Crossword puzzle writer Timothy Parker is under fire after he placed a rape joke written across multiple words in a crossword puzzle that ran in major newspapers this past week. The puzzle ran on Tuesday according to Huffington Post, and was named “People to Shun.” The “Across” portion of the rape joke featured a three-part clue that said, “Run from anyone who says this.” From there, the clues issued on parts 17, 41, and 63 mapped out the sentence “PSST HEY DOES THIS OLD RAG SMELL LIKE CHLOROFORM TO YOU.”
For anyone unaware, chloroform is a chemical compound that is placed in a rag most times and used to cover a victim’s mouth, knocking them out cold so that they can be sexually assaulted. The Sunday crossword writer for The Washington Post— Evan Birnholz discovered the shocking answer and went to Twitter to bring attention to it. When asked about it, Birnholz said “When I saw that set of answers, and when other crossword constructors saw them, the reaction was utter revulsion. I don’t know what he was thinking.” Previously, Parker was under fire last year for plagiarizing crossword puzzles, which led to his suspension. Despite the backlash, the company that Parker works for— Universal Crossword has yet to respond.
Source: huffingtonpost.com
