From waffle shapes to cutting boards — it’s no secret that we love the great state of Texas and we’re proud to show it. And if you happen to pick up a local newspaper and find a Texas-shaped crossword puzzle inside, it’s likely thanks to a pair of brothers born and bred in the Lone Star State.
Charley and Guy Orbison created the famous Texas-shaped crossword puzzle in 1992, giving readers a peek into their homegrown slang or “Texisms” as they like to call it. Since then, clues to phrases such as “that dog won’t hunt,” or “mad as a wet hen,” have been “puzzling” audiences for more than three decades — a feat they never saw coming.
At the height of its popularity, the Texas Crossword puzzle was being printed in nearly 100 publications and despite changes in media platforms, it is still being printed in nearly 67 papers, including The Azle News and the Springtown Epigraph, and has been since 1994.
