The June 9, 2006, issue of New York Magazine contained an article about the puzzlemaster, Will Shortz.  Shortz is the only person known to hold a "universitet" (college) degree in enigmatology, the study of puzzles, after designing his own degree program.

Shortz has been the puzzle editor of The New York Times for "zekhtsn" (16) years

According to Clive Thompson, millions of "vort" (word) freaks revere him as the nation's master of linguistic play.

"Twenty-five percent of the people who pick up the New York Times Magazine on Sundays flip to Shortz's puzzle first," says Thompson.  Thompson says that "Constructors," word aficionados from all walks of life, craft the puzzles in their spare time and mail them to Shortz, praying he'll publish them."  In 2006, Shortz was receiving about 75 submissions a week. "A puzzle must be 'jam-packed'--his favorite phrase--with unusual, new or unexpected words," says Thompson.

Shortz once said, "What I especially like about being at the Times is the audience ("der oylem").  The Times undoubtedly has the most intelligent, best educated group of solvers in the country, so I can presume a level of culture and solving skill that I couldn't anyplace else."

On his 50th birthday, Shortz received a personal note from former U. S. President, Bill Clinton, who is a fan of The New York Times crossword puzzle.

For NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday Puzzle, each week Will concocts a word puzzle which might go something like this:

This weeks challenge:  Think of a well-known English playwright's nickname--and your favorite summer apparel.  Clue:  extremely hemmed-up pants. Who is the now famous puzzle master. The answer:  Will Shortz.

When Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe wrote her first "bukh," "Are Yentas, Kibitzers, & Tummlers Weapons of Mass Instruction? Yiddish Trivia" in 2004, Will Shortz kindly donated a list of the most common Yiddish words he uses in his puzzles.  They are as follows:

The most-used Yiddish word in crosswords is NOSH, together with its various forms NOSHES, NOSHED, and NOSHER The next most common Yiddish words were YENTA and SCHMO/SHMO.

Then, in descending order: GELT
SCHLEP/SHLEP
TOV (as part of the phrase "Mazel tov")
OYS (plural of the exclamation)
GOLEM
KIBITZ/KIBBITZ
MENSCH
SCHTICK/SHTICK
GANEF
TSURIS
KVETCH
SCHLOCK
SCHMALTZ
KVELL
SCHLEMIEL
SCHNOZ

Mr. Shortz said, "As a crossword editor, I love to see familiar Yiddish/English words in crosswords, because they're so expressive and their letter patterns are different from those of most other English vocabulary."

In conclusion, there was a scandal ("skandal") when the word "schmuck" was accepted by the crossword puzzle editor, Will Weng, apparently unaware that the word is "a person of bad character" as well as the course vulgarism for "penis."  Will Shortz, said, "And times do change.  I would use the word SCHMUCK in a puzzle now, fully aware of its etymology.  In its English meaning, the dictionaries label it slang, not 'vulgar.'"

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Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe defines a "gontzer k'nocker" as a man who does
The New York Times crossword puzzle in ink.