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MONDAY PUZZLE – To overcome writer’s block, I once attended a workshop hosted by one of my favorite contemporary fiction writers. When asked how she managed to use such descriptive language in her writing, she said she liked to “collect” her favorite words from other novels – as if they were seashells or rare postage stamps.
That was encouraging because I, too, often put words that excite me in my pocket so I can use them when inspiration strikes. Many such words appear in today’s puzzle created by Dang Quang Thang in his New York Times debut. I’d like to thank Mr. Thang not only for the easy Monday solution I’ll unwrap below, but also for adding some delightful new words to my collection.
Today’s topic
At first glance, disclosure at 58-Across may seem superfluous. “Print ad phrase for infomercial products…or, to put it another way, a description of 17-, 25-, 35-, or 50-across” suggests that the fill—AS SEEN ON TV—can be read two different ways. But how to analyze it?
The answer only reveals itself when you realize what ties all of the entries the revealer is referring to – their initials. All of these names are AS names, meaning any of them can be an AS SEEN ON TV.
Subtle yet satisfying. A perfect Monday.
Tricky hints
14A It doesn’t matter how many times I find it as such in the New York Times crossword: I choose not to recognize NABOB as a designation for a “wealthy mogul,” but rather as a long-standing Canadian coffee brand (which you certainly do ). you don’t have to be a NABOB to be able to afford it).
17A. The longtime producer and co-host of the show “MythBusters” is ADAM SAVAGE, who is not related to actor siblings Fred and Ben, nor to sex columnist Dan. I think that’s quite enough and I would humbly ask anyone who wants to be famous in my lifetime to choose a different surname.
28A. Can you think of a word that describes a “dot on a domino” better than a PIP? I can’t. It is great. plug it in
33A. A clever softball clue here: The first half of “Room for sweaters but no shirts?” refers to those who sweat, not clothes. The answer is SAUNA.
43D. The “high-definition disc format” BLU RAY shows up in crossword puzzles about as often as it’s still used in real life—that is, very rarely.
53D. It was in 1976 near the EBOLA River, a tributary of the Congo, that a doctor traveling from Zaire first registered the outbreak of the virus that now bears his name.
solution tip
Use the crosses, Luke
As counterintuitive as it may seem, you don’t have to figure out every word in the daily puzzle to solve it. You just have to figure out enough for the rest to fall into place.
In solving, we call this using the crosses, and it can take many forms. Here are some examples of how I used the crosses to solve today’s puzzle and some general rules to fall back on if you get stuck.
Check at least one crossing clue to confirm a guess. Before you write anything in your boxes, look at another crossroads where you are sure of the answer. Do your two hunches match? Great! I did this at 10-Across because “Unclothed” could be either BARE or NUDE. Comparing with 11-Down, the “First-String Squads”, I saw that only BARE could work with A-TEAMS.
Get ready for a crossing that will prove you wrong. 6D is referred to as “make over,” which led me to more than one RE word. At first I had REVise as the fill, which has three of the correct letters, but noticed that’s why my “stand-up comedian” at 25A had the weird first name ASY. When I had enough letters to type her last name, it all fell into place: AMY SCHUMER unravels REVAMP.
Simply fill out short crossings. I never had to read the clues for INS (32D), SAC (33D), or ARM (34D) because they all crossed the middle section of the grid in such a way that they filled in using three cross clues each. Your luck depends on the order you complete them in, but I enjoy scrolling through the clues after I’ve solved them and finding answers to things I didn’t even know were being asked !
Notes to the Designer
Greetings from Vietnam! I started doing crosswords two years ago to improve my English and thought making crosswords would be the perfect way to take my hobby to the next level. As I am not a native English speaker, posting my riddle boosts my confidence in my English skills!
At first I used AS YOU KNOW as a reveal, but later discarded it because I felt it was too easy – and because the reveal wouldn’t apply to everyone since not everyone knows ADAM SAVAGE. After some more research I discovered AS SEEN ON TV, which is much fancier and narrows the topic.
Unfamiliar with American pop culture, I relied on the frequency of Google search results and looked at past appearances in crosswords to decide which AS to use in a crossword. Further crossword restrictions led me to omit some notable names with the initials AS, such as AMANDA SEYFRIED and ADAM SANDLER. Ultimately, however, I am satisfied with the diverse topic contributions at the end. Some others, like ANAKIN Skywalker and Anna SUI, have managed to sneak in!
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