The crossword puzzle is barely a century old, yet it has become one of the most beloved pastimes on the planet. From a diamond-shaped novelty in a New York newspaper to a daily ritual for millions, here is the remarkable story of how crosswords conquered the world.

1913: The very first crossword

On December 21, 1913, journalist Arthur Wynne published a "Word-Cross" puzzle in the New York World's Sunday supplement, Fun. The grid was diamond-shaped with no black squares — solvers filled in words radiating outward from a central hollow. It was an instant hit with readers, and the paper ran a new puzzle every week. Within months, a typographical swap turned "Word-Cross" into "Cross-Word," and the name stuck.

The 1920s crossword craze

For a decade the crossword remained a New York World exclusive. Then, in 1924, fledgling publishers Simon & Schuster released the Cross Word Puzzle Book — the first collection of its kind. It came bundled with a pencil and sold over 350,000 copies in its first year. Crossword mania swept the United States: newspapers rushed to add puzzle pages, dictionaries flew off shelves, and the B&O Railroad placed dictionaries in its passenger cars so commuters could solve en route.

The craze was not without critics. The New York Times dismissed crosswords as "a primitive sort of mental exercise" and refused to publish one — a stance it would maintain for nearly two decades.

1942: The New York Times enters the game

On February 15, 1942 — just weeks after Pearl Harbor — the New York Times published its first crossword puzzle, edited by Margaret Farrar. The thinking was that Americans needed a morale-boosting diversion during wartime. Farrar brought structure and editorial standards to crossword construction: symmetrical grids, no two-letter words, themes for longer entries, and clues that rewarded general knowledge over obscure trivia. These conventions still define the modern crossword.

Margaret Farrar and Will Weng

Farrar edited the Times crossword for 27 years, establishing it as the gold standard. She was succeeded in 1969 by Will Weng, who introduced a more playful, pun-heavy style. Weng's puzzles signalled a shift: crosswords were no longer just vocabulary tests but exercises in lateral thinking and wordplay.

The Will Shortz era

In 1993, Will Shortz became the fourth crossword editor of the New York Times. He introduced the now-famous Monday-to-Saturday difficulty ramp — easy on Monday, brutally hard by Saturday — and brought pop culture, slang, and contemporary references into clues. Under Shortz, the crossword became a mainstream cultural institution, spawning tournaments, documentaries (Wordplay, 2006), and a loyal community of millions.

Crosswords go digital

The internet transformed crosswords from a newspaper feature into a 24/7 activity. Early puzzle websites appeared in the late 1990s, and by the 2000s, publishers offered digital subscriptions. The Times launched its crossword app in 2014, and it quickly became one of the paper's most profitable digital products. Today, solvers can choose from dozens of free and paid crossword apps, solve collaboratively with friends, and compete in online leaderboards.

Crosswords around the world

Although the crossword was born in New York, every major language now has its own crossword tradition:

British cryptic crosswords — popularised by The Times of London in 1930, these use wordplay-heavy clues where each clue contains both a definition and a word puzzle
Japanese crosswords — use kanji and kana with clues that often rely on homophones and double meanings
Scandinavian crosswords — called "kryssord," they embed clues inside the grid itself rather than listing them separately
Indian crosswords — multilingual grids in Hindi, Tamil, and other languages have a growing following

The crossword's lasting appeal

Why has a puzzle invented over a hundred years ago survived the attention-economy age? The answer may be simplicity. A crossword requires no equipment beyond a grid and a brain. It rewards curiosity, builds vocabulary, and provides a satisfying sense of completion. Research suggests that regular crossword solving may even support cognitive health as we age — though scientists are careful to note that correlation is not causation.

What is certain is that the crossword's blend of language, logic, and lateral thinking makes it uniquely compelling. From Arthur Wynne's diamond-shaped novelty to the millions of daily solvers worldwide, the crossword has earned its place as one of humanity's favourite brain games.

Ready to make your own crossword history? Try our free daily crossword or explore the easy puzzle archive to get started.

History of Crossword Puzzles: From 1913 to Today