Andrew Linzer author page

★ SHAZAM ALADDIN BAZOOKA might earn my vote for the snazziest 3x7 corner of all time. It can be challenging to milk 7-letter slots to their full potential, and to include GAME DAY — with not a single piece of short supporting fill sticking out — is amazing. This corner is cause for a GALA in itself.

David Steinberg went through a phase of exploring quintets of stairstacked 9s, and it was fascinating to hear his technical analysis. Andrew's version is much more segmented than any of David's, but that's precisely what allowed so many of his long slots to shine. I like the trade-off. As long as the grid doesn't get too choked off — the upper left and lower right corners are borderline but acceptable — I'd almost always prefer color to technical wizardry. Being able to fill out each of the five subsections (the four corners and the middle) nearly independently from each other is a tremendous advantage.

And Andrew sure took full advantage! FACTORIES is more neutral than an asset, but every other long slot vibes with jazz. And when you JAZZ (DANCE) up FACTORIES with an innocent "where jobs may be on the (factory) line," that flips the boring entry into the plus column.

I struggled mightily with the lower left corner, baffled by the question mark in [Venue for computer chips?]. Well worth pushing through my frustration, as that clue earns a WSOP bracelet.

Along with a handful of other clever clues, like the everyday ERODES shored up with [Breaks the (river) bank?], I had such an incredible solving experience. SHAZAM, indeed!

★ Mind-bending concept, three animals replaced by their collective noun. Three CROWs equal a MURDER, three LIONs a PRIDE, and three ANTs a COLONY. I love the innovation within the old-hat rebus genre, making for a memorable debut.

Memorable gridwork, too. Consider how many themers Andrew had to work with. It's not simply four Acrosses, but nine crossing Downs — triplets crammed together! There are so few possibilities containing LION, it's miraculous that any arrangement of SCALLION, PAVILION, A MILLION BUCKS worked.

I especially appreciated the gridwork in the BOLO TIE region, where so many themers interacted. With PRIDE MONTH lacing through CROWD NOISE and MICROWATT, I'd expect globs of crossword epoxy holding it all together. Such smooth results — with so few black squares in that area, allowing for not just BOLO TIE but also BRUNEI. Brilliant!

My frustratingly obsessive brain held me back from giving this an auto-POW!, as it raised a yellow flag, immediately recalling Paolo's Fireball. There are so many similarities. First reaction: ugh.

However, this is almost surely a product of constraints. So many of the themers have so few options, that if you asked 100 experienced constructors to work up this concept, I bet that out of the 10 who didn't stab their eyes out, 8 or 9 would arrive at something approaching this northwest corner.

Should Paolo's prior art take away from Andrew's debut? Paolo's isn't easy to find, the themers not even showing up on Matt Ginsberg's extensive database, and it ran in a different publication with a different target audience. Given the fact that constructors come up with identical ideas independently all the time — just like scientists — I shook off my hesitations.

This is the type of envelope-pushing I love to see in Thursday puzzles. It's a shame that Andrew got there much later than Paolo, but hopefully NYT tricksy Thursdays will continue to push boundaries in even more creative ways.