EZ connects certain adverbs to the word "as", like "almost", "just", and "about":
+--EZ-+
| |
I did it almost as quickly as he did
The expression "[number] times" can also be used in this way;
"I did it three times as quickly as he did". The only usage of
"as" that can be modified in this way is the first "as" in a
comparative expression;
"*I did it as quickly almost as he did".
Thus "EZ-" only appears on "as.y",
which is the dictionary expression for this usage.