Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

If you find the aroma of fresh popcorn wafting from the grid, that means you've really gotten into the spirit of this absolutely endearing crossword by Rebecca Goldstein*. It had everything that we want to see in a Wednesday crossword: a highly ingenious theme, clues that make you sweat, and a terrific payoff. This undoubtedly deserves 5 squares on the JAMCR scale, for reasons described herei...

This was a superlative Tuesday crossword, thanks to some really sparkling clues. The theme — which we discuss extensively in today's episode — is the icing on the cake, but we found numerous other gems in the grid. The "Most-Fun-Clue" award goes to 62A, Things assayers assay, ORES; the "Most-Fun-Answer" award has to go to 17A, "Easy-peasy!", BADABINGBADABOOM 😀;...

It is our suspicion that Eric Rollfing, author of today's fine crossword , probably solves every NYTimes Connections puzzle without any mistakes, because he seems to be quite adept at identifying commonality among highly disparate items. This is not the first time he's used this approach, but it's always novel and fun to get two puzzles for the price of one. Besides the crossword, w...

In February, Michael Lieberman and Rebecca Goldstein collaborated on a Sunday crossword with answers that refused to stay confined to running horizontally or vertically. Well, Michael is back with another impressive, non-linear theme.  We have the full analysis inside, as well as a timely bit of listener mail explaining a clue that we wrestled with yesterday. Enjoy! Show note imagery: An Olympian...

This was a crunchy Saturday crossword , ideal for those looking for a strenuous mental workout. As is always the case on Saturdays, today's puzzle was themeless and a lot of fun. We smiled our way through 57A, What might add a bit of flavor to a salsa?, BONGO; celebrated the debut of 33D, Actor who plays the title role on TV's "Andor", DIEGOLUNA; and groaned slightly upon solvi...

Today's crossword — a debut by Coz Berlin — was noteworthy for what it lacked : to wit, black squares. There were some , to be sure: but the grid contained of 9 15-letter answers (divided up into 3 sets of 3). It made for a daunting  Friday puzzle. Deets inside. In addition to the crossword, we also have a fascinating Fun Fact Friday™️ segment on poetry slams.  All that, and more, is as close...

Zhou Zhang and Mallory Montgomery have teamed up, once again, to create their third Thursday crossword , and they keep getting better with age/practice. The theme was endearingly quirky, and the clues were definitely Thursday-worthy. As representative examples, regard 33A, Little dipper?, TOE 😀; 47D, Steamy occasion, SPADAY (ah, that kind of steam!); and 13D, Dub ... or rub, ANOINT (ah, we get th...

This was an excellent mid-week crossword by Johnathan Raksin and Jeff Chen. The theme was a hoot, and the rest of the clues were of similar high quality. A few that stood out included 26D, Some comfy kicks, MOCS ([embarrassingly-obvious pun redacted]); 9D, Botheration, ADO (we're getting distinct Winnie-the-Pooh vibes here); and 30D, Mork's planet on an old sitcom, ORK (ah, the classics!...

This was a collaborative debut by Gus Bloxham and Bharati Hemmady, and it was an auspicious start to what we hope will be a succession of great crosswords. We were amused by 43D, Unlike the direction of this clue's answer, ACROSS; impressed with how frequently we've seen 6D, Singer with the best-selling album "21", ADELE (for the record, 329x); and happy to be reminded of 65A,...

Lynn Lempel, aka the Queen of Monday Crosswords, is back at it, with a fine puzzle (her 105th!) and her trademark Very Clever Theme™️. It is just a perfect crossword for new solvers, but it's got enough going on to keep veterans entertained as well. Deets inside! Show note imagery: The Jackson home of renowned civil rights activist MEDGAR Evers, now known as the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home N...

It is rare that a constructor debuts on a Sunday, but Collin Drown, a PhD student at Virginia Commonwealth University — go Rodney the Ram! ... really, that's the VCU mascot — has pulled it off , and in fine style. The theme was quite wry, with just the right amount of punpernickel™️, and the supporting cast of clues was definitely up to the task. We have the full 411 inside, as well as a very...

Jim Quinlan's third NYTimes crossword didn't peg the Crossword Difficuilty Meter, but it did break our Quality Of Clues Meter, it was that good.  We covered the best of the best in today's episode, but the rest of the rest were fine too. For instance, we enjoyed 29A, Offering at a BBQ joint, BIB (not RIB!); 33A, Title seen in a tea caddy, EARL (not TAZO); and 48A, Metaphorical begin...

This was a fine Friday crossword by Willa Angel Chen Miller, an elegantly symmetric grid with some rather crafty and novel clues (as one would expect and hope for). Curiously, our cohosts, working independently as is their wont, had diametrically opposite experiences tackling today's puzzle. Jean found the top part difficult, making more progress in the south, first; Mike tore through the nor...

Both cohosts found today's crossword — a father-son effort by Brad and Nat Wiegmann — to be extra crunchy, partially due to the theme, but also abetted by a number of diabolical word traps and sinister spelling snares deployed artfully about the grid. We have, of course, all the deets inside, so we encourage you to have a download, have a listen, and then let us know your thoughts on today&ap...

This was Mason Hyunjin Lee's first ever NYTimes crossword, especially impressive since he's still in high school! Here's hoping his English teacher gives bonus points, he deserves it. We recommend 1 bonus point for 23A, Low-quality synthetic images, informally, AISLOP; 2 bonus points for 66A, Mother of a stable family?, MARE (ha!); and — we're in a generous mood — a whopping 4...

If Brad Lively's name sounds familiar, that's because he's published a whopping 4 crosswords this year, including today's . We are grateful for that, of course, as his crosswords in general are very nicely constructed, and today's is perfect Tuesday fare. Deets inside. In addition to our exploration of today's puzzle, we have another thrilling Triplet Tuesday™️ segmen...

This was a pleasing Monday crossword , with a straightforward, amusing theme, and clues unlikely to generate too many BLANKSTARES. It was penned by Alex Eaton-Salners, who rarely does Monday crosswords — but when he does, he does them well, today's being a case in point. Besides the crossword, we've identified our JAMCOTWA™️ (Jean And Mike Crossword of The Week Award) winner, so if that&...

Apparently Rich Katz had a few fireworks left over from yesterday, and managed to slip them into today's puzzle : it  just sizzles with creativity, and will have you ooh-ing and ah-ing on the way to the happy music. The theme was particularly inspired , but the rest of the grid was also top notch. We liked 57A, Enforcer of traveling restrictions, informally? , NBAREF (nice!); we also were tak...

Kareem Ayas has returned and brought along an excellent  crossword to help us celebrate the Fourth. The clues were delightful, each precisely engineered to perplex, educate, and entertain. They succeeded, in grand style. We have the full 411 inside, so have a listen, and then head out and watch some fireworks! Show note imagery: A TELEX, rare in these parts. We love feedback! Send us a text... Con...

Barbara Lin is a highly versatile constructor — she has made crosswords for every day of the week, and this is her second Friday creation. The grid had a daunting amount of white space in it, with 4 grid-spanning answers. Fortunately, the clues went easy on the pop culture references and both cohosts — solving independently as is their wont — were able to get through the puzzle without too many na...

Today's crossword was all about US history — specifically, the Declaration of Independence. David J. Kahn, in his 192nd NYTimes publication (!!!) has outdone himself, ingeniously inserting all 13 colonies into the grid, rebus-style. It was a MAgnificent piece of work, we were both surpRIsed and DElighted. DEets inside! Show note imagery: JohNHaNCock's John Hancock. We love feedback! Send...

Today's crossword was a marvel of clever crossword construction , and a hoot to boot — practically guaranteed to put a smile on your face, make your jaw drop, or possibly both, simultaneously. In short, Jeffrey Martinovic has outdone himself, and we are the better for it. We have the full 411 inside, so have a listen, and let us know what you thought of today's puzzle. Show note imagery:...

Congratulations to John Liber, for getting his very first crossword published in the NYTimes! It was a fine effort, with a phonetically phunny theme, and several surprising clues. For instance, do you know what a "river horse" is? An old-timey word for "making angry"? Or two calls that hogs are almost guaranteed to ignore? After listening to today's podcast and/or working...

Today's crossword marks the first collaboration between Ginny Too and Rajeswari Rajamani, and it turned out rather nicely, with theme answers that were almost as much fun to say as they were to solve. We have the deets inside.  In addition, we have painstakingly selected our JAMCOTWA™️ (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award) winner for the week, so check it out now and — if you're th...

Today's crossword was by veteran constructors Rebecca Goldstein and Christina Iverson, both of whom are unequivocally 30A, Mentally agile, CLEVER. For instance, we had the very fine 97A, Time to give up?, LENT (ha!); the dissing equivalent of a stiletto, 82D, "You had one ___!", JOB!; and the surprising 49D, "Keep dreaming", HECKNO.  TL;DR, this was a super Sunday diversio...