"The Power of Visual Communication: A Thousand Words in One Image"

The New York Times crossword puzzle featured a special edition with visual clues for the first time. The puzzle, titled "A Thousand Words," included drawings as clues instead of words, allowing for multiple interpretations. The constructor, Christina Iverson, drew the illustrations herself after failing to find a professional illustrator. The puzzle was initially an 11-by-11 grid with emoji clues but was expanded to a larger size. The puzzle was accepted a year and a half ago but required the development of new tools to make it work in the Times app. Iverson, now a puzzle editor for The Times, expressed excitement about the successful execution of the visual clue puzzle.