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Meet the crossword enthusiasts tracking down puzzles in movies and TV

WBUR
Published November 2, 2026 at 11:01 AM CST
A woman works a crossword puzzle. (Charles Rex Arbogast/AP)
Charles Rex Arbogast/AP
A woman works a crossword puzzle. (Charles Rex Arbogast/AP)

A community of crossword enthusiasts on Discord is tracking down puzzles that appear in movies and TV shows to find out whether they’re real.

Here & Now speaks with Ben Zimmer, a linguist, lexicographer and crossword constructor, about the art of gridspotting.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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