Solution: The History of Crossword Puzzles
Answer: JOHN GLENN FLIES OUT TO SPACE
Written by Kenny Young
The clues are arranged so that all their answers are in alphabetical order:
| #-#. It’s better to not put these on? | AIRS |
| #-#. Unit of hay | BALE |
| #-#. West German capital | BONN |
| #-#. Matter for a lawyer or detective | CASE |
| #-#. “Shucks!” | DARN |
| #-#. Hearing range | EARSHOT |
| #-#. Orlando destination | EPCOT |
| #-#. Type of mattress or pillow | FOAM |
| #-#. Prod to action | GOAD |
| #-#. Possible precursor? (3 wds.) | IF AT ALL |
| #-#. “Cool me down please!” (3 wds.) | I’M SO HOT |
| #-#. She plays Christine on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | JESS |
| #-#. Chinese character that looks like a face | JIONG |
| #-#. Mayor who asked, “How’m I doin’?” | KOCH |
| #-#. French river | LOIRE |
| #-#. Brief visual inspection (hyph.) | LOOK-SEE |
| #-#. Advanced degree in thermodynamics, e.g. | MSME |
| #-#. Corporal or sergeant | NCO |
| #-#. “Bonne _____!” | NUIT |
| #-#. Dodgeball network, “The ____” | OCHO |
| #-#. French river | OISE |
| #-#. Cloud of comets | OORT |
| #-#. Pertaining to sight | OPTIC |
| #-#. Most dogs and cats in the US | PETS |
| #-#. Brad and Janet’s musical film, for short | RHPS |
| #-#. Ocean | SEA |
| #-#. You, of old | THOU |
| #-#. Unit of pressure | TORR |
| #-#. Verbal pauses | UHS |
| #-#. Donald Trump’s Generals were involved in this | USFL |
| #-#. They deliver | USPS |
The instructions say that all entries proceed in a straight horizontal or vertical line from one number (or the “F” and “N” in FUN) to another; this description permits the entries to go backwards as well as forwards. Since “FUN” is locked in place, there is only one way to fill in the rest of the grid:
Image courtesy of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Wynne
The final answer, orbiting counterclockwise around the outer edge of the grid, is JOHN GLENN FLIES OUT TO SPACE.