<p>1171. In the bonus segment that aired for Grammarpaloozians in November, we look at the early history of crossword puzzles and their surprising political uses. Natan Last explains how the “New York Times” crossword, which premiered during World War II, was used to boost morale and support the Allied war effort. We also look at the cultural frenzy of "crossworditis" in the 1920s and why libraries banned the puzzles as frivolous.</p><p>Find Natan Last at&nbsp;<a href="https://natanlast.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Natanlast.com.</strong></a></p><p>Get the book, "<a href="https://bookshop.org/a/4908/9780553387704" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Across the Universe</strong></a>."</p><p>🔗&nbsp;<a href="https://www.patreon.com/cw/grammargirl" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Join the Grammar Girl Patreon.</strong></a></p><p>🔗&nbsp;<strong>Share your familect recording in&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://www.speakpipe.com/GrammarGirl" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Speakpipe</strong></a><strong>&nbsp;</strong>or by leaving a voicemail at<strong>&nbsp;</strong>833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)</p><p>🔗&nbsp;<strong>Watch my&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/learning/instructors/mignon-fogarty" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>LinkedIn Learning writing courses</strong></a><strong>.</strong></p><p>🔗&nbsp;<strong>Subscribe to the&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>newsletter</strong></a><strong>.</strong></p><p>🔗&nbsp;<strong>Take&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://podsurvey.com/GRAMMAR" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>our advertising survey</strong></a><strong>.&nbsp;</strong></p><p>🔗<strong>&nbsp;Transcript available on your podcast player.</strong></p><p>🔗&nbsp;<strong>Get&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://amzn.to/3LULzLb" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Grammar Girl books</strong></a><strong>.&nbsp;</strong></p><p>| HOST: Mignon Fogarty</p><p>| Grammar Girl is part of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network</strong></a>.</p><ul><li>Audio Engineer:&nbsp;Dan Feierabend</li><li>Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings</li><li>Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson</li><li>Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah Sebastian</li><li>Podcast Associate: Maram Elnagheeb</li></ul><p>| Theme music by&nbsp;<a href="https://catherinerannus.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Catherine Rannus</strong></a>.</p><p>| Grammar Girl Social Media:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@grammargirl" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>YouTube</strong></a>.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@therealgrammargirl" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>TikTok</strong></a>.&nbsp;<a href="http://facebook.com/grammargirl" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Facebook</strong></a>.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.threads.net/@thegrammargirl" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Threads</strong></a>.&nbsp;<a href="http://instagram.com/thegrammargirl" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Instagram</strong></a>.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>LinkedIn</strong></a>.&nbsp;<a href="https://mastodon.social/@grammargirl" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Mastodon</strong></a>.&nbsp;<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/grammargirl.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Bluesky</strong></a>.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>