Editing Crossword (section)

==== Themes ====
Many American crossword puzzles feature a "theme" consisting of a number of long entries (generally three to five in a standard 15×15-square "weekday-size" puzzle) that share some relationship, type of pun, or other element in common. As an example, the ''New York Times'' crossword of April 26, 2005 by Sarah Keller, edited by [[Will Shortz]], featured five themed entries ending in the different parts of a tree: ''SQUARE ROOT'', ''TABLE LEAF'', ''WARDROBE TRUNK'', ''BRAIN STEM'', and ''BANK BRANCH''.

The above is an example of a category theme, where the theme elements are all members of the same set. Other types of themes include:
* Quote themes, featuring a famous quote broken up into parts to fit in the grid (and usually clued as "Quote, part 1", "Quote, part 2", etc.)
* Rebus themes, where multiple letters or even symbols occupy a single square in the puzzle (e.g., ''BERMUDA''Δ)
* Addition themes, where theme entries are created by adding a letter, letters, or word(s) to an existing word or phrase. For example, "Crucial pool shot?" = ''CRITICAL MASSE'' (formed by taking the phrase "[[critical mass]]" and adding an "e" on the end. All the theme entries in a given puzzle must be formed by the same process (so another entry might be "Greco-Roman buddy?" = ''WRESTLING MATE''—"wrestling mat" with an "e" added on). An example of a multiple-letter addition (and one that does not occur at the end of the entry) might be "Crazy about kitchen storage?" = ''CABINET FEVER'' (derived from "[[cabin fever]]").<ref name=Themes>{{cite web|title=Identified theme. types|url=http://www.cruciverb.com/index.php?action=ezportal;sa=page;p=70|publisher=Cruciverb.com|access-date=5 March 2013}}</ref>
* Subtraction themes, the reverse of the above, where letters are removed to make a new word or phrase.<ref name=Themes />
* Compound themes, where the starts or ends of the theme entries can all precede or follow another word, which is given elsewhere in the puzzle. For example, a puzzle with theme entries that begin with ''PAPER'', ''BALL'', and ''WATER'' and elsewhere in the puzzle, the word ''BOY'' clued as "Word that can follow the start of [theme entries]".<ref name=Themes />
* Anniversary or tribute themes, commemorating a specific person, place, or event. For example, on October 7, 2011 ''The New York Times'' crossword commemorated the life of Apple CEO [[Steve Jobs]] who had died on October 5. Theme entries related to Jobs' life included ''[[Macintosh|MACINTOSH]]'', ''[[Pixar|PIXAR]]'', ''[[Think Different|THINK DIFFERENT]]'', ''CREATIVE GENIUS'', ''STEVE JOBS'', and ''[[Apple Inc.|APPLE]]''.<ref name=Themes /><ref>{{cite web|last=Der|first=Kevin G|title=New York Times crossword of October 7, 2011|url=http://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=10/7/2011|publisher=XWordInfo.com|access-date=5 March 2013}}</ref>
* Synonym themes, where the theme entries all contain synonyms, e.g., a ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' puzzle featuring a set of theme entries that contain the words ''RAVEN'', ''[[wikt:jet|JET]]'', ''[[wikt:ebony|EBONY]]'', and ''[[wikt:sable|SABLE]]'', all synonyms for "black".<ref name=Themes />
* Numerous other types have been identified, including [[spoonerism]]s, poems, shifted letters, rhyming phrases, puns, homophones, and combinations of two or more of other types of themes.<ref name=Themes />

The themed crossword puzzle was invented in 1958 by [[Harold T. Bers]], an advertising executive and frequent contributor to ''The New York Times'' crossword.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Worley |first1=Sam |title=The Puzzler and the Puzzled |url=https://chicagoreader.com/news-politics/the-puzzler-and-the-puzzled/ |access-date=16 August 2024 |work=Chicago Reader |date=28 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Flexner |first1=Stuart Berg |title=FUN (2 WORDS) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/08/books/fun-2-words.html |access-date=16 August 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=8 July 1984}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=HAROLD BERS, 47, AD WRITER, DEAD; AIDE OF BATTEN, BARTON WAS CROSSWORD PUZZLE EXPERT |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/10/15/archives/harold-bers-47-ad-writer-dead-aide-of-batten-barton-was-crossword.html |access-date=16 August 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=15 October 1961}}</ref><ref name=gnu>{{cite book |last1=Arnot |first1=Michelle |title=What's Gnu? A History of the Crossword Puzzle |date=1981 |publisher=Vintage Books |location=New York |isbn=978-0-394-74408-7 |page=114 |url=https://archive.org/details/whatsgnuhistoryo0000arno/page/114/mode/1up?q=%22harold+t.+bers%22 |access-date=16 August 2024}}</ref>

The [[Simon & Schuster]] Crossword Puzzle Series has published many unusually themed crosswords. "Rosetta Stone", by Sam Bellotto Jr., incorporates a [[Caesar cipher]] cryptogram as the theme; the key to breaking the cipher is the answer to 1Across. Another unusual theme requires the solver to use the answer to a clue as another clue. The answer to ''that'' clue is the real solution.