Jones, a graduate of Clackamas Community College and Rex Putnam High School in Milwaukie, finished The New York Times crossword puzzle in less time than it takes to polish off a cup of coffee. In eight minutes and 17 seconds, he solved the newspaper's most vexing puzzle of the week. At 25, Jones is a master puzzler. He recently returned from the prestigious American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, where he won three trophies, including 10th place overall and second place for puzzlers 25 and younger. He keeps a mental collection of potential crossword puzzle answers, a mix of seemingly useless and wacky trivia he taps every time he sits down to match wits with a puzzle.
Practice helps, too.
Puzzlers know, for instance, that the Times crossword puzzles become more difficult as the week progresses. After enough puzzles, patterns begin to emerge. Those are the types of things you pick up after a while. Jones' knack for puzzles is a mystery to his non-puzzler parents, Sue and Linn Jones of Oak Lodge. By age 4, their son could finish the Jumble in the daily newspaper faster than they could.