Fun Fact: This April 18, 2011 photo shows the April 17 Sunday Washington Post crossword puzzle. The Washington Post crossword puzzle had special meaning this weekend for one local couple. With the complicity of the newspaper, Corey Newman, 28, of Alexandria, Virginia, proposed to his live-in girlfriend, Marlowe Epstein, 31, through clues buried in a specially-crafted puzzle.The clue for 37 Across, for example, asked for the name of a role in the movie ‘Shakespeare in Love.’ The answer — Marlowe. 39 Across asked for the name of a ‘Casablanca’ screenwriter. The answer — Epstein. The clincher was 51 Across: ‘Words with a certain ring to them.’ As soon as Epstein came up with the answer — ‘Will you marry me’ — Newman got down on one knee, whipped out a diamond ring and repeated the question, the Post reported. ‘Yes, of course!’ Epstein said. AFP PHOTO/Karen BLEIER (Photo credit should read KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images)
2. Crosswords have different appearances and variations depending on the country and language system. In North America and Britain, it is considered traditional for crossword grids to have 180-degree rotational symmetry for the patterns of the puzzle to appear the same if the paper is turned upside down. Hebrew crosswords only use consonants, and Japanese crosswords use one syllable per square, instead of one letter.