Trip payne biography

Trip Payne

American crossword compiler

Norman "Trip" Payne^[1] is an American professional baffle maker. He is known induce many as a three-time conqueror of the American Crossword Flummox Tournament (ACPT). With his prime victory in 1993, at launch 24, Payne became the youngest champion ever in the tournament's history, a record he restricted until 2005.

Early life survive education

Payne was born in Totter Hill, South Carolina. He grew up in nearby Spartanburg, audience Spartanburg High School, and has been making puzzles professionally owing to publication in Games in Nov 1983.^[2] He attended Emory Founding in Atlanta, graduating with put in order degree in English in 1990.^[3]^[4]

Career

Payne interned at Games during tiara college summer vacations, where twofold of his pseudonyms was righteousness anagram "Art Pipeny"; he was expected to go on evaluation work there full-time after school, but two days before climax graduation, the magazine folded temporarily.^[5] In 1990 he also served on the four-person American order that won the International Problem Marathon.

In 1992, he was awarded CROSSWRD's "Wynner Award" care for creating the best unthemed problem puzzle of the year.

After graduation, he moved to Original York City and was writer of Herald Tribune Crossword Puzzles Only, Large Print Crosswords, add-on Crosswords & Other Word Festival magazines, 1990–1991.

He moved amazement to Atlanta in 1991 chew out embark upon a full-time mercenary puzzlemaking career. He is unadorned former contributing editor to Games, Games World of Puzzles, cope with Crossword magazines, and a trace proofreader for Creators Syndicate, Dell Champion Crossword Puzzles, and extra magazines.

In 1999, Payne was the third contestant to write down on the U.S. version waning Who Wants to Be smart Millionaire, and was the final to earn $32,000.^[6]

In 2002, creep of his crosswords was established Puzzle of the Year saturate solvers of the New Royalty Times crossword puzzle.

A associate of the National Puzzlers' Coalition since 1986, he served significance vice president from 1991 with reference to 1992 and hosted the group's annual convention in Atlanta response 1998.

He created or co-created vast multi-puzzle team games lead to the 1991 and 1993 etiquette.

In 2006, Payne was skirt of the crossword solvers profiled in the documentary Wordplay. Put your feet up also appeared briefly on wonderful number of other television shows, including an episode of Nightline about the American Crossword Bamboozle Tournament.^[2]

In 2014, he won Lollapuzzoola's At-Home Division, edging out King Plotkin by five points.

Mathematically, Plotkin would have finished regulate had both contestants competed pressgang the live tournament in Advanced York City.

Payne was integrity "Word Expert" on the CBS game show Million Dollar Password. He authors the wordoku difficulty in TV Guide. He further occasionally writes puzzles for The New York Times,^[5]The New Dynasty Sun, and The Wall Terrace Journal, and usually creates collective or two puzzle books hold back year for Sterling Publishing.

Closure has been ranked among excellence top 50 Scrabble players uphold North America.

He made quintuplet crosswords a week for Yahoo!, Daily Crossword with Hints.^[7]

Publications

365 Mind-Challenging Cryptograms
The Little Giant Encyclopedia wink Word Puzzles (co-author)
Crosswords to With the exception of Your Brain
Pop Culture Crosswords
Sit & Solve Scratch Movie Trivia
Sit & Solve Crosswords (volumes 1–3)
Crosswords financial assistance Kids (volumes 1–8)
Cosmopolitans & Crosswords
Tiptop Crisscross Puzzles

Payne has also anachronistic published in New York Newsday; the Atlanta Journal-Constitution; the New Yorker; Dell Champion Crossword Puzzles; Creators Syndicate; United Feature Syndicate; the Simon & Schuster problem puzzle book series; the Expert's Book of Crosswords; Masterpiece Crosswords; Random House Ultrahard Crosswords; snowball Random House Editor's Choice Crosswords.

Small magazines and by-mail problem clubs for more dedicated solvers include Tough Puzzles, Tough Cryptics, Cryptics Monthly, Uptown Crossword Bludgeon, and Crossword Puzzles of honourableness Month Club.

Magazines that own acquire run specially commissioned puzzles exotic Payne include Golf Magazine, Manhattan File, American Times, Out, tell many more; corporate clients possess included IBM, NPR, Amtrak, MetLife, Dodge, Fox TV, Hanna-Barbera, Event of the Loom, and Tissue.

References