The Surprisingly Messy Culture Wars Within The New York Times Crossword Puzzle

In the 1970s Will Shortz submitted a crossword to the _New York Times_with a word so scandalous that the editor rejected it. The word: bellybutton. Fast forward over four decades and Shortz himself is the _Times_crossword editor who is now the gatekeeper, selecting puzzles from the nearly 200 submissions he gets a week.…