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34 Across

Fans of New York Times crossword puzzles that have W&L connections got a freebie on Sunday. The clue for 34 Across? “Washington and _ _ _ University.”  Amy Grattan, a 1982 law alumna and parent of sophomore Robert Grattan, was among those who opened the Times on Sunday morning and found the reference to her alma mater. Amy wrote, “As a longtime avid NYT crossword-puzzle solver, I was thrilled to see today’s 34 Across clue.” When we tweeted about it on Sunday morning, we received a series of re-tweets in quick succession as followers of our Twitter spread the word. (That’s also a plug for the W&L Twitter feed:  If you’re not following yet, see what you’re missing?)  And on his own Twitter feed, Aaron Toomey, a 2009 grad, tweeted about the puzzle and added, “Will Shortz, I like your style.” Shortz is, of course, the famed editor of the New York Times crossword, and he might well be familiar with W&L, since he earned a juris doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. He edited Sunday’s puzzle, which was was created by Eric Berlin, a puzzle maker and author of young adult novels about puzzle addict Wilson Breen. By now, you’re finished with the puzzle and don’t mind seeing the solution to this particular clue. Of course, if you put the crossword aside for later, the Honor System still applies.