Language Family
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MONDAY PUZZLE — Once, in a bid to get past a bout of writer’s block, I attended a workshop hosted by one of my favorite authors of contemporary fiction. When asked how she managed to use such descriptive language in her writing, she said that she liked to “collect” her favorite words from other novels — as if they were seashells, or rare stamps.
This was heartening because I, too, often find myself pocketing words that tickle me so that I can use them when inspiration strikes. Many such words appear in today’s puzzle, which is constructed by Dang Quang Thang in his New York Times debut. I want to thank Mr. Thang not only for a breezy Monday solve, which I’ll unpack below, but also for adding a few delightful new words to my collection.
Today’s Theme
At first glance, the revealer at 58-Across may seem redundant. “Print ad phrase for infomercial products … or, parsed differently, a description of 17-, 25-, 35- or 50-Across” suggests that its fill — AS SEEN ON TV — can be read two different ways. But how should you parse it?
The answer reveals itself only after you realize what ties together all of the entries that the revealer is referencing — their initials. All of these names are A.S. names, which means that any one of them can be an A.S. SEEN ON TV.
Source: The New York Times
