NY Times Crossword
August 2, 2015
Matt Ginsberg
(Title shown below)

What special feature is shared by the following words and phrases?

MINCEMEAT
DRIFT APART
SPLIT SECOND
TORN TO SHREDS
UNBROKEN

Answer:

Each word or phrase is self-descriptive. In MINCEMEAT, MEAT is "minced" by the intervening letters - MincEmeAT.

DRIFt aparT - DRIFT is "apart"
Split sECOND - SECOND is "split"
TOrn to SHREDS - TO SHREDS is "torn"
UnbrokenN - UN is "broken" 

Puzzle title: LITERALLY SPEAKING

Personal note from JA: It seems simple once you see the solution, but that's the work of a master constructor. I think this is an elegant puzzle. The second half is posted on 11/23/18.