Whats a 10-Letter Word for a Crossword Fanatic Who Loves Puzzles, Ping-Pong, and Pleasantville?
As I approach the basement room of Hastings-on-Hudson community center, I hear grunts and the manic sound of Ping-Pong; the Rivertowns Table Tennis Club is in full swing. There, playing ferociously, tongue stuck out in concentration and sweat trickling down his face, is the New York Times’ crossword-puzzle editor, Will Shortz. Go ahead and try to finish one of his puzzles. But whatever you do, do not challenge this man to a game of table tennis. “Will can rip your soul out” with his paddle, says club member and friend Steve Zeitlin, with admiration. “He is an intensely competitive table-tennis player and a very good one,” says Hastings resident Bob Mankoff, also a club member and the New Yorker’s cartoon editor. “But he’s also very nice. He’ll say, ‘Good shot!’ or ‘I wish I could do that!'” says Mankoff. “You win on compliments even as you’re losing on points.” Shortz’s ability to focus is remarkable. He is so passionate about table tennis that he plays for at least three hours daily,
