Three Letter Names Get Their Time in the Spotlight

Have you done this week's crosswords?

Manage newsletters The Daily Beast Crossword is where power, pop culture, and politics intersect—quite literally.   Designed to be more challenging throughout the week, you can test your knowledge with five puzzles each week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. Play This Week's Puzzles Get in the Game With Matt Gaffney Very glad to welcome a new NIA to the crossword world! That's director Nia DaCosta, who made what I think is her worldwide full name debut in our Wednesday puzzle last week. She's risen to stardom quickly enough that NIA clued to her name hasn't yet appeared in the the New York Times crossword.    It will soon, though, you can rest assured. As great as actresses Nia Vardalos, Nia Peeples, and Nia Long are, their first name has been seen  so many times in puzzles that you could almost feel crossword writers and solvers willing a new famous NIA into existence. And here she is, having directed the indie crime thriller "Little Woods" in 2019, then the current horror hit "Candyman," and now slated to direct next year's big-budget "The Marvels".    I wish her many years of success on behalf of the entire crossword community, and I hope she will hire up-and-coming actresses with first names like UMA, EVA, and ETTA. We need more UMAs and EVAs, Nia!    Know any NIAs (or UMAs or EVAs) who might become famous soon? Tweet them to #beastxword and I'll gladly work them into a puzzle.  Play This Week's Puzzles © Copyright 2021 The Daily Beast Company LLC  555 W. 18th Street, New York NY 10011  Privacy Policy If you are on a mobile device or cannot view the images in this message, click here to view this email in your browser. To ensure delivery of these emails, please add emails@thedailybeast.com to your address book. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, or think you have received this message in error, you can safely unsubscribe.