Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

Just when you think that the lode of clever themes has been exhausted, someone strikes pay dirt, and today we have Dan Cabrera to thank and congratulate for his new find, a delightful theme that really soars -- thanks to a flock of fabulous themed clues and answers. Deets inside, so have a listen, and, as usual, let us know what you think! We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love...

Jean and Mike, solving separately as usual, had distinctly different impressions of today's crossword. Jean found it to be a bit of a slog, whereas Mike -- thanks to, well, let's face it, a large but largely undeserved dollop of good luck -- was able to make it through the grid in a goodly time. Deets inside, so have a listen, and as always, let us know what you think -- crosswordpodcast...

A crunchier than usual Tuesday crossword, both of your cohosts had to dig deeply for the win, with Jean struggling at the top, while Mike's bane was in the southern hemisphere of the grid. But it was a fabulous puzzle, and we have Gia Bosko to thank for that, so ... thank you, Gia! In other news, it's Triplet Tuesday, and Jean's on the hot-seat. To find out how she did, you know the...

There was lot of color in today's grid,  thanks to a colorful theme -- and we mean that literally. Beyond our cutting edge analysis, in today's episode we have a heartfelt apology to the good people of Fond du Lac, as well as the origin story of the PARSNIP! Deets within! Remember that doing the NYTimes Crossword is a great way to preserve those hard working grey cells, and it's  ch...

For those of you who grew up in the era of the Beatles, Electric Light Orchestra, Cat Stevens, and the like, you're going to love this crossword; for everyone else, you're  really going to need those crosses, and a quick perusal of the Top 100 hits of the 70s through 90s might also be advisable. Deets inside, so please subscribe / download / listen up / enjoy!  We love feedback! Send us...

A decidedly crunchy Saturday crossword, with a grid-full of great clues, including 39A, Good thing to stretch out before doing yoga, MAT (nice one!); 28A, Remover of dirt ... or spreader of dirt, RAG (even nicer one!); and 5D, One sans plus-ones, STAGS (oh deer, er, dear, that was brilliant!).  In other news, we have a superb Oh That's How You Pronounce It! segment, and of course, being Satur...

A nice Friday crossword, which at least one of our cohosts found considerably easier than Thursdays, in spite of multiple daunting, grid-spanning clues. Those clues contributed to the dearth of black squares in the grid - it was pretty much a sea of white, with just 35 black squares (out of a possible, in theory, 225, although it's doubtful that the NYTimes would ever publish a crossword with...

A delightful Thursday crossword by Vasu Seralathan, with an eXtraordinary theme, and a surrounding cast of clues that is a joy to behold. Don't believe it? Check out today's episode, and if you are not absolutely convinced that this was a JAMCOTWA (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award)-worthy crossword, then your money will be cheerfully refunded 😉) We love feedback! Send us a text...

A highly amusing crossword by Guilherme Gilioli, with a paradoxical theme , as well as a plethora of "huh, never heard of that" moments, most notably ... nope! we are not going to spoil the podcast by spilling the beans here. To find out what those moments were, join us in the journey through the grid by having a listen to today's episode. We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact...

Ella Dershowitz has a reputation for crafting awesome crosswords, and she does nothing to sully that in today's puzzle, with a fine set of clues that run from funny to punny to ... some other word that ends in unny (ahem). 🙄 We were particularly fond of 11D, Patti, in the American Theater Hall of Fame, LUPONE (well known to Jean, not so much, or to be precise, not at all, to Mike); 45D, Huff...

A fun Monday crossword, with, as usual, an  unusual  theme that hits the sweet spot, both accessible and amusing. We have all the deets inside, including an important PSA if you're considering ACL surgery 🙄, so please, subscribe / download / listen up / enjoy / and don't forget to give us a 5-star review wherever you're listening to this podcast! We love feedback! Send us a text......

A twisty sort of Sunday crossword, mainly because of the theme but enhanced by some rather diabolical (as always, in a good way) sort of clues, including 62A, A head, PER; 118A, Brown, for one, IVY ; and 47D, Goal that sends a game into overtime, EVENER. There was also a bevy of pop culture references that are definitely worth checking out, including the vintage 19D, Come on _______ (1982 hit), EI...

A very sharp Saturday crossword, with sparkling clues / answers, and some LOL moments, including 38D, Whim whams, NERVES ( that's a new one!); 12D, "So many _______, so little know" (proverb), ASSUME (see previous clue's comment); and 48D, Monthly releases?, OVA (nice!). We liked this crosswords  a lot , hats off to Robert S. Gard for such a fabulous opus. We love feedback! Sen...

A tough Friday crossword -- as Friday crosswords are wont to be -- with clues like 24A, "Skip it!", ROPE (heh, heh); 20D, "Nice to see ya today!", MORNIN (yikes!); and 61A, X, as in Ximenes? (quick, fetch the fainting couch!).  There were also (for Mike, at least), some major spelling challenges, most notably 16A, Pasta whose names derives from the Italian for "little cake...

Today's crossword was rebus-free but humor-rich, with a wry undercurrent based on the world's current obsession with all things AI. We believe that this crossword was written by a human being, one Ryan Patrick Smith, and not an AI bot claiming to be Ryan Patrick Smith ... unless ... are all those claims of the former in the grid an example of "me thinks thou dost protest too much&qu...

A nice Wednesday crossword by Blake Slonecker, with a surprising number of answers that just raised more questions (all of which we cover, of course, in the podcast). There were a few great clues that didn't quite make into that episode, though, including 60A, In the public eye, SEEN (duh!); the droll 28D, Lights up?, IRRADIATES; and 37D, Dirt-digging research, for short, OPPO (fun to say, no...

A noble Tuesday crossword, one that reminds us (multiple times) of the virtues of having a BFF. The grid was teeming with good clues, including 11D, End piece?, CODA (heh, heh); 40D, Ficus that produces sweets favored by a 44-across, FIGTREE (we just like the word ficus!); and 32D, "Ooh, tell us everything!", DOSAY (we can hear the poshness in the voice from 20 paces 😀). In other news,...

Any crossword that works BLOOP,  DUPE and PEEKABOO  into the grid (4A, Baseball hit just over the infield;  46A, Pull a fast one on; and 37D, Game for an infant, respectively) has our sincere respect and admiration -- and even more because of a theme that is clearly in the ascendant, which will make more sense once you've heard the podcast or solved this fine puzzle by Tom Pepper and Zhouqin...

For those of you who spend waaaay too much time in front of a computer screen, you should have a leg up as you solve this crossword (especially if you're doing so in a hammock 🙄). Beyond the 21st century theme, there were some great clues, such as 118A, A little help around the holidays, ELF (heh, heh); 50A, It ain't just a river in Egypt!, DENIAL (ouch!); and 61A, Frozen yogurt mix-in,...

A nice Saturday crossword by Rebecca Goldstein, with some curious clues such as 30A, Call from a server, maybe, ADIN (we're still trying to work that one out!!); the magnificent 44A, Oxford English Dictionary's Word of the Year in 2022, describing an unapologetically self-indulgent state, GOBLINMODE (delightful!); and the devious 28D, "Just the check", IMSET. All in all a great...

This crossword , ITSABEAUT, and we're not just saying that because that happens to be the answer to 11D, "Would you look at that!". The grid is just effervescent,  and includes an amazing 10 debuts (including ITSABEAUT). It also includes what has become, within 30 seconds of starting to listen to it, Mike's favorite group, OKGO (4D, Indie group band whose name is a two-word com...

A relatively straightforward Thursday crossword -- no rebuses (rebusae?), answers that circled back on one another, or bow-ties -- but the theme was a great one nonetheless, as it ... nope, no spoilers! If you want to know more (and we hope you do!), you'll need to subscribe / download / listen up and (we hope!) enjoy. We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! D...

When we say that this was a novel crossword, we are not telling stories ... but Alex Eaton-Salners, the author of today's crossword is, in a dazzling cruciverbalistic tour de force.  You can see the entire story, er, crossword, right here , and you can hear our take on it by downloading right ⬇️ or ⬆️ or ⬅️ or ➡️ 😀  We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Dro...

The best crosswords entertain and educate, and this puzzle manages to do both, in spades. To find out what the (to continue the card metaphor) deal is, please subscribe / download / listen / enjoy and prepare to be educated!  We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.com. Also, we're on FaceBook , so feel free to drop by t...

A nice Monday crossword (a debut for Brian Callahan 🎉), with an UNforgettable theme, if you know what we mean -- and you will know once you've listened to today's podcast, so please hit those subscribe, download, and play buttons ASAP (10A, "Hop to it!"). We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.com. Also,...