About

About Bill Butler

Headshot-Bill

The name’s William Ernest Butler, but please call me Bill. I grew up in Ireland, and now live out here in the San Francisco Bay Area. I am retired from technology businesses that took our family all over the world.

I don’t construct crosswords anymore, but I do have over a hundred cryptic crosswords to my name, published in my native Ireland. I am almost exclusively a crossword solver these days, working on American-style puzzles published by the LA Times and the New York Times. I’ve never put together an American-style puzzle, but maybe one day …

I try to answer all emails, so please feel free to email me at bill@paxient.com.

ABOUT THIS BLOG

This is the simplest of blogs. I work on the New York Times puzzle online every evening, the night before it is published in the paper. Then, I “Google & Wiki” the references that puzzle me, or that I find of interest. I post my findings along with the solution, usually just after midnight Pacific Time.

I’ve been writing this NYTCrossword.com blog (about the New York Times crossword) since 2009. I also started the LAXCrossword.com blog in 2012 in response to many requests over the years to write about the daily LA Times crossword.

Crosswords and My Dad

Headshot-Dad

I worked on my first crossword puzzle when I was about 6-years-old, sitting on my Dad’s knee. He allowed me to “help” him with his puzzle almost every day as I was growing up. When I was 10, my Dad helped me construct my first crossword, which was published in the school newsletter. How I wish I had a copy of that newsletter today!

Decades later, I work on my New York Times and Los Angeles Times puzzles every day. I’m no longer sitting on my Dad’s knee, but I feel that he is there with me, looking over my shoulder.

This blog is dedicated to my Dad, who passed away at the beginning of this month.

Bill
January 29, 2009