Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

There was a lot to like in today's crossword , the sixth by Juliana Tringali Golden. A futuristic theme, a lot of fun clues, and any puzzle that can work SMAUG into the grid (65A, The Hobbit dragon) deserves our respect. We also have a dollop of listener mail to round off today's episode, so check it out, and, as always, please tell others about us on social media. Show note imagery: ISS...

Today's crossword (by Josh Goodman, his second!) is an homage to one of Alabe Craft / Ideal Toy / Mattel's greatest inventions, the Magic 8 Ball 😀. There were quite a few pop-culture references today -- 28D, Actress Diane of 1998's Parenthood, WEIST; 35A, Estefan with a Presidential Medal of Freedom, EMILIO; and the aforementioned 32D, Banjoist Fleck, BELA (quite good, btw: check t...

A debut crossword by Margi Stevenson, and an excellent debut it is -- not too easy, not too hard, but just right. and to find out why that last subclass was so droll, have a listen to today's podcast, where all will be revealed! Show note imagery: The last SAAB 9-3 ever made 😢 We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.com...

If you like bad puns, then you will  love today's crossword . If not ... well, you'll likely still  marvel at the artistry that went into today's puzzle. We now consider ourselves charter members of the Ginny Too Fan Club, and after listening to today's podcast, we think you'll want to sign up too! Show note imagery: Paul ERDOS, captured at one of the few moments of the da...

In a remarkable role reversal, Jean found today's crossword to be epically and especially tough, but after inexplicably uttering the phrase "hold my beer", managed to wrestle said puzzle into submission, in a legendary, marathon session which will no doubt inspire many lusty tales of cruciverbial derring-do. Show note imagery: The TREVI Fountains, in Rome, an awesome place to visit!...

Enrique Henestroza Anguiano has set a high bar for this weekend's crosswords, with a Friday tour de force -- challenging, educational, and fun, definitely worth 5 squares on the JAMCR scale. To find out why it deserves such high praise, do check out today's podcast. Show note imagery: Fiat HQ, in TURIN, Italy We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop u...

Today's theme was, simply put, delicious -- and not the least bit cheesy. You'll understand why once you've listened to today's episode and/or solved the crossword, so have at it and ... bon appetit! Show note imagery: A mural, made by a MURALIST in Kaukauna, Wisconsin We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@iclo...

Our intrepid cohosts experienced slightly different solving sojourns as they worked (independently as always) on today's puzzle . Jean cruised through it like a hot knife through a Dairy Queen Blizzard, Mike ... did not, because for an astonishing span of time, in the vicinity of 40A, Bupkis, he had, well, Bupkis (as opposed to the correct answer, NADA). Deets inside, so have a listen, and as...

There are two universities in today's grid, but only one of them can help prevent cavities. To decipher this cryptic sentence, as well as enjoy the rest of our analysis of this fine work by Seth Bisen-Hersch and Jeff Chen , all you need to do is download and listen up to today's episode, where -- bonus! -- you can check out our world famous Triplet Tuesday segment, and see if you can bea...

This was Anthony V. Grubb's debut NYTimes crossword, and it was a delight - slightly crunchier than usual, with some challenging clues - but a terrific theme nigh-well guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. Deets inside, so check it out! Show note imagery:  An example of IKEBANA, Japanese flower arranging We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a li...

Michael Schlossberg has a rep for creative and challenging crosswords, and he does nothing to belie that in  today's opus , his 13th in the NYTimes (and his 3rd Sunday crossword of the year!). There were some real head scratchers in the grid today, including PAWL,GREAVES and AMBIVERTS. We cover those, and more, in today's episode. Show note imagery: THEPERSISTENCEOFMEMORY, by Salvador Da...

A fine Saturday crossword by Hoang-Kim Vu, so fine, in fact, that it won our JAMCOTWA - Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award™️. With crisp cluing, amusing answers, what's not to like? Nothing, hence the award! Deets inside, so have a listen. Just a friendly reminder that doing the NYTimes Crossword is a great way to keep those synapses sharp.  So, if you haven't already, wander over...

This is Billy Bratton's 9th NYTimes crossword. He tends to specialize in Friday and Saturday puzzles, and this one is an excellent example of the genre, for reasons that we delve into, at length, in today's episode. Show note imagery: A major Maltese tourist attraction, Popeye Village! We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodca...

A slightly tricky Thursday crossword , especially confounding if one fails to grok the theme, a fate that temporarily befell both cohosts (in different ways: as usual, both cohosts solved alone, otherwise Mike would just slow Jean down to a tai-chi / glacial pace).  We have all the deets inside, so have a listen and let us know what you think! Show note imagery: Valence electrons We love feedback!...

We are baaaack! And to welcome us, Brad Wiegmann and Joel Fagliano  have provided a f ascinating crossword to help us get back into the groove, so check out today's podcast and let us know what you think! Show note imagery: Hop o' My Thumb (really) We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.com. Also, we're on Fac...

Today's crossword was a real deal - two puzzles for the price of one, and each was a delight. We have all the deets inside, so do have a listen. This is our last podcast for two weeks-- we are taking our yearly Summer sabbatical -- so expect to hear from us starting ... in about two weeks!  Show note imagery: Behold, a BEERAMID We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listene...

A splendid Saturday crossword wraps up our crossword-solving week. Saturdays are by tradition the hardest crossword of the week, with the trickiest clues, and this one was definitely in that league. This was Eric Warren's second crossword in the NYTimes, and the first time he has won a JAMCOTWA (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award), so kudos for both! Show note imagery: Some delicious s...

This is a beaut of a debut by Aidan Deshong, a high school senior just about to graduate, and head off to Harvey Mudd. Perhaps he'll major in Engimatology like legendary NYTimes crossword editor Will Shortz.  The clues and answers in today's grid were, simply put, brilliant, as seen in 47A, Pricey oils, e.g., ART; 48A, Wet blanket?, DEW; and many, many others. To hear more, including a f...

A very nice crossword by Royce Ferguson - his 4th for the NYTimes, and a Thursday debut. The theme was ingenious but not  too difficult to suss out, and the number of pop-culture references was on the low side, which affected Jean not at all but did benefit Mike (for whom anything newer than 1800 that does not involve science fiction is problematic).  Show note imagery: Some tasty looking crépes S...

While drinks played an essential part in today's grid , it seems unlikely that they were involved in its construction, based on the elegance of the puzzle - not surprising considering that the constructors in question were Jeanne Breen (for her, a debut), and  Jeff Chen, LC ( LC being short for, of course, Legendary Cruciverbalist). Jean made short work of today's puzzle. Mike could make...

A nice Tuesday crossword , and, as detailed in today's episode, one eight years in the making!! So, even though PERSEVERANCE is not in the grid, it truly is in the heart of Chris Leatherberry, the constructor of today's fine work. We appreciated all the longer wavelength color references in today's grid, namely 54D, Famed fireman Red, ADAIR, in close proximity to 55D, Reddish applic...

It's hard not to GIVEPROPS to a crossword that has GIVEPROPS in the grid, so we're not even going to try: PROPS to Christopher Youngs for this, his 4th NYTimes crossword! Show note imagery: Yaroslava Shvedova, celebrating her GOLDENSET win at Wimbledon in 2012 We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.com. Also, we&ap...

A straightforward Sunday puzzle by John Kugelman, this his 4th for the NYTimes, with a theme for which the word "cute" was invented. The quality of the clues was exceptional, with some real gems noted in today's podcast. But we'd also like to highlight some others, such as 64A, The i's have it, DOT (😀); 22A, Morse code click, DIT (to keep the DOT company 😉); 94A, Someone...

This is David P. Williams' fourth NYTimes crossword, and interestingly all four have used the same grid, so apparently DPW has taken the phrase "why mess with success?" to heart. There are some magnificent clues in today's grid , including 47D, Time to take stock?, IPO; 34A, Lover of literature, ROMEO (ha!); and we loved the juxtaposition of 29A, Architects, so to speak, MASTER...

For your edification, we present our analysis of a  nice -- in fact, twice as nice! -- crossword by Carolyn Davies Lynch  that really has a lot to commend it, most notably some really, really difficult clues! Fortunately there were not too many pop-culture references: we did have 16A, Many Eras Tour attendees, SWIFTIES, but Taylor Swift may be the most famous woman on the planet, and so even Mike...