Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

While today's crossword did not have a Thanksgiving Day theme, it did have a theme for which we are thankful: one that was relatively straightforward but still quite amusing. This is unsurprising, as it comes from the pen (or app) of Zhouqin Burnikel, who has perfected, in our opinion, the Monday theme. Deets inside. Show note imagery: The Medusa of desserts: just looking at it might cause yo...

Today's crossword was a splendid work from an always entertaining constructor, aka Michael Lieberman.  The themed clues in particular appear engineered to put a smile on your face — if they don't, consult your plastic surgeon ASAP — and we would judge the difficulty level to be spot on for a Sunday. Bravo, Michael! Show note imagery: Dr. Christiaan Barnard, a pioneering cardiac surgeon w...

This was a very entertaining and  relatively straightforward Saturday crossword by David Levinson Wilk, arguably easier than Friday's — but, as always, YMMV depending on what's in your wheelhouse. Jean (in absentia but reporting from her crossword-conducive hideaway) found it to be a bit of tussle, whereas, surprisingly, Mike had only two places where he really needed to put his muse to...

Now this was a Friday crossword — themeless, tricky, and highly entertaining. We have to applaud 39A, It's mine, all mine!, EGO; scratch our heads at 44D, "Gymnopédies" composer, SATIE; and will, shortly after this podcast, be off to investigate 58A, Hidden element of FedEx's logo. Those were just three of scores of similarly high-caliber clues.  TLDR: another fine effort from...

Rachel Grey and John Kugelman have collaborated on a very clever Thursday crossword , based on a dizzying theme that it took both cohosts no little time to suss out. Fortunately — and we have proof — one did not need to grok the theme in order to solve the puzzle.  The clues that surrounded the theme were also first-class. There was something very 19th century about 43D, Under a parasol, say, SHAD...

Listeners may recall that the appearance of ROTI or NAAN in the grid immediately drives us to xwordinfo.com to check out the number of times each has appeared in a crossword. As a consequence of today's fine puzzle , ROTI is up by one, so ... yay, ROTI!  😀  We consider ourselves to be up by much more than that, for this was a wonderful Wednesday crossword with some sharp cluing. A few entrie...

This was definitely a Tuesday crossword , and we say that not just because of the calendar. The clues were slightly trickier than yesterday's, but still eminently doable with a little cogitation (and a few well-placed crosses). While not everyone is familiar with, say, 14A, Classical Persian poet, RUMI; 64D, Bank with a lion in its logo, ING; or 30A, Who said "Revolutions are the locomot...

It's been a hot minute since Chase Dittrich's last NYTimes crossword, but he's here now with a fine Monday effort . The theme was engineered for Monday solvers, and while most of the answers were common enough, there were a few that neither cohost had heard before — always a good thing. Being a Monday, we have another JAMCOTWA™️ (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award) segment fo...

Kathryn Bale's absolutely fabulous debut crossword is in honor of a holiday that we had no idea existed until tackling Kathryn's puzzle. In our defense, the holiday first came into existence in 2020, and its appearance in today's crossword appears to be the first time it's been mentioned anywhere in the NYTimes. What is that holiday, you ask? Check out today's episode and...

Kameron Austin Collins, aka KAC, specializes in tough Friday and Saturday crosswords. Today's is a perfect example , with cunning clueing everywhere you look in the grid. We can't say enough good things about it, but we gave it the ol' college try in today's episode, so ... enjoy! Show note imagery: DIANFOSSEY, a real primatologist's primatologist! We love feedback! Send u...

This was a perfectly crafted crossword to wrap up the work week — not too hard, not too easy, but juuuuust right. It included some awesome clues, for example: 57A, Figure with three faces, in Dante, SATAN (not, as Mike originally theorized, CERBEBUS);  44D, Beads for an athlete, SWEAT (cool! ... which is sort of the point); and  59A, They're stretched out before some workouts, MATS And there...

Jill Singer's fourth NYTimes crossword was a great way to start October, with a legion of edutaining clues — and if that's not a real portmanteau, let's just call it slang and move on 😀. We certainly were educated and entertained by 9D, Great Basin tribe, PAIUTE; likewise by the very witty 48A, Is long ago?, EST; and, more edu- and less -taining, 9A, Some instructors, for short, PR...

Unsurprisingly, themed crosswords rise and fall on the strength of their themes. In this case the theme causes the crossword to rise, but there are a slew of other clues in the puzzle that make it soar . Besides the awesome ones covered in today's episode, there was a clue written for onomatopoeia-ists: 57A, Pie-in-the-face sound, SPLAT; another for the math majors in the crowd: 42D, Trig fun...

This was a fine Tuesday crossword by Hahn Huynh. The theme was novel, and the supporting cast of characters elsewhere in the grid were plentiful and suitably perplexing. We had to rule out several obscure answers before solving 1D, Address ending that's not .com, .org or .gov, EDU (not MIL nor BIZ, and definitely not INFO). It took us a HOTMINUTE to figure out 25A, Pretty long time, in an idi...

This, Helen Chen's second NYTimes Crossword, slung a lot of slang (which for the sake of argument let's pretend is grammatically correct 🙄), but it was all for a very good cause, as today's episode will reveal. In addition to the crossword, we have chosen our JAMCOTWA™️ (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award), and we've awarded it to a gifted constructor for a highly chall...

Adam Wagner's 35th NYTimes crossword was a doozy that just might make you dizzy, so strap in before you try it! And once you have, come back right here to check out our analysis of this spectacular piece of work. We won't divulge the theme right here, but merely note that it was such an attention getter that a slew of other marvelous clues got lost in the glare.  Among the many worthies...

Now this was a Saturday crossword, and there are two key tells that give it away. First, of course, the calendar never lies — it's Saturday. Secondly, the clues were deliciously devious, definitely pegging the difficulty meter in multiple areas. We have clue-by-clue coverage inside, so have a listen, and, if you like what you hear, please spread the word among your friends/family/colleagues/r...

We would venture to guess that today, Friday, is Rafael Musa's favorite day of the week. He certainly knows how to construct Friday-level crosswords, with just the right ratio of confoundment to merriment. Today's puzzle is a case in point. In addition to the crossword, we also have a delightful Fun Fact Friday🥳 segment for your listening pleasure. All that's available right now, a...

The NYTimes crossword has its standards (as in an expectation of excellence: no dreck allowed) and its standards (rules/conventions that must be followed). We are pleased to announce that its standards (former) remain as high as ever, and that its standards (latter) have been temporarily set aside, resulting in the glorious  puzzle that it is our privilege to discuss today.  Years from now, we pre...

There were several quite intriguing clues in today's grid. Your cohosts found 62A, Instrument also called the "sprightly companion", OBOE, to be the intriguiest* of the lot. Mike's curiosity was piqued by 33D, Jay's reticent partner of filmdom, SILENTBOB, while Jean was at least mildly surprised by 3D, "Star Wars" series starring Diego Luna, ANDOR. Both found 4D,...

The name "Erik Agard" has been known to cause crossword solvers to quake in their boots, because the esteemed gentlemen has crafted some very challenging puzzles in his time. Since today's was a Tuesday crossword, however, Erik did manage to dial it down appropriately, and turn in this fine homage to one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century. No revealers here, but we will s...

Today's crossword was a great start to our puzzle-solving week. The theme was très amusant, as the French like to say, definitely worth the price of admission. The clues were designed for novice crossword solvers, but still had a certain joie de vivre (as the French also like to say) about them — we're looking at you, 31A, Hair parter, COMB; 27D, Paves the way?, TARS; and speaking of Fre...

Tracy Gray has had 38 crosswords published in the NYTimes, including 13 Sundays. We'd call today's work a typical TG puzzle, except for the fact that there is no such thing: her creations are all unique. The only thing that they have in common is a bevy of novel clues, and a theme that you probably didn't see coming. We discuss the latter, at length, in today's episode. Just to...

This was a lively Saturday crossword , thanks in part to Hannah Slovut's talent at working exciting new answers into the grid: there were a total of 10 debuts, not too shabby at all. Even the non-debut answers were exciting. There were at least 4 that neither cohost had ever heard of before, for which we are quite grateful. There's more inside, so have a listen, and please don't for...

Ryan Mathiason's third NYTimes crossword, and his first Friday, was an elegant piece of cruciverbial magic . We like clues that educate —13A, Modern tech aid whose design was inspired by a Go board, QRCODE; clues that make us think — 31D, Act like yourself, perhaps?, DOACAMEO, and especially clues that allow us revel in the joys of English — 40A, Two in a row?, FOES. There were, manifestly, m...