An avid fan of New York Times crosswords has touched off a debate about whether the puzzles’ famed editor has a clue about being hip.
Julieanne Smolinski, 28, a New York-based writer for GQ and xoJane.com, e-mailed the paper to say that “illin,” the answer provided in Saturday’s puzzle for the hip-hop clue “wack,” was not correct.
‘’These are not the same things, at all!’’ she wrote.
Times crossword editor Will Shortz sent her an e-reply, and cited three dictionaries, including one that defined “illin” as “stupid, insane’’ and “wack’’ as “worthless, stupid.’’
“So it seems to me the clue is fine,’’ he wrote, adding, “I appreciate your writing. Keep up the good solving.’’
Gawker publicized the e-mails, and the question of who was right went viral.
Marvet Britto, who heads The Britto Agency, a public- relations and brand strategist who has worked with many hip-hoppers, including Salt-n-Pepa and Foxy Brown, said the shades of meaning are “kind of hard to articulate if you’re not in the culture.’’
“No one would ever guess that the synonym for wack would be illin,’’ she said. “You have to understand the context of how it’s used. If you say ‘ill,’ then it means cool and good, hot.
“If you say ‘illin,’ then it’s the opposite.’’