Today we welcome crossword constructor, editor, games guru, and bike polo enthusiast Taylor Johnson (he/him). Taylor is a constructor behind one of the puzzles at the Midwest Crossword Tournament, and we’re excited for you to get to know him before you solve his puzzle tomorrow! Taylor is from (you guessed it) the Midwest. He recently moved to Portland, Oregon with his partner, Grace, and their two young kids.
Taylor! Thanks so much for letting us feature you in our Constructor Spotlight. You recently moved to Portland, Oregon. How has that been?
Good! We were wanting to move out of the Midwest for a while – my partner, Grace, is from LA and never cared much for the winters there. I grew up in the Midwest and was definitely done with blizzards and all that. We hadn’t planned to leave Minneapolis quite yet, but early this summer our landlord told us she wanted to sell the house – so we figured we may as well make the big move now.
Portland was on our shortlist. We knew a few folks in town through bike polo and one of Grace’s close friends had also just moved there, so it felt like the right place. Grace is a nurse, so she can work anywhere there’s a hospital, and I just need an internet connection.
We moved less than two months ago, so we’re still settling in – but we’re finding our groove! This summer was a mad scramble to get our ducks in a row for the cross-country move.
While taking care of two young kids!
Ha! Yes. But everything eventually lined up and worked out. By happy accident, the house we’re in is close to the bike polo court where they play pickup. The local club is super active, so we’ve been going there, getting to know the club, and getting to know our neighborhood. The kids like their schools. I’m not looking up directions for everywhere I go now – it’s starting to feel more like home.
Bike polo is a big part of your life. Tell us more about it!
I got into bike polo when I lived in Mankato, Minnesota. There was a really fun, active club there. We played a lot of pickup with nearby clubs – that’s actually how I met Grace. Before we had kids, we’d play and travel to tournaments all the time. Even now, clubs around the country host tournaments almost every weekend, so there is always a tournament happening if you want to go. They are half-serious competition, and half an excuse to get together and hang out. The people who play bike polo tend to be bike-misfit types and people who just want to be outside in the sun together. It’s a great way to hang out with cool people, have community, and be active.
For people who aren’t familiar with bike polo, I like to describe it as three-on-three hockey, but on bicycles. You play offense and defense, and there is no dedicated goalie (you just rotate). We play on a hard surface, like a roller hockey rink or a repurposed tennis court.
I’m imagining people just tearing it up on bikes trying to hit a ball… Is it a ball?
Yeah! You hit a hard rubber ball with a mallet that has this tube-like head. You can hit the ball or scoop it into the tube. There is a lot of bike maneuvering and bike handling because you have to speed up and stop quickly since it’s not a huge court. You get really good at handling your bike, and we have special bike polo bikes that make it easy to maneuver quickly.
Have you ever put BIKE POLO in a grid?
I haven’t (yet), but I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it in puzzles I’ve edited.
How did you get into crosswords?
I had been solving on and off for years. I watched Wordplay back in the spring of 2021 and decided I wanted to make my own. I was immediately hooked. I began obsessively writing crosswords and submitting – and eventually found some success!
Did you have a mentor?
Not formally. It was a lot of trial and error. David Steinberg and Amanda Rafkin at Universal were both very helpful with feedback on submissions, so that gave me a lot of guidance. I had a few co-workers who liked solving my puzzles and offered thoughts. I also collaborated with friends like Christina Iverson and Chandi Deitmer, both of whom had more experience than me, and I learned a lot from them.
Do you tend to lean towards making themeless or themed puzzles?
When I started out, I definitely leaned more toward themed puzzles, but these days it’s a pretty even split. My puzzles tend to include ‘90s cultural references – I grew up on Nickelodeon, CDs, and Goosebumps books! I also try to include fresh and modern references, lively fill, and all-around good vibes!
Where have your puzzles been published?
The New York Times, Universal, USA Today, LA Times, Apple News+, and various other publications including a few books.
Any “greatest hits” to share?
I have only written a few Sunday-sized puzzles (they’re so time consuming!), but I have had two published with Chandi Deitmer: “U-Haul” for NYT and “Double Bill” for LA Times. They were particularly fun puzzles to work on!
I ran a puzzle in Universal called “Breaking the Fourth Wall,” which I thought had quite a clever implementation.
I’d also call lemonade disco a “greatest hit.” It was a two-year project I ran with Shannon Rapp and Steve Mossberg.
Tell us more about that.
lemonade disco was my way of editing before I had a real job doing it. Also, I wanted to provide a platform for people to publish puzzles. The idea was based loosely on the storytelling prompt format from The Moth. I put out a prompt, and people submitted puzzles that were at least tangentially related to it. Shannon Rapp and Steve Mossberg eventually joined the project, and we did it for quite a while. But life got busy, and right now lemonade disco is on hiatus. I would like to do something with it or bring it back in some capacity, but I don’t know what that would look like. The website is still up – there are plenty of puzzles to go back and solve if anyone is interested.
What advice do you have for new or aspiring constructors?
Crosswords are art, so treat them that way. Be creative and expressive. Crosswords can be a tool for communication and conversation, so fill them with all the things you find interesting, important, silly, whatever!
Do you have any favorite crossword resources to shout out?
Ingrid for a free construction tool, spread the word(list) for a free wordlist, and Adam Aaronson’s Wordlisted for theme research.
Do you have any favorite outlets to solve or work with?
Not to sound like 1,000% biased, but Universal, Apple News+ and USA Today are my favorites to solve and work with. They truly have some of the most talented editors in the game!
Andrews McMeel (a media company that is affiliated with Uni, Apple, and USAT) is where you edit, correct? Tell us more about your journey into editing.
I started constructing about four-and-a-half years ago. As I got more serious, I realized editing might be a way to make a career out of crosswords – that, sounded pretty cool to me! At one point, I reached out to David, who I had formed a relationship with just by being in the Universal inbox all the time. I expressed interest in any puzzle work he may know about. Shortly after, Andrews McMeel (AMU) was working on some new games, one of which was Squared Away, a game that Amanda developed. They needed people to construct the levels so they reached out to ask if I would be interested in that. From there, I helped write test levels for Pair-a-Phrases, then eventually applied to be an editor with AMU. It snowballed from there, and now I get to edit full time!
What does your editing work look like now?
Our team at AMU is six people, and we manage a whole bunch of stuff together. At any given time, I could be doing a host of different things. Right now, I’m helping David with the Universal inbox and edits, doing some edits for Apple, and writing a ton of minis for Apple – if you’ve solved their minis recently, you’ve likely done some of mine. I am also the lead editor on six of the puzzles on the GoComics website, which is where AMU has their in-house daily puzzles. I edit for Squared Away, Overlapt, Pair-a-Phrases, Upwordly, Thematik, and ThruLine.
I imagine the constructors reading this will be upset if I don’t ask: What are you thinking about when you’re editing a puzzle – when you’re looking at a theme/grid and when you’re editing clues?
David and I look at almost every submission together. When reviewing themes and grids, we look for originality – have we seen this before? Does it have a fresh angle, fun twist, or extra layer? Is it cleanly executed? When it comes to themeless grids, we want fun, lively, vibrant longer answers. We like multi-word answers, conversational phrases, and things that are modern or relevant right now. The rest of the fill should be really smooth – words that an average person will encounter in daily life. We’re less excited about old references or obscure acronyms. It’s a balance. We get a lot of themeless submissions, so we end up being really picky. We have to say no to a lot of good themelesses.
When I’m editing clues, I do my absolute best to preserve the constructor’s voice, especially if I can tell there are specific references that seem unique to that constructor. When there are propers, I make sure that all the crossers are getable. I think about the people in the grid and check to make sure they don’t have any icky allegations or problematic behaviors or convictions. From there, it’s all about dialing in the right difficulty level.
You make it sound so effortless, but I don’t think it is!
Ha! You just have to do it a lot. I’ve edited so many Universal crosswords, I have a feel for what sorts of clues work, the right difficulty level, etc. But then I’ll go edit a tricky Sunday Apple puzzle, and Erik Agard will come back and say, “Great job… but I did have to dial-up the difficulty level a bit.” It takes practice, but it’s fun.
That said, once you become an editor, you have less time to construct. There was a time when I was bummed out about that, but I’m having fun working on the other parts of puzzles. Making minis has been a good way to scratch that itch.
You did get to construct for the upcoming Midwest Crossword Tournament. What was that like?
It was a pleasure! I worked with Christina and Tracy, who are fantastic editors. They invited me to be a part of the tournament roster, and I was honored – there are so many great constructors in the Midwest. I pitched a few ideas, they liked one, I made a grid, clued it, found a title, and we had a puzzle! No spoilers, but you’ll definitely catch some Midwest references.
I fly out Friday (today!) for the tournament and can’t wait. Tournaments are just so fun – it’s a whole weekend where you get to meet and see all these people you know from crosswords online! Hot take: I love going to tournaments and not competing. I don’t care about speed solving. I just want to go vibe and hang out with other crossword people.
Rapid-Fire Round:
Constructing, solving, or editing?
Constructing – just slightly over editing
Coffee or tea?
Coffee
Breakfast or dinner?
Breakfast
Go-to emoji?
Upside-Down Face and Squinting Face with Tongue
Famous person you’d most like to meet?
Haley Williams from Paramore
What CD is playing in your car if you can’t stream music?
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel
Favorite classic Nickelodeon show?
Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Three words to describe yourself?
Creature of habit
🙃 😝 🙃 😝 🙃 😝 🙃 😝 🙃 😝 🙃 😝 🙃 😝 🙃 😝 🙃 😝 🙃 😝
This interview has been edited and condensed.
Jess Rucks is a crossword constructor and play therapist. She is happy to combine her love of learning about others with her love of crosswords for DCL’s Constructor Spotlight.
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