Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

There was no green in today's grid, as far as we could see, but there must've been a gleam in the eye of the cruciverbalist, Kathy Lowden, as she put this fine puzzle together. There was a lot of pop culture in the crossword, but that's because ... nope, no spoilers! Check out today's episode to find out why. Show note imagery: DOJA Cat, most definitely not in the St. Patrick&a...

Today's crossword was by Ryan McCarty, who specializes in spectacular Saturday crosswords like this one. The clues were challenging, and there was a lot of pop-culture -- Mike's bane, Jean's forté -- but fortunately there were enough non-pop-culture references so that Mike could prosper, and Jean didn't need 'em. In addition to the crossword, we have listener mail, includi...

Brandon Koppy has a knack for writing magnificently deceptive clues, and his gifts are on full display in today's puzzle -- a tough but highly satisfying bit of work. We have all the deets inside, so check it out, as well as a fine Fun Fact Friday™️ segment. Show note imagery: SUGARRAY, creators of some awesome music! We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Dr...

The consensus at JAMDTNYTC HQ is that this was a terrific Thursday crossword , and a limbering up, as it were, in preparation for the grueling Friday and Saturday crosswords yet to come. We were pleased to see OCCAM make an appearance in the grid, as well as a smattering of frqtly. sn. txt. msg. abbrs., including DMED, OTOH, IRL and IPAS (ok, we're not sure about that last one, but the rest m...

It takes just an askance glance at today's grid to know that something's up. Perhaps it's the suspicious symmetry, or the fact that several runs of gray squares seem to have been cut in half. That's because they were cut in half, an essential part of today's cutting edge theme. Now, not that we want to contribute to FOMO, but if you're wondering why that last sentence...

This was a debut crossword by Jared Cappel, and it was a fine one. The theme was sharp, and surrounded by a bevy of equally keen non-themed clues: the result was, as previously noted, fine. A few clues that didn't make into the podcast, but worthy of shoutouts, include: 62A, Compliment on the green, NICEPUTT (fore!); 6D, "I.e.," spelled out, IDEST (Mike's favorite phrase!); and...

One of Will Shortz's greatest innovations was the strategy of making Monday crosswords easy, then making them progressively harder throughout the week, with Saturday being quasi-impossible. [Sunday is often described as a "large Wednesday" in terms of difficulty.]  And it's not like Will forgot his greatest innovation, but this was a trickier-than-usual Monday , which may (or m...

The doctor -- Dr. Michael Schlossberg, to be precise -- was in fine form today, taking a sentimental stroll through the history books. Jean made short work of today's puzzle, deftly drawing upon her apparently infinitely large collection of pop-culture references. Mike, meanwhile, has the advantage of being able to search through his collection much faster: it does not take long to peruse a l...

Joe Deeney has created a daunting looking Saturday grid -- there are oodles of 4-stack answers, and as an ADDEDBONUS, a pinwheel in the center with very few exits into the rest of the puzzle. The clues were definitely of Saturday calibre. As proof, consider 53D, Arabic man's name meaning "servant of God, ABDI; 30D, Scorching, HOTASHADES; 46A, Antonym of "iie" in Japanes, HAI; a...

Today's crossword was a great mental workout, replete with fine, fabulously deceptive clues -- just the kind that you hope for on a Friday. For example, we had 36A, A real no-name, ANON (of course!); 32A, Darkens in the light, say, TANS (how enlightening); and 49A, Buttery topping for paratha, GHEE (oh, gee 🙄).  Those were just a few of the terrific clues in the grid; for more, do check out...

At least one of our cohosts wasn't quite on the same wavelength as today's constructor , Kiran Pandey: the clues and answers just felt a wee bit ... out of sync. Still, professional that they were (in terms of determination and ethics, not income), they managed to persevere and get to the happy music. We have all the deets inside, so please have a listen, and, as always, please encourage...

This was a spookily fun crossword by Rebecca Goldstein, who we are fairly certain won the ORCA Constructor of the Year Award sometime in the not too distant past -- 2024, we read on the internet -- for creating crosswords just like today's. So, to see what it takes to become Constructor of the Year, check out Rebecca's latest and, of course, this episode! Show note imagery: BABKA, fun to...

This was a fine Tuesday-level crossword , the fourth (on the 4th!) for Hanh Huynh. The theme shone, the rest of the fill was quite good, and the end result was, as you will hear in today's episode, highly satisfying.  In addition to our usual banter (including the accidental discovery of the world's first chameleon word™️), we also have our Triplet Tuesday™️ segment. This is your chance...

If you didn't know anything about today's constructor, you'd likely conclude, as did we, that this was a fine Monday crossword . But then, if you discovered that the constructor was 13 years old, you might be tempted to reflect that a) PRODIGY does not often show up in the grid, and b) it certainly applies to Harrison Walden, the aforementioned 13-year-old.  In other developments, w...

Even a casual glance at today's grid will reveal that something's up - seven vertical colored lines that, unsurprisingly, play a huge role in today's theme. The cost of that theme was complexity, but both cohosts agreed that it was worth the effort, as the payoff was huge. Deets inside. A reminder that the NYTimes Crossword makes a great present, and helps keep those little grey cel...

March reputedly comes in like a lion, and today's crossword does the same -- parts of it are ferocious, and it seems to have lots of claws. OK, that last bit might not be true, but it certainly was a challenge, especially those clues in the northern areas of the crossword - above the equator, so to speak. But this was a Saturday, and so we expect challenging clues. It was also a Ryan Judge pu...

Michael Lieberman is an accomplished crossword constructor, having written 27 for the NYTimes. Today's oeuvre had some great clues, including 63A, People may visit them just for kicks, SHOESTORES (ha!); 27D, Like Olympic tracks, LANED (duh!); and 10D, "Enjoy the spread!", LETSEAT (yum!). All in all a great crossword, definitely worth 5 squares on the JAMCR scale. Show note imagery:...

It's been over a year since David Steinberg last graced the pages of the NYTimes crossword, and from our perspective it's been just over a year too long. David always crafts whip-smart puzzles, and today's is a perfect  example . We have all the deets inside, so check it out! Also, as long as you're following our admonitions, we would be delighted if you could tell all your cro...

Both cohosts found today's crossword to be a wee bit crunchier than usual (to use a technical cruciverbial term meaning, loosely translated, "really, really hard" 😀). This was, no doubt, in service to a fantabulous theme that is slyly referred to in the episode title, and explored at length in today's podcast.  Show note imagery: Need a WRAP? First, you're gonna need a so...

Rena Cohen, who we just saw in the NYTimes crossword last month is back again , and she remains at the top of her game. For proof -- OK, for strong anecdotal evidence -- check out today's podcast. Bonus points if you can guess, in advance, which Spanish museum Mike was thoroughly unable to pronounce.  Show note imagery: Dost thine eyes deceive thee? No, tis true, tis a Gumby on a Frisbee 😀 ...

This marks Greg Snitkin's second NYTimes crossword , almost one year, to the day, since his debut. The crossword had some fun entries, including 63A, Call it an early night?, DUSK ; 46A, "Who's interested?", ANYONE; and the memorable 30A, Call after last call?, DRUNKDIAL. In today's episode, Jean tackles the theme, both cohosts take a trek through the grid, and then Mike d...

There were some very nice pairings in today's crossword: The oh-so-close 7D, Sound of a smooth-running engine, PURR, and 45D, Catherine ___, wife of Henry VIII, PARR 😀 The numerically related 89A, 11, literally, ONES, and 78D, 110, facetiously, ELEVENTY the homonymously-related 10D, Forget to finish writing a clue, mayb, ERR, and 53A, Word with lock or pocket, AIR and, as they say, much, muc...

Apologies for not wishing people a happy GALENTINESDAY earlier, but as one of our cohosts had never heard of the word until doing today's superb crossword , and the other deigned to mention it, it is only now, 8 days late but writing fast, that we are in a position to  wish you and yours a happy GALENTINESDAY.  We might've been late vis-a-vis GALENTINESDAY, but we are right on time when...

Today's episode explores Colin Adams' fifth NYTimes crossword , which is just as good as his other four, i.e., great! It was a tough but rewarding puzzle, requiring a lot of head scratching and memory palace exploration. In short, it was a perfect Friday! In honor of Friday, we're featuring our Fun Fact Friday™️ segment. We don't want to entirely spoil it, but let's just s...

This was a debut crossword for Peter Gorman, and it was splendid. The theme was definitely unique -- we've seen none like it in recent memory -- and there were a number of excellent clues, including 61A, Hot spot, OVEN (cute!); 34A, Who said "A dress is a piece of ephemeral architecture", DIOR (profound!); and 57D, Locale depicted in Bosch's "The Garden of Earthly Delights...