Written by Randi Tubbs // Photo by Briley Kemper
Dr. James Huff ’s claim to fame is not only holding positions as the senior faculty fellow of the Honors College and associate professor in the engineering department, but also that he recently achieved a one-year streak of New York Times crosswords. Though Huff has had on and off streaks for two years, he is on his longest streak of 365 days of completed crosswords as of Sunday, Jan. 28.
“[The crosswords] engage me in an everyday habit,” Huff said. “They always wake me up a little bit, but they chill me out, too.”
Over the 2023-2024 Christmas break, the Honors College went abroad to Porto Rafti, Greece, where Huff began to share his hobby with his students. It became their daily ritual to complete the New York Times crosswords together.
“We started together pretty much every day on our trip over winter break,” sophomore Eric Rice said. “I feel like they’re making me smarter.”
Huff and a small group of students have begun meeting every Friday in the Honors House to continue their group crossword solving. Huff projects the crossword puzzle onto a big screen, and they read through each clue together.
“We maybe would’ve eventually figured it out on our own, but when you play together, then everyone can bring in their experiences,” Huff said.
The group advises that if you would like to start playing, to start on a Monday. The crosswords get increasingly difficult each day, with Sunday being the biggest and most challenging. Tuesday through Thursday puzzles are themed, and Friday through Saturday puzzles are more demanding work. Daily mini crosswords are also available for free on New York Times, and a mid size puzzle is available once a week.
Huff says that a frequently asked question is if he cheats on his puzzles. He simply responds, “I don’t cheat, I learn.” Another question he often receives is what he does if he doesn’t have internet service. He said he just makes it work.
Rice and sophomore Aiden Joy have since subscribed to New York Times games to keep up with the crosswords they started abroad after seeing the benefit.
“You pay essentially 10 cents a crossword, or $3 a month,” Joy said.
Neither student played crossword puzzles before their trip to Greece. Huff openly invites all students to join him and other crossword lovers every week on Fridays at 3 p.m. in the Honors House to play along or to watch.
