Beyond Wordplay

Exploring the intersection of pop culture, technology, and logology.

Editors
Eric Chaikin

Creative Technologist and co-founder of Beyond Wordplay.

Ben Zimmer

Linguist / lexicographer / @WSJ columnist / all-around word nut.

Latest Posts

Euryvocalics by Permutation (Pt. 2)

A word or phrase for every possible ordering of aeiouy

Euryvocalics by Permutation (Pt. 1)

Where “buying a vowel” has a special meaning

Lollapuzzoola 15: A Crossword Tournament Returns to NYC for its Quinceañera

The 15th iteration of New York’s premier crossword tournament, Lollapuzzoola, came home after a two-year in-person hiatus.

Photo Synthesis

Find the bond and extend the wordplay chain.

“The Puzzler” is a Wild Ride Through the World of Puzzledom

Author A.J. Jacobs and puzzlemaker Greg Pliska reveal their puzzling secrets.

Wordplay Spin-offs & Extended Cuts

Streaming some of our favorites on “ABC-TV”

The Return of the SymmyS: Pleasing Palindromes from All Over

The annual awards feature an international array of palindromists.

At the MIT Mystery Hunt, Puzzlers Explored the World of “Bookspace”

How Team Palindrome crafted a wordplay-heavy realm of puzzles.

The Puzzling Story of How Cryptic Crosswords Crossed the Atlantic

Stephen Sondheim gets credit for popularizing cryptic crosswords in the U.S., but there’s a lot more to the story.

Vocally Challenged: Vowelless Words That Make You Go Hmmm…

“He had in his possession a bunchberry plant”

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