Snerds of the World Unite

For those not in the know, last year I invented the word "snerd" in order to describe myself in relation to my obsession with crossword puzzles. It's an elision of the words snob and nerd, and in itself would be a pretty good answer in a puzzle, if it ever gains mainstream acceptance (not likely).

Recently there was that Crossworld book that came out, and now there's a new documentary that came out at Sundance. Some of our greatest minds are snerds, and in a recent article at CNN, they include:

Bill Clinton
Jon Stewart
The Indigo Girls
Mike Mussina of the Yankees (coastal bias...we all know that baseball's greatest snerd is...)
Paulie Konerko

Will Shortz, the (as Elaine would say) svenjolly of crossword puzzles is a Hoosier! Born in Crawfordsville (wherever that is) and went to IU.

Of course Beulah, Beckster, and my brother are also snerds who could probably turn out my lights on a puzzle, but I've been working. The past two Christmases I've gotten compendia of NY Times crosswords from Beckster and the Lush. I rank these as some of my most favorite gifts...I don't think there's anything snerdier than taking my crossword puzzle books to the dining hall or the airport and curling back the page and burying myself in the puns and trickeries that good old across and down have to offer. I've spent way too much time at some lunches ignoring my tots trying to figure out what the question mark means for any given clue. Is there anyone else out there that has the love/hate relationship with the question mark that I do?

Themed crosswords are the way to go, and that's why the Times stays ahead. Doing a generic crossword, you always feel like you're wasting your time. These, dear readers, are the VH1 Celebrealty shows of crossword puzzles. Their writers the Flava Flavs of the printed press. They don't leave you with the sense of satisfaction that comes from watching...Roseanne (it's as if Jesus doesn't want me working on my thesis at home--every night is a Nick at Nite marathon). Half the fun is guessing out the punny title and the words or phrases. And so, without further ado, I grab my book, lick my ballpoint pen (I'm an optimist--pencils are for amateurs...or "Thursday through Saturdays")and begin...Fishhook feature (four letters)...this one's going to be a doozy.