Will Shortz pretty much lives crossword puzzles. The editor of the esteemed New York Times crossword puzzle, the puzzle master for NPRs Weekend Sunday, and the founder of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, Shortz has a hand in every professional puzzle pie. Shortz sold his first puzzle at age 14 and hasnt stop constructing black-and-white word grids since. Hes such a hard-core puzzler that he even earned a college degree in enigmatology, or the study of puzzles a degree he created for himself through the universitys individualized major program. Surely, theres no better person on Earth to lecture on the history of the crossword puzzle, one of the topics of his Thursday-afternoon appearance in Delray Beach. His lecture will include audience participation, so brush up on your enigmatology if you want to impress your friends and, more important, the master himself. Shortzs lecture starts at 2 p.m. at the Crest Theatre at Old School Square, 51 N. Swinton Ave. in Delray Beach. Tickets cost $25. Call 561-243-7922, or visit oldschool.org.
Thu., April 7, 2 p.m., 2011