Being a fan of newspaper puzzles, I have always had fun creating my own iterations of existing puzzle formats such as crosswords and word polygons. Recently, however, I decided to create a word puzzle of my own that is different from any format I have come across. The objective of The Long and Short is to find a long word hidden within the various starting words. This long word is made up of two letters from each starting word. If the correct long word is solved, short words can be made by using one remaining letter from each starting word, exclusively. Admittedly I have not nailed the art of designing these as I have not nailed an efficient strategy in solving them yet. However, creating long and short words that fit together to make starting words which are also real words is a worthwhile design challenge in itself. The way the puzzle is presented is also simple to the eye, aesthetically pleasing, and as such, is suitable for any newspaper. This may not turn out to be an instant classic, but it is a satisfactory first go at creating my own unique word puzzles.