Will Shortz is the most prestigious name in crosswords.

As editor of the daily New York Times crossword, he has worked on every puzzle since 1993.

This article discusses two minor clues and answers from the upcoming August 11, 2019 puzzle.

If you want to avoid spoilers, skip the recent workday section.

I started making puzzles when I was 8 or 9 and sold my first one professionally at 14.

For 15 years I was an editor (and eventually the editor) of Games magazine.

For the past 25 years Ive been at the Times.

Take us through a recent workday.

Today was an editing day.

My assistant Sam was with me.

The Sunday crossword, unfortunately, required a lot of work.

), unclear, or not good for some other reason.

I dont think any other puzzle in the country goes through such rigorous editing and testing before publication.

For example, for the answer SALON, the contributor suggested the clue Business that really blows?

That seemed nonsensical, besides being a little rude.

We changed it to Business that has cut prices.

We felt that had nice misdirection, while still being accurate and fair.

For LEG the contributor proposed Something to stand on, which we felt was obvious and not particularly clever.

We changed it to Anchor, e.g.

as in the anchor leg of a race.

Thats appropriately challenging for a Sunday Times puzzle, while still being on target and fair.

Altogether we changed about 60% of the contributors clues.

Basically, I dont use any clue that my assistant and I dont both like.

What apps, gadgets, or tools cant you live without?

My biggest tools are books.

I have hundreds of references on almost every subject you’re able to think of.

In some cases books are more accurate than websites besides.

Whats your workspace setup like?

I have a second-floor home office, looking out on a quiet suburban neighborhood with hills and trees.

My desk is surrounded by dictionaries and other references.

A computer at the side is for typesetting the Times puzzles as well as corresponding with contributors.

Whats your favorite shortcut or hack?

The websiteXwordInfo.comcontains every New York Times crossword answer and clue back to the first Times puzzle in 1942.

So I can look up previous clues to answers and, if possible, avoid repeating them.

Take us through an interesting, unusual, or finicky process you have in place at work.

I get more than 125 crossword submissions a week.

Its a little old-fashioned a process, but I feel its the best one for what we do.

I have two assistants in their 20s, Joel Fagliano and Sam Ezersky.

Theyre both brilliantly talented, and sometimes they know things I dont.

How do you keep track of what you have to do?

On average about half the clues in the published puzzles are mine.

As time permits my assistants and I answer mail.

How do you recharge or take a break?

When Im done, Im relaxed and refreshed and ready to go back to everything else in life.

What are you currently reading, or what do you recommend?

You happened to catch me while Im readingDreyers English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style.

But in another day or two Ill probably be on to something else.

Pick an occupation in which you dont mind the least interesting part.

Who else would you like to see answer these questions?

Whats the best advice youve ever received?

Pick an occupation in which you dont mind the least interesting part.

For me typesetting is the least interesting aspect of crosswordsand I love to bang out.

Whats a problem youre still trying to solve?

How to squeeze 25 hours into a day.