate-keepers of our moral integrity.

"Sexually suggestive and possibly offensive"

So how could a crossword puzzle cause so much brouhaha? First of all, it was entitled 'Homonames' and according to Cleveland's 'The Plain Dealer': "The puzzle had nearly two dozen clues that could be perceived as sexually suggestive and possibly offensive. And answers included names of people either known to be gay or involved in gay culture."

"Asinine..."

By midweek the media attention had grown to international proportions prompting the Times puzzle editor, Will Shortz, who insists the puzzle included no gay references, to state, "That's just the most asinine thing in the world." Apart from the provocative title (actually an innocent play on the word 'HOMONYM'), the puzzle contained clues deemed offensive by MSNBC's Eric Alterman (who doesn't do crosswords) such as:
"Add more lubricant"
"Scratched-up leather straps?"
"People who live next to a Y"

The Times renamed the puzzle

The New York Times Sunday puzzle runs a week or two later in many newspapers across North America (and around the world). Hoping to avoid further controversy the Times renamed the puzzle, 'Homonym Names'. They also sent a memo to their client newspapers cautioning them on the provocative nature of the puzzle and advising them to run the puzzle with a different title or no title at all.

Two newspapers, The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio) and the Des Moines Register (Iowa) chose not to run the puzzle and replaced it with one from the LA Times. Too bad for them. The puzzle was cleverly constructed and, even though a tad too easy, was very entertaining. As for the sexual references, people can read all sorts of things into any situation if they have a mind to. And to them I say, "Baloney!" (Oops...)

Good thing they didn't see my nudist crossword puzzle.

Next page> Here's the puzzle. You be the judge.
Page 3 Poll> Add your vote