Zachary David Levy author page

State postal codes are so overdone that it often seems impossible for yet another one to get published. Yet Zachary innovated in an engaging way, playing on STATE LINES by abutting two states that touch each other in real life, at the end of one word and the start of another, as in ROYAL FLUSH. We've adjusted the grid below to show the four heavy lines in the print version. We've also highlighted the adjoining states to ensure no one misses what's happening.

My deficiencies in geography are well-documented, as when I mixed up Wisconsin and Wyoming once, much to my wife's amusement/horror. This Seattleite does know that Oregon and Washington touch, but Kansas and Colorado? Even after spending a lot of time in Indiana, where my mother-in-law lives, I'd have to sell my soul to the DEVIL INCARNATE to figure out any other possibilities off the top of my head.

(Thanks, Google maps! Google already owns my soul, anyway.)

Even after studying the US map, I was mystified by STARBUCKS COFFEE. Isn't Kansas to the east of Colorado, not the west? Is my geographic idiocy because I've been looking at the map upside down all these years?

Of course, only the most anal of pedants would require 100% geographical accuracy in this concept. It should be enough that ALabama and FLorida touch, yet I'm hardly a COMPANY MAN when it comes to themes. I'd have loved four great finds that also exhibited correct geographical relative positioning, like BOTANICAL GARDEN and such. Could even have run some vertically, like PARLOR CAR.

Maddening overanalysis aside, I enjoyed the creative extra level that elevated from the wasteland of postal codes themes. Impeccable gridwork, too.

Rhyme generally doesn't pay these days in crosswords since it's a well-worn genre, but if your endings use drastically different spellings, they can still thrill. Great selection of themers, spicing up the finds by incorporating them into colorful phrases like FAST AND LOOSE and WHAT THE DEUCE.

Neat that -EUS is the only spelling Katie and Zachary missed. Absolutely the right call not to jamba something like CULT OF ZEUS into the puzzle.

Fun start to the puzzle, NASA crossing ASTRA. I'd usually avoid the latter in an early-week puzzle, but that's an entertaining pairing. Maybe it's too science-y for some with HYPOTENUSE already in the mix, but my only complaint was that HYPOTENUSE wasn't diagonal, connecting with OPPOSITE and ADJACENT to form a trigonometric picture.

Man, I'm square.

Er, triangular.

Clever use of cheater squares in the upper left and lower right. The second J of JAMBA JUICE reduces flexibility so that extra black square comes in clutch. I'm not wild about newb friends running into NENE crossing MIEN, but it could have been much worse without that cheater.

LAY TO WASTE and STOOD ASIDE are fine long Downs. Nothing spectacular, but they do the trick. I appreciated the efforts to amp up the mid-length fill, SLY NOD and SPOOFS giving some BOOSTS.

There are all sorts of subgenres within rhyming themes, and this one still works well enough.

★ I'm obsessed with Money Heist on Netflix, down to the level of wondering what city code name I'd choose for myself. Considering I'd be one of the lackeys melting down the gold while everyone else got all the glory, I'll have to go with Peoria.

Put today's puzzle IN THE BANK, because it worked so well as a newb-friendly crossword, featuring things one might see in a BANK: a VAULT, TELLER, some SAVINGS and DEPOSITs. I initially glossed over POLE VAULT as I focused on SAVINGS and DEPOSITS, so it was a treat to go back and discover that was part of the theme. Almost all of them were so well disguised, that it wasn't until I hit BOTTLE DEPOSIT that I figured out what was going on.

It's a shame BOTTLE DEPOSIT isn't as sparkly as the other themers. Perhaps MINERAL DEPOSIT would have at least disguised the concept of a monetary transaction.

It's been so long since I stepped into a bank, I'm not sure what else I'd see. I like that Zach covered all the major items, making this a tight set. Adds a touch of elegance.

Touch of pizzazz, too, what with SELF PITY and NFL TEAMS as standout bonuses. Excellent use of mid-length slots, too, with AGE OLD, Bob MARLEY, CREOLE, CT SCAN, ATTILA the Hun, NONFAT — that's a ton of solid material.

Not wild about ESSO or DYS, but those are minor shorties. The river LETHE isn't as featured in Greek mythology as the Styx, but the crossings are reasonable.

An extra layer can help a puzzle stand out in today's ultra-competitive crossworld, with the NYT accepting about 4% of submissions. A dynamite phrase can serve that need, the colorful IN THE BANK helping this one (warning, terrible pun ahead!) gain interest.

Little known fact: my friends call me "The Notorious J.Y.C."

Little known to my friends, that is.

Years ago, I went through a similar process to Zach's when I first heard THE NOTORIOUS RBG. What a nickname! Ultimately, I wasn't interested in doing a "tribute puzzle," so I assembled a mini-themed themeless.

I enjoyed the material about RBG. I wasn't aware of ON THE BASIS OF SEX or FLATBUSH, or that she went to COLUMBIA, so I'm glad to learn these facts about a person I admire. (Embarrassingly, I've read more than one biography on her yet still didn't know these things.)

Why print this today? Tribute puzzles usually work best for a birthday or anniversary of an important date. Or another event which I won't name because … you know. It'd have been great to save this one for March 15, RBG's birthday. She turns 88 next year, so it's not an important birthday, but it's better than nothing.

I loved that northwest corner, a rare treat to get so many goodies in a Tuesday puzzle. PROSIT crossing IPAS might be tough, but sprinkling in PREAMBLE, RUNS RIOT, ENTRAP into an RBG crossword is so worth it. It's a little known secret that corners like this aren't too tricky — if you have a solid word list — since only one row is constrained.

Not as enamored with SOCIO, and the killer TRAC/ALIF/HILO crossings. That's often a tort incurred when you don't separate themers enough, like COLUMBIA over JUSTICE. See also: tough ABSCAM and ASIANA, partial-sounding READ EM. Court is in session …

A solid debut. I wonder if there will be some outcry from conservative solvers, though. RBG is admirably tough and a seeker of justice, but she's not been without controversy.