What’s your hurry? Or rather, how’s your hurry? What’s your go-to form of haste-making? Do you run, dash, jet, boogie or book it? I ask because I’m hurrying off myself, albeit briefly, and I realized that one of these terms described both the ends and the means of my journey: I’m booking it! That is to say, I’m writing a book, and I’m taking a short leave to do so. When did leaving take on such a literary quality? One Urban Dictionary user posited that “book it” was 1970s college slang, to be deployed specifically “when you had to leave a party to study.” Booking it, in other words, meant leaving to attend to one’s books. It’s a compelling theory — not least because the pages of a book are called leaves (!) — but experts disagree with the premise. In an episode of the radio show “A Way with Words,” Grant Barrett, a lexicographer and a host of the program, hypothesized that “book it” was the result of a cross-pollination of three slang terms: bookity-book (c. 1860s, imitative of the sound of running feet or hooves), boogie (c. 1920s, to party, and by the 1940s, to leave) and bug out (c. 1950s, to leave in a hurry). Note that none of these sound particularly suited to quiet study. Decidedly not listed among these definitions and seed words is a verb form of “book” meaning “writing a book.” And why not? It’s not so different from saying you’re gifting a gift, or finding a find, or catching a catch (don’t try it, Matchmaker, I’m married). “Booking it” is fast and chaotic and stressful, three words that also describe my experience of writing one. Just saying. In any case, my return is on the books, and I’ll be back soon. My bookish colleagues will be with you until then. Editor’s Choice
“‘Ahead of the Curve’ by Elizabeth Gorski is the puzzle that made me want to learn how to do the Crossword. I can’t remember how I found it, years after its 2009 debut, but I do remember feeling so compelled by the grid that I had to learn its secrets. I needed a ton of help and looked up so many answers. But when it all clicked into place, it revealed to me that puzzle-making is indeed a work of art. (That’s a hint to the theme!) All these years later, and I’ve never forgotten its beauty.” — Eleanor Kagan Read the Wordplay column for this puzzle.
Column of the WeekIn today’s Wordplay column, A.O. Scott, a critic at large for the Book Review, writes: “A good puzzle presents any solver with a pleasing mix of the familiar and the esoteric, and for me Matthew Luter’s debut hits the sweet spot. There’s a nice feeling of satisfaction that comes from immediately recognizing a reference to literature, history or sports.”
How are we doing? Thanks for playing! Subscribe to New York Times Games. If you like this newsletter, you can tell your friends to sign up here. P.S. The answer to the cryptogram is “Cyndi Lauper sang the theme song for the madcap television show ‘Pee-Wee’s Playhouse.’” The answer to the Brain Tickler is PAWNBROKER.
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