Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

Today's crossword , a debut in the NYTimes by Mike Ellison, was a relatively gentle Sunday crossword with a host of curious clues, such as 94A, Hats worn by Napoleon, BICORNES; 86A, Golf gimme, TAPIN (not to be confused with last Thursday's golf phrase, HOLESOUT); 80A, Settings for timers, OVENS (nice!!); and the fine 53A, Needles holder, CONIFER (awesome!!). An auspicious debut indeed,...

This was a delightful Friday crossword courtesy of Matthew Stock and Christina Iverson (with Joel Fagliano ably editing). It had plenty of crunch, thanks to SCADS of challenging clues -- 43A, Porto-Novo's country, BENIN; 28D, Contend, HOLD; and 28A, Second hand, HELPER (😀) -- but they were reasonably fair (for a Friday!), and both cohosts concur that this crossword was worth 5 squares on the...

Just when you thought that the PHENOMs who construct NYTimes Crosswords couldn't possibly come up with one more theme, they ... come up with one more theme, and this one, by Hanh Huynh ,  is so novel that it deserves a standing ovation. Have a listen, and you'll see why! A reminder that the entire crossword, filled out and with clues, is available at xwordinfo.com. When listening to this...

Jeffrey Martinovic has graced the pages of the NYTimes before, and one glance at this crossword will tell you why he was invited back - a splendid piece of work, a brilliant (and helpful) theme, with an ARMY (60A, Host) of educational and entertaining clues. Those included 5D, Sound of hesitation ERM, and its counterpart, 68A, Sounds of hesitation, UMS; 71A, Media inits. since 1851, NYT (yay, our...

Judy Bower's debut crossword has much to commend it, including 45D, Word with bad or blood, SPORT;  34D, Certain Scotsman, GAEL; 38D, "Ha, no surprise there!", IKNEWIT; and, of course, the awesome theme of which we have more to say inside, so to speak. Show note imagery: SCREENAGERS! We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpo...

A celebration of Earth Day and a word ladder, who could ask for more? We  love word ladders, so today's crossword , by David J. Kahn (his 189th!!), hit the sweet spot. There were also several Earth Day related clues not tied to the word ladder -- 18A, Sustainably produced electricity, GREENPOWER; 54A, Carbon-based energy source, FOSSILFUEL; and in between, 36A, One symptom of climate change,...

Michael Schlossberg has created a dazzling Sunday crossword with a doozie of a theme, definitely worth 5 squares on the JAMCR scale. We have all the deets inside, so we cordially invite you to have a listen (and don't forget to subscribe!) Show note imagery: TEDTtalks, which are apparently limited to 18 minutes in length We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail!...

Another challenging Saturday crossword   - no surprise there, Saturdays are designed to be the toughest crossword of the week - but at least the trivia / pop culture references were mercifully few. Jean had a spot of bother in the middle of the crossword, while Apple aficionado Mike thrashed about trying to recollect 48A, Popular video editing software, IMOVIE. Deets inside, as usual, as well as t...

An entertaining and educational Friday crossword by Kate Hawkins - just the way we like 'em! Jean knew pretty much every answer in the grid, although it took some time to connect each word/phrase to its clue! Mike, meanwhile, knew ... PHASERS and EDEN, although many of the rest of the answers looked vaguely familiar. Besides our analysis of the crossword proper, it's Fun Fact Friday, so...

Today's crossword did not have the rebuses (rebusae?) that one of us (cough, Mike, cough) forecast yesterday, but it made up for that omission with a terrific, and terrifically taxing, theme, and an accompanying throng of challenging clues. We're still gasping, in awe and exhaustion, from having gotten this puzzle solved. For all the deets, have a listen, and then let us know what you th...

Another fabulous midweek NYTimes crossword, thanks to a glorious theme that is about as NYTimes-ish as they come. We will leave you in suspense as to what that theme might be, or ... you could just download today's episode where all will become clear, in particular why this crossword  rates a full and enthusiastic 5 squares on the JAMCR scale. Show note imagery: A real escape pod (from a B-58...

A splendid Tuesday crossword by Adam Vincent (edited most ably by Joel Fagliano), with quite a few lively clues to keep the solver interested. We are referring to (beyond those mentioned in the podcast proper) to 51A, San Fran athlete, NINER; 65A, Deserving of a fire emoji, as a party, LIT (say what? 😀); and 36D, Quartet + Quintet, NONET (awesome!). In addition to our deep dive into the grid, it&...

We are philosophical about today's crossword  (a debut by Amanda Winter), mainly because today's crossword -- particularly the theme -- contained a large dollop of philosophy. We will leave you in mild suspense as to the exact nature of that philosophy, but you may assuage that suspense by checking out today's episode! Show note imagery: Yesterday, a DERBY; today, FEDORAS; tomorrow&...

A crunchier than usual Sunday crossword by John Rippe and Jeff Chen, a side-effect, perhaps, of a brilliant theme that had Jeff Chen's fingerprints all over it. There were many clever clues - 35A, Something you might break into, SONG (ha!); 9D, Game with annoying pop-ups, WHACAMOLE (raising again, that epic question, where'd the K go?); and 97A, Outstanding, OVERDUE (like Lucy v. Charlie...

A challenging debut (!) crossword by Jess Rucks. Our intrepid cohosts found said challenge in different areas of the grid, Jean in the mid east, Mike in the northwest. But, after exploring their respective mind palaces - Jean's approximately the size of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Mike's approximately the size of a pup tent you can find for sale at the REI in Green Bay, Wisconsin - they we...

A challenging Friday crossword by Evan Kalish, although not as difficult as some crosswords, it did take at least one of our cohosts a while to get any traction. But once they did, ..., well, it still took them a tranche of time to solve, and they enjoyed every minute of it! Although we covered most of the peg-the-awesomeness-meter clues in today's episode, another that deserves mention is 11...

A delightful Thursday crossword by reliably delightful crossword constructor Dan Caprera, today's puzzle has much to commend it. The theme is spot on, and while the rest of the puzzle is based on tougher than usual clues, it is all for a good cause -- as you will hear in today's exciting episode! Show note imagery: Some of the many OLIVETREES painted by Vincent Van Gogh We love feedback!...

Today's crossword was Bill Thompson's 10th NYTimes publication, and based on this, we can't wait for his 11th. The theme was extremely clever, and there were OCEANS of great clues, including 55D, "Gee, I wish I was back in the _______" (song from "White Christmas"), ARMY; an APPLEBETTY alternative, perhaps, 30D, Linzer _________ (pastry); and 42D, 1965 film starr...

Today's crossword had a fine theme -- discussed herein -- but the rest of the clues also did their part. We particularly enjoyed 4D, Lady Gaga hit included on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list, BADROMANCE (BADROMANCE, but great song!); 59A, Occam's _________, RAZOR (when you need to trim a conspiracy theory down to size); and the slightly perplexing 25D...

A fine and timely crossword by Peter Gordon (his 128th!!) , celebrating that rare celestial event, an incoming asteroid that only Bruce Willis can ... no, scratch that, the juxtaposition of the sun and moon causing much confusion among animals and consternation among newscasters. We are speaking, of course, of today's eclipse, and Peter Gordon, the author of today's fine crossword, also...

Depending on which cohost you ask, today's crossword was  either a) a delicious piece o' cake, or b) the inspiration for Edvard Munch's The Scream. Both agreed that it was an intriguing crossword, thanks to a clever theme that exploited the observation that duplicate letters can form homonyms -- YYs (wise), EEs (ease), PPs (peas), etc., etc. Deets inside, so please have a listen, an...

Today's crossword was  jaw-droppingly difficult, each clue handcrafted to be more devious than the one that preceded it. From 44A, Notably circular formations on Mars, DUNES (they have dunes on Mars? cool!), to 48A, Flowers that are a a source of the anti-inflammatory drug colchicine, CROCI (woah!), to even 45A, Cup alternative, PINT (gasp!), it is clear that the intent of this puzzle was to...

Rebecca Goldstein has a knack for creating festive, fun crosswords, and her streak is unbroken as a result of today's fine work -- so far she's having a BANNERYEAR. The crossword was tough but fair, definitely worth 5 squares on the JAMCR scale -- deets inside! Show note imagery: Oh, sure, India gave the world chess, shampoo, and cashmere, but these all pale in comparison to their greate...

Today's crossword has it all! A unique theme / drink recipe, a nice piece of grid art, and as a reward for the intrepid solver, a flash color to celebrate its successful completion. Several clues we thought worthy of note: 54A, Derby participants in July, BATTERS; 44A, Gave a red card, informally, DQED; 49A, Betting recklessly, in poker, ONTILT; and 34A, Certain soccer kick, TOEPOKE; and the...

A wonderful Wednesday crossword by prolific veteran cruciverbalist Alex Eaton-Salners. The theme was cute, and the rest of the grid a hoot, with a plethora of entertaining and eduational clues scattered throughout. We've got the deets inside, so have a listen and, of course, enjoy! Show note imagery: An IMPALA, hoping that it doesn't get hit by a Chevy Impala while roaming the Savanna. W...