 The episode was inspired by Patrick Creadon 's 2006 documentary Wordplay , and was written by Tim Long , and directed by Michael Polcino . Crossword puzzle creators Merl Reagle and Will Shortz guest star as themselves in the episode while Scott Thompson has a cameo as Grady , a character he first voiced in " Three Gays of the Condo " . Reagle created all of the crossword puzzles that appear in the episode and as promotion for the episode , a special Simpsons @-@ related message ( dedicated to this episode ) that appeared in The New York Times Sunday crossword on November 16 , 2008 . The episode received generally positive reviews from critics , and finished fourth in its timeslot during its initial airing on Fox , with a 3 @.@ 9 Nielsen rating . 
