Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

Today's puzzle, by Damon Gulczynski, has an ingenious and well-disguised theme: and thanks to the revealer's position in the bottom-right, we are kept in suspense / befuddlement, until the very end -- just the way we like it! A few clues that didn't make it into the episode but are worthy of note include 26D, Groups of hands, CREWS (brilliant!); 41D, Instrument notary featured in Ge...

There was one TYPEO in today's grid , but that was by design and quite amusing (20A, What's tolerated by every body?), as we can count on one hand (without resorting to any phalanges chicanery ) the number of genuine TYPEOs in the NYTimes Crossword. Some real gems lay lurking in the grid, from subtle clues such as 61D, Its ways are numbered, RTE (lovely!), to  the minor head scratcher (f...

This is Adam Wagner's 18th crossword, and it was a doozy, with 4 debut answers, including both cohosts'  favorite, 6D, Exploded, WENTKABOOM. The grid was replete with many  other less explosive but still notable clues/answers, such as 24D, "The Way" in Chinese Pinyin, DAO; 9D, New Jersey city named for its most famous former resident, EDISON; and 1D, Bully in "Back to the...

TEDLASSO might've been shutout at the Golden Globes, but he won big by appearing in today's NYTimes crossword , thanks to Nate Cardin, constructor and (by his own account) TEDLASSO fan. We suspect that Nate Cardin might also have liked rodeos, as today's theme definitely implies: you can almost smell the PETRICHOR (see yesterday's episode for the deets on that) from here. Show...

A superb Sunday crossword by Michael Schlossberg, meeting the cruciverbal RDA for: old-timey clues -- 5A, "Yikes!", EGAD, and 19A, "Sounds 'bout right to me", IRECKONSO;  birds that Mike has never heard of -- 3D, Bird also known as a lapwing, PEWIT, and 84D, Bittern, e.g., HERON; and  a word that neither of the cohosts had heard of -- 2D, Petrichor, n.: The pleasant ______...

After Friday's grueling workout, today's crossword , even though it was a Saturday, seemed relatively straightforward. We are not complaining, though, because the clues were entertaining, the answers educational, and the overall effect soothing. A few examples of the constructors' craft: 55A, They change colors, DYERS; 33D, Where pizza is said to have been invented, NAPLES (what, no...

A tough, tough Friday crossword by David P. Williams -- his third, and his third to use the exact same grid pattern! The grid was daunting, with many a long answer, and there were almost no "gimme" clues to get a foothold. Mercifully (at least from Mike's perspective) there were relatively few pop culture references, just a lot of joyous word play. Deets inside, as well as a very fi...

An excellent Thursday crossword , marred by an unfortunate technical glitch. The themed clues contained underlined letters, but the underscores did not appear in the app (they appeared as expected in a web browser). Needless to say this caused much consternation and gnashing of teeth, and the NYTimes crossword editorial team leapt into action, quickly replacing underscores with parentheses: but so...

Any crossword that works both FIE and IRONHORSE into the grid deserves our respect and gratitude, and we give it freely to this fine opus by Jared Goudsmit, his second to be published in the NYTimes. The theme/gimmick is a delight, and bolstered by a fine supporting cast of clues, from  24D, Bring up, REAR and 68A, Bring up, CITE (nice combo!); to 27D, Tours de force, COUPS (ha!); and a clue that...

We are back, after a brief holiday on the Riviera (or it might've been Green Bay, there seemed to be an inordinate amount of ice for the Riviera), and we are being welcomed back by an excellent Tuesday crossword . We tackle that in depth, as well as run our first Triplet Tuesday segment of the year, so for all that and more, please subscribe, download, listen up, and enjoy! We love feedback!...

We are taking a break between now (aka December 21, 2023) and the new year (partially because we've been displaced from our recording studio by a gang of ravenous marauders, aka our family), but rest assured we'll be back in January, raring to go, and in the meantime hope that all of you enjoy the very best of the season. We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener...

A fine Tuesday crossword by Seth Weinberg, with an LOL theme that will make you, well, LOL. As usual, deets inside! This marks our last episode of the year -- we're taking  time off to recharge the little gray cells -- and  want to wish you and yours a fantastic Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza/New Year. We'll see you again, in 2024! Show note image: Baba Ghanouj (a variant (and apparently rare...

There's a queue-full of Q's in today's crossword , but it's all in a good quase, er, we mean cause, to wit, a delightfulful theme that revolves around that ubiquitous symbol of 21st century tech, the QRCODE. Deets inside, as well as a brief announcement about an even briefer hiatus in honor of the holidays, so we humbly beseech thee to, in this order, subscribe (so you don&apos...

Today's opus was most definitely not an abridged crossword, but the full 21x21 marvel that is the NYTimes Sunday puzzle -- and indeed, considering that it had (wait for it...) rebuses ,   it could plausibly be argued that it was more of an augmented crossword. Regardless of how you look at it, what is most definitely not up for debate is that it was an awesome crossword, for reasons that we c...

Today's crossword is TOPRATED, and that's not just because it has TOPRATED in the grid, but because of a panoply of charming clues and intriguing answers that caught our fancy (although not quite as much as our JAMCOTWA winner, that would be ... nope, to find out who won and why, check out today's episode!!). Show note image: An example of OPTICALART We love feedback! Send us a text...

A challenging but not insurmountable Friday crossword by Alex Tomlinson - his debut! - with a whopping 8 debut answers. We cover all but 2 of them in today's episode, omitting only 2D, One whose work might be a piece of cake?, PASTRYCHEF (cute!) and 27D, "Don't even think of coming back!", ANDSTAYOUT (ouch!). In short, a lot to like in today's puzzle, and to get the full 4...

It is not clear how many Zoom calls Esha Datta, author of today's crossword (her debut!) has been in, but we're willing to bet LOADS of them, based on their (very clever) theme. Beyond that, there were numerous notable clues, from 21A, Only country with a non-rectangular flag, NEPAL (maybe: checkout the podcast for a rebuttal); 37D, Notable lamb owner, MARY (as clues go, this one's...

A nice mid-week crossword by veteran cruciverbalist Alex Eaton-Salners (this is in fact his 64th), and it is as refreshing as a glass of cool spring water, thanks to a theme that has everything to do with a glass of cool spring water. The clues elsewhere in the grid were enlightening, entertaining, and entirely crosswordese-free. In addition to those mentioned in the podcast, we would like to give...

Peter Gordon must be a real MENSCH, and that's not just because he managed to slip that word into today's crossword, as part of a very amusing themed answer. There's a lot more magic happening in the grid, and to hear all the deets (as well as Jean's demonstration of verbal prowess in today's Triplet Tuesday Contest™️), please a) subscribe, b) download, c) listen-up, and d...

There's something about a Monday NYTimes crossword theme -- crafted to put a smile on your lips combined with a "huh!" when recognition dawns. Later in the week, that "huh", sometimes morphs into a "duh" or possibly a "doh", but we do like Mondays, including this fine work ,  a debut (congrats!!) by Luke K. Schreiber. In other news, we have some very ti...

A seemingly easier than usual Sunday crossword, especially surprising consider its origin - from the minds and pens of Zachary David Levy and Jeff Chen. Besides a small boatload of puns that comprised the theme, today's puzzle did have some fun gems waiting to be uncovered. For example, 59D, Game divided into periods called chukkers, POLO (featuring our  new favorite word, chukkers); 81A, Ext...

Our intrepid cohosts had distinct solving experiences working on today's crossword - Jean found it relatively straightforward (aided and abetted, as usual, by her insanely copious and nearly complete collection of modern pop-culture references); Mike, whose pop culture references are mysteriously restricted to the years 1850 to 1875, inclusive, had much less luck, but still, somehow, managed...

Robert Logan has to make NOAPOLOGIES for today's crossword , a fine Friday, challenging but accessible, with  some shorter toeholds conveniently located everywhere in the grid. There were a lot of fascinating factoids in today's puzzle, such as 30A, Artist of "La Maja Desnuda" and "La Maja Vestida", GOYA;  48A, ____________ Amendment (2010s extension of the Kyoto Prot...

A delightful Thursday crossword, an adjective we often find ourselves having to dust off when Rebecca Goldstein is the author, as is indeed the case today. It's not easy turning lead into gold, but she has done so magnificently, in several senses, as will become apparent once you've had a listen. Also, many of the lacunae in yesterday's crossword have been filled, thanks to some ins...

It's hard to miss today's theme, as it's spelled out in large letters, in the middle of the grid, for all to see (as we describe in today's episode). But it's such an attention getter that it might detract from some other Highly Hentertaining clues, such as: 12D, Hah!, IBET; 24D, Hummer's interior, EMS (a reference to its two M's, which definitely warrants anothe...