I got this message secondhand from Matt Ginsberg last week:
Hey All:
I've put one final version of my clue database at www.tiwwdty.com/clue. With help from Pete Muller, this version includes all of the clues I could find through April of this year.
This is the last version, and is *completely* unsupported. Much as I love everyone in the crossword community, I need to move on! So if it doesn't work for you, or you have a question, or whatever, I'm sorry. I'm sadly going to leave emails asking for help unanswered.
Thanks, and enjoy! The price, as always, is unchanged.
Matt
“The price is unchanged” is Matt’s little joke. The clue database has always been free.
This is a major update—I think the last one stopped in mid-2021, meaning this adds about two years. And it includes clues from fifteen major sources, ranging from traditional papers to indie institutions: the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, AVCX, Brendan Emmett Quigley, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times—plus an in-program thesaurus. The oldest clues date back as far as 1942 (the earliest NYT puzzle), though most are far more recent.
I would not have been able to finish the Ubercross Abecedaria without this resource. It is an assistant for a clue-writer, not a substitute for one, and I’m always wondering just how much I should lean on it, but when you need to crank out a few thousand clues a week, you take all the help you can get.
Mostly, I want others to know about this resource—and to go ahead and download it, because we may not see its like again. Side note: some anti-virus programs may think the download is unsafe. Having used it for five years, I can assure you it's just fine.
Of Ginsberg’s many works for the crossword community, including his research into AI-based solving, this is probably his most valuable contribution to the art form. Thanks, Matt.
Mac users may also have trouble because Matt is not an "identified developer." But go to System Settings / Privacy & Security and there will be an option to install it anyway.
When Matt first stopped supporting this wonderful resource, he suggested that he had found someone to take it over. Unfortunately, it never happened.