Maura Jacobson, who for 31 years made crossword puzzles for New York magazine that were beloved by aficionados for their pun-filled wit, died on Dec. 25 in White Plains. She was 91.

Her death was confirmed by her husband, Dr. Jerome Jacobson.

Ms. Jacobson owed her career, in a way, to a traffic accident. She had dabbled in puzzle making, sending some to Margaret Farrar, the crossword puzzle editor at The New York Times, but had let the hobby lapse. Then, in 1971, she was seriously injured in an auto accident. It kept her off her feet for a year, she said.

“Margaret Farrar sent me grids and said, ‘Stay well and keep working,’ ” Ms. Jacobson recalled years later. So she began putting more effort into the craft, and by 1978 was making puzzles for a listings magazine called Cue. In 1980, New York bought Cue, and Ms. Jacobson and her puzzles were part of the package.

In a 2011 article commemorating her retirement, the magazine said she had created more than 1,400 puzzles for New York. In the universe of cruciverbalists — people good at making or solving crosswords — Ms. Jacobson was a superstar. When her name would be announced at the annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, the hall would burst into applause.