South Lakes Senior Has a Way With Words

SLHS' Sam Ezersky creates crossword puzzles that are published in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times.

NORTHERN VIRGINIA -- A local teenager's affinity for crossword puzzles began at a Hair Cuttery where there were half-finished books of word games. Sam Ezersky, then age 6, quickly filled in the missing words while he waited for his family. Ezersky is now a South Lakes High School senior and a crossword puzzle creator. In the past year, Ezersky has had three puzzles published in the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times. "The concept of interlocking words is amazing to me," he says. Ezersky, like many a fan of crossword puzzles, says he can do a weekday New York Times puzzle in about three minutes. The vaunted Sunday one, of course, takes a little longer. But the path to creating and publishing puzzles in these major publications is not …

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