Other constructors embraced wordplay involving their names, like Brendan Emmett Quigley who chose Beck (his initials pronounced phonetically) or Penny Press variety editor Cathy Quinn, who chose the nom de plume Sequin (for C. Marvel cinematic universe, seems to approve…] [Loki, as played by Tom Hiddleston in the (He actually played Puck in sixth grade in a performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.) Whereas several UK setters have employed the names of former members of the Inquisition and other nasty sorts - like Torquemada, Ximenes, and Azed (which is Deza backwards) - to highlight the torturous challenges solvers could expect, some of their American counterparts prefer to highlight the playful, tricky aspect of constructing.Ĭonstructor Robin Stears would publish under the name Loki or Anansi (citing two famous mythological tricksters), while meta-puzzle master Matt Gaffney would ply his craft under the name Puck. I thought I’d share their responses with the PuzzleNation readership. So, I reached out to some of my fellow puzzlers, and as I compiled their replies, some curious patterns emerged. That made me wonder… if American constructors were given the same opportunity, what UK-style names would they choose? Authors, musicians, actors, and performers of all sorts can take on new identities, either to make themselves more marketable, to build a brand, or simply to create a public persona in order to keep their private lives separate.Īs I mentioned in a previous blog post, crossword constructors in the UK (known as setters) also employ pseudonyms, literally making a name for themselves as they create challenging cryptic crosswords for their solving audience.Įvocative names like Araucaria, Gordius, Crucible, Otterden, Anax, Charybdis, Tramp, Morph, Paul, Enigmatist, Hypnos, Phi, Nutmeg, Shed, Arachne, and Qaos grace the puzzles in England’s The Guardian newspaper. Fake names, stage names, noms de plume… they’re more common than you might think.
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