As millions of people play The New York Times crossword Tuesday, Dec. 2, they will be working on a puzzle by Traverse City resident Jonathan Baude, who is making his NYT debut as a crossword author.

"What I love about this puzzle is how subtly Mr. Baude imparts his geography lesson. He does it in the same way that a mother might feed her child vegetables, by hiding the healthy stuff in a fun theme," NYT columnist Sam Corbin said on the NYT website. "I didn’t even realize I was learning something."

Baude told Interlochen Public Radio that he has been trying to get a puzzle in the New York Times for 20 years .

"The idea for this puzzle came during a trip to New England last year, where my brain somehow discovered BOSTON hiding backward in the phrase “NOT SO BAD.” I landed on the RAISI

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