Mel Taub, the longtime creator of the Puns and Anagrams puzzle for The New York Times — a form that involved delightful wordplay and groan-inducing puns, of which Mr. Taub was an undisputed master — passed away on September 14 at his home in Austin, Texas. He was 97 years old.
His son Daniel confirmed his death.
In the world of puzzles, Puns and Anagrams crosswords, affectionately known as PandAs, are a unique variant. They are often seen as a refreshing break or a delightful side dish to the main course of classic crosswords, sharing a loose connection with the more intricate British cryptic crosswords. While some seasoned cruciverbalists might consider them a lighter form of entertainment, PandAs have always had a dedicated following. Their appeal lies in the sheer pleasure of a truly terrible pun and the satisfaction of unraveling a clever anagram.
Deb Amlen, a senior puzzle editor at The Times, fondly referred to Mr. Taub as “the king of the groaners in our puzzle family,” adding that “His puzzles were meticulously designed to bring a smile to your face.”
Readers could experience one of Mr. Taub’s Puns and Anagrams puzzles directly within the article, offering a taste of his signature wordplay and wit.
To illustrate Mr. Taub’s genius, consider these examples: “Offspring of many fodders” was a clue from a puzzle published on August 21, 2011. The answer: DODDERS (a type of vine in the morning glory family).
Another classic, from May 21, 2017, was: “Male or female, in Boston.” The answer: AGENDA. (Imagine ‘gender’ spoken with a thick Boston accent – it’s certainly a groan-worthy moment!)
Mr. Taub, who spent his professional life as an underwriter for the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, dedicated his evenings and weekends to crafting these puzzles at his family’s dining room table in Brooklyn. Each puzzle typically took around eight hours to construct and featured an average of ten puns.
He once shared with The Four Star Puzzler magazine in 1982 that he always aimed to begin each new puzzle with a pun he hadn’t used before. “And then I pray,” he quipped. The magazine noted his “rapid fire” speaking style, reminiscent of his favorite comedians, Henny Youngman and Rodney Dangerfield, which undoubtedly influenced his unique brand of humor.
One example clue he offered was “Salad ingredient on the Titanic.” The answer: ICEBERG.
“Each definition is a word game in itself,” Mr. Taub explained to The Puzzler. “The ones I find most satisfying are those where the letters in the word to be anagrammed naturally suggest a smooth definition. For instance, ‘He doesn’t have an end seat,’ for STANDEE.”
Many readers found joy in realizing that “Mel Taub” itself is an anagram for “mutable,” a fitting description for his craft. Conversely, frustrated puzzlers might have preferred its other anagram: “bum tale.”
An image shows Mr. Taub in the 1960s, a testament to his vibrant career as “the king of the groaners.”
The very first Puns and Anagrams puzzle made its debut alongside The Times’s inaugural crossword in the newspaper’s Sunday magazine on February 15, 1942. It was titled “Riddle Me This” and credited to “Anna Gram,” a pseudonym Will Shortz, The Times’s current puzzle editor, believes belonged to the paper’s first puzzle editor, Margaret Farrar.
It took a 26-year-old Mr. Taub three attempts to get his work published in the esteemed newspaper. His initial submissions were traditional crosswords.
“This is an interesting puzzle,” Ms. Farrar wrote in his first rejection letter. “And I foresee you will land in the puzzle corner. I don’t take to the crossing of djo and oont.” (‘Djo’ referred to a Japanese unit of measurement, and ‘oont’ to an Indian camel, answers she found contrived.)
“I hope you’ll come again,” she encouraged him, adding, “We pay $10 for the dailies.”
His second submission was also rejected due to what Ms. Farrar deemed forced abbreviations, such as “diph” for diphthong. However, his third puzzle was a success, published on October 24, 1954. His first PandA followed in May of the next year, earning him $15.
Beyond PandAs, Mr. Taub also constructed double-crostics, compiling them into several books, though none were for The Times. He also continued to contribute occasional crosswords and even a few cryptic crosswords to The Times.
His puzzle “Hail to the Chief,” featured in The New York Times Magazine on January 17, 1993, was a clever tribute to the newly elected President, William Jefferson Clinton. Just three days before his inauguration, Mr. Clinton returned the completed puzzle, filled out in pen, along with a note expressing how much he had enjoyed it “in between spurts of speech writing.”
A sample clue from that puzzle: “The White House is her Everest.” The answer: HILLARY.
Melvin Seymour Taub was born on September 4, 1928, in Brooklyn, the youngest of David and Esther (Schwartz) Taub’s four children. His father had a brief stint as a part-time bootlegger during Prohibition, crafting slivovitz, a fruit brandy, before working in a luggage factory.
Mel pursued an English major at Brooklyn College with aspirations of becoming a comedy writer. When that path didn’t materialize, he transitioned into the insurance industry, where he remained until his retirement at the precise age of 63.5, as his son Daniel recalled. His meticulous nature was perhaps unsurprising. In 1959, Mr. Taub married Phyllis Spinrad, an administrator at Brooklyn College.
Another image shows Mr. Taub in the 1990s with his wife, Phyllis, highlighting their shared passion for puzzles.
He is survived by his sons, Daniel and Dave, and one grandson. His wife, Phyllis Taub, who herself had two daily crosswords published in The Times, passed away in 2023.
While Puns and Anagrams crosswords continue to appear bi-monthly in The Times Magazine, they are no longer available online. However, approximately a hundred of Mr. Taub’s puzzles are preserved in the archives of xwordinfo.com, a website maintained by fellow puzzle enthusiast Jim Horne.
By his own calculations, Mr. Taub contributed an impressive 350 to 400 PandAs to The Times, with his final one appearing on October 20, 2019.
“He doesn’t just play with words,” Ms. Taub famously said of her husband in a 1982 interview with The Four Star Puzzler. “He preys on them.”