Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

At the NYTimes, the Saturday crosswords are traditionally the toughest of the week, and today's, a debut (!) by Katie Hoody , is certainly in that vein. Although difficult, the clues were awesome, making that wondrous AHA! moment that comes when you solve one just that much sweeter. For example, we had the magnificent 8D, Took in a bad way, POACHED (woah!); 56D, Lead follower: Abbr, DET ( def...

There was a lot of sparkle in today's crossword - the 10th for the NYTimes by Billy Bratton. We were impressed by the inclusion of 22A, Online provocateur, in slang, EDGELORD (it felt like a debut, and it was); 13D, Prepares for a bomb, GOESDEEP (brilliant!); and we especially appreciated the clue in 23D, Lugubrious, GLUM.   In related news, we have a delicious Fun Fact Friday segment, so che...

A nice bit of cruciverbial magic by Grant Boroughs, his third NYTimes publication. There were many excellent clues lurking about in the grid, including 8D, Confidently struts, SASHAYS (just a day after SWAGGERS swaggered its way into a puzzle); 57A, Ungulate feature, HOOF (we just like the opportunity to say/think/write the word Ungulate); 13D, Legislative collectives, BODIES (of course ... in ret...

Today's crossword was brilliant, and that's not just because of the cracklingly good theme that Jeffrey Lease has penned, but it certainly is a major reason why. We found the top-left particularly crunchy (i.e., tough), but eventually all the grid yielded its secrets, including 16A, Dwarf planet with the largest mass, ERIS (not, as Mike was convinced for about 45 minutes, and Jean for 30...

This crossword - the second for the NYTimes by Justin Werfel - was everything that you would expect  of a Tuesday NYTimes crossword - fun, educational, and, as befitting its position in the week, not too difficult. It did have its moments, however: 51D, End of a sonnet, often, SESTET; 46D, "Little Shop of Horrors" lyricist Howard, ASHMAN; and 52A, Name of Athena's shield, AEGIS, wer...

Today's crossword has a terrific theme, but the supporting cast of clues was also impressive, with gems all over the grid. For instance, 9D, Good "Wheel of Fortune" buy for TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL, ANO (absolutely brilliant!); 51D, "No playing" signs, RESTS (very nice); 87D, Thick plank of a ship, WALE (ok, now we know). Can there be any doubt that this is worth a full 5 squar...

This was one of our favorite Saturday crosswords this year - tough but fair, with cheery clues to educate and delight. We've covered most of them in today's podcast, but even the ones that were left on the cutting-room floor were good: 35D, Chest bump?, PEC, and 48D, Whirl, so to speak, TRY. For all these reasons this opus, by Natan Last, has won a highly sought after JAMCOTWA -- Jean An...

An elegant Friday crossword by Zhouqin Burnikel, her 80th for the NYTimes(!). Jean hit a few snags in the bottom right, whereas Mike spun his wheels in the central and upper right regions, before finally getting traction. A fun time was (eventually) had by all, and we have the deets inside, as well as a fine Fun Fact Friday segment (if we do say so ourselves, ... which we do!) Show note imagery: P...

This is a fine debut crossword by Rena Cohen, with an aptly large number of debut entries to accompany a clever but initially cryptic theme. It involved a rebus, but evolved into the rather important question of where should that rebus go? We have the deets inside, so we cordially invite you to check out today's episode. As a reminder, as you are listening to today's podcast, it always h...

A perfect midweek crossword by Luke K. Schreiber that has echos of yesterday's puzzle. You will recall (or if not, check out our podcast), that yesterday we had a slew of cryptids that couldn't quite be seen clearly. Today we have 13 animals that are, essentially, in hiding; and that entertaining similarity is due, no doubt, to the NYTimes Crossword editor (and person who we hope can be...

Kevin Curry and Jeff Chen have teamed up to create a fun Tuesday crossword , based on an ingenious attempt to merge myth and mystery. We won't say any more about it here (as October is No Spoiler Month), but we have plenty to say about it in today's podcast, so do have a listen. Beyond our dissection of today's puzzle, we are also delighted to announce the winners of our latest Trip...

Today's crossword , by Alexander Liebeskind, does what all good Monday crosswords should do: offer entertaining clues and not crush the spirit of crossword solvers just getting their feet wet. Our favorite entry? 39D, Loud and unhappy sports fans, in slang, BOOBIRDS, although we were also quite taken by 6D, Empire whose capital city was Tenochtitlán: AZTEC.  Show note imagery: Tenochtitlán, i...

Joe Deeney has gotten accolades for writing terrific crosswords, and today's puzzle, we are pleased to report, continues the streak. The theme is ingenious, there are lots of gems everywhere you look in the grid, all-in-all a nice bit of work. Deets inside, as well as a return of our "Oh, That's How You Pronounce It" segment, -- which, astonishingly, may provoke the need for an...

You know when a grid has words like HORCHATA and AORTAE lurking inside that the puzzle is going to be tough, and that is most definitely the case today, in this epic Saturday crossword by Margaret Seikel, her 9th for the NYTimes, and her first Saturday entry. Jean got through it much faster than Mike, but both were able to persevere and had a grand time, as today's podcast makes abundantly cl...

Today's crossword , Jake Bunch's second for the NYTimes, and his second Friday, was splendid: even though Friday crosswords are typically themeless, this did have a meta-theme, really, really intriguing clues. Beyond those mentioned in the podcast, we had 59A, Composer for whom Poland's largest airport is named, CHOPIN; 26D, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.: Abbr, STS (oh, of course!); and an an...

This is Jesse Guzman's first ever NYTimes crossword , and they've started off with a bang, with a theme that took both cohosts (working independently, as they are wont to do) quite some time to suss out, but that AHA! moment was assuredly worth the wait. There were some other great clues in the grid, including 61A, They take off marks at school, ERASERS (😀); 58A, Final circuit in a trac...

This is Peter Gordon's 129th NYTimes crossword , and a perfect example of why the NYTimes keeps publishing his work. The theme is brilliant, the clues sharp and, pardon the pun, upbeat -- quite a lot to like. We have the deets inside, just waiting for you to download all that goodness. Our Triplet Tuesday Contest is going strong, so if you haven't participated yet, listen to Tuesday&apos...

Today's episode is action-packed, but at its heart is a crossword by Kevin L. Shellito, his debut, and an excellent debut it is, with some ingenious cluing and a delightful theme - deets inside. Also, we're hosting another Triplet Tuesday Contest, so get ready to play along and then email us how many clues it took you, in total, to guess all 3 answers. Good luck, and may the most deservi...

We're starting the work week with a pleasing Monday crossword by Freddie Cheng, his 17th for the NYTimes. It had a straightforward, cute theme, and quite a few musicians in the grid, including 35D, "At Last" jazz singer, ETTAJAMES; 28D, Pop star Gomez, SELENA; 15D, Piaf who sang "La Vie en Rose", EDITH; and the ubiquitous (at least in the NYTimes crossword) 7D, Brian of am...

Today's puzzle was a delight - harkening back to an old movie (whose name we will not reveal here, to maintain the suspense), and with some crisp, entertaining cluing -- in short, the NYTimes Sunday crossword at its best. We dive into details on that, and have a nice bit of listener mail to boot, so delay no longer! Download, listen up, and enjoy! A reminder, our next Triplet Tuesday Contest...

Joel Fagliano's given us a bit of a breather, a challenging but relatively straightforward Saturday crossword -- certainly in comparison to the last few weeks, we're still recovering from Sam Ezrsky's last epic. The clues were fun and entertaining, though: 38D, Box office?, CUBICLE; 14D, U.S. city with the motto "Where Discoveries are Made", LOSALAMOS; and (ahem) 54A, Butt...

This was a fine, challenging, themeless Friday crossword by Jackson Matz (his second Friday puzzle, and third overall). It is refreshing, after struggling with a theme some days, to get a break, even though that break is tempered by the fact that, as a Friday, the clues tend to become more devious. How else could you describe 23A, Pilot productions?, PENS (ha!) or 45A, Like you and me, MORTAL (hmm...

It seems that on Thursdays anything can happen in the NYTimes crossword, and today it seems that everything happened, all at once, in one place. You'll see what we mean when you listen to today's episode, now waiting calmly on our servers for you to tap download and shortly thereafter experience exhilaration/education/etcetera. Show note imagery: the greatest MIME of all TIME, Marceal Ma...

If you haven't visited Rome, you can at least check out two of its many awesome attractions thanks to Casey Callaghan and Will Nediger, the authors of today's puzzle . Beyond those (we will refrain from describing the attractions here, to heighten the suspense), we had some great clues. Nostalgia, courtesy of 46A, ______ Basil, singer of the 1982 hit "Mickey", TONI; a tad of ed...

There were a boatload of O's in today's grid , but they were there for a reason, that being to flesh out a wonderful debut crossword by Howard Neuthaler. A good crossword not only entertains and challenges, but teaches, and this one, by that standard, was a great one. To learn what we learned, and to hear about a new Triplet Tuesday contest coming up next week, all you need to do is down...