Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

A breezy Wednesday crossword by Barbara Lin, with a theme that is vaguely related to Sunday's, and yet ... entirely different. You'll see what we mean when you listen to today's podcast,  which we highly recommend you do posthaste -- partially because we think it's so good, and partially because we just like to use the word posthaste as often as possible 😀  Just a reminder, we...

Today's crossword has a distinctly outdoorsy feel to it, and we'll give you tree guesses as to why. [Hint: there are no typos in the previous sentence, but a very bad pun] Besides our usual witty banter (and a priceless bit about debut words, priceless because we don't have any ads 😀), we also have an episode of Triplet Tuesday, and an enlightening bit of listener mail. Enjoy! We l...

The inventiveness of the NYTimes stable of cruciverbalists never ceases to amaze, and today's crossword is one reason why -- exhibit A, we might say, if we were in court, which ... nope, we're going to stop here, no spoilers today! For further info, do what countless others have done before you, and subscribe / download / listen / enjoy! We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info:...

A fun, not particularly  difficult crossword ... excerpt for the parts that were 😀. Jean got through it fairly quickly, only hung up on  TIC and TAC v. TIT and TAT; Mike had to labor longer, the lacuna in his knowledge of Himalayan rivers once again almost proving his downfall.  As usual with Sunday crosswords, there are waaaaay too many clues to cover in the podcast: a few superb ones that were...

Sam Ezersky, whose day job is to write another puzzle for the NYTimes, Spelling Bee, occasionally has been known to wander over into the crossword area, and today is one of those lucky days! His clues are coherent (good), clever (Sam Ezersky does not know how to write any other kind) and (of course, it's a Saturday), challenging. We'd say more, but you probably doesn't want theses o...

A fine Friday crossword by Rafael Muse and Hoang-Kim Vu, with something for everyone who wants to eat (GORDITAS), drink (ODOULS, SAKEBOMBS) and be merry (EGOBOOST). We approve, and hereby award this crossword 5 squares on the JAMCR scale. In other news, it's Friday, and for Fun Fact Friday™️ we have a dazzling discussion of Ferrero's greatest edible invention ever. We don't want to...

A slightly gentler than usual Thursday crossword , but between the elegance of the cluing and the terrific theme, we are not complaining! Our favorite example of craftsmanship not covered in the podcas:: 48A, Foreign refusal, NEIN, was right on top of 50A, Words of rejection, ITSANO 😀. And in case you didn't spot that, the clue right in between actually points that out: 49A: One on top of an...

Kudos to Mary Crane, as this is her debut NYTimes crossword!! There were a goodly number of great clues in the crossword, and beyond those discussed in today's episode we would be remiss if we did not mention 58A, First-year law student, informally, ONEL(👩🏽‍⚖️); 43D, Company making tracks, LIONEL (😀); and one that we can't help but fawn over, 34A, Goat/man of mythology, FAUN (😉). Als...

Gary Larson and Doug Peterson -- no, not  that Gary Larson, but definitely  that Doug Peterson -- weigh in with a great Tuesday crossword with a droll theme worthy of a standup comic, which Gary Larson just happened to be (he has since retired). The rest of the grid was also perfect Tuesday fare, it is fair to say: and to hear  all  the details, as well as the outcome of today's Triplet Tuesd...

A gentle Monday crossword, just the right degree of difficulty, that provided Jean with the opportunity to discuss the difference between salt shakers and SALTCELLARS, and for Mike to punnily observe that if you can buy a SALTCELLAR at Target, that makes Target a SALTCELLAR seller 🙄 We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.co...

A winning Sunday crossword by Chandi Deitmer, with a bevy of sound aural puns forming a brilliant theme, amid a sea of other fine clues, including the apostrophe-rich 44D, Cap'n's subordinate, BOSN; the always welcome (as a word, at any rate) 26D, Nonsense, to Brits, TOSH; and one of our favorite Grammy Award winners, 40A, Grammy winner Hill, LAURYN.  Definitely FTW, we give it 5 squares...

This,  Robert Logan's second NYTimes Crossword ,  took him 17 months to complete! The end result, though, is a chef's kiss of a crossword, one that gives up its secrets gradually and grudgingly, with clues so good that you'll be inclined to stand up and applaud: which we heartily encourage you to do, and thus simultaneously exercise both the mind and the body. In other news, it&apos...

A fiendishly clever crossword by Drew Schmenner, with a worthy theme -- that's not UPFORDEBATE -- that would've taxed even the great IBMWATSON. We loved it -- as you can tell from today's episode -- and can't wait for Drew's next opus! We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.com. Also, we're on F...

As the week progresses, the NYTimes crosswords, by-and-large, get more difficult, and you can start to feel the friction on Wednesday, with clues like 37D, Kind of mark, SKID; 26A, "Ya dig?", FEELME (aha); and 37A, Fast pitch, SPIEL, starting to make you, well, dig,a little more deeply than on a Monday or Tuesday (at least on average). And speaking of dig (for the third time in this para...

Today's puzzle is educational -- a primer for those of you who can't tell your Greek gods from your Roman ones., as well as entertaining -- what you'd expect if Steinberg was in the byline. We'd tell you more, but ... we've already told you everything we know in today's podcast, so have a listen and let us know what you think. We love feedback! Send us a text... Conta...

A marvelous Monday crossword by Fulbright scholar (!) Alexander Liebeskind, and that genius shines through wherever you look in today's grid. There were (almost) impossible to pronounce answers, 66A, One whose property is being held as debt security, LIENEE; (almost) impossible to spell answers, 43A, ________ - daisy, OOPSY (not OOPSIE); and (almost) impossible to forget answers, 40D, Yawn-in...

An absolutely delightful Sunday crossword by Michael Schlossberg, brilliant clues everywhere you look, guaranteed to put a smile on your face. We have all the deets inside, so please subscribe (so you won't miss an episode), then download, listen up, and enjoy! We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.com. Also, we'r...

Jeff Chen is known for writing great crosswords and he is in excellent form today . Clues like 2D, Head of the bar, FOAM (not SOAP!), 36A, Word that can be described by changing its last letter to a P, SHARD (wow!); and the droll 52D, Take for a spin, TURN (of course it is) tell the tale. Loved it, clearly worth a full 5 squares on the JAMCR scale. In other news, we have hit 100,000 downloads, so...

Today's crossword, by Jonathan Kaufman, didn't faze Jean in the slightest, whereas Mike was almost done in by 16A, Drank discretely, HADANIP (not, as both Jean & Mike, and possibly most of humanity  first thought, HADASIP). That tricky northeast corner notwithstanding, the entire grid was well done, not a bit of crossword-ese, just ALOADOF entertaining and educational clues. Deets wi...

Our co-hosts took wildly divergent routes in solving today's crossword , with Jean taking the highway and Mike taking a barely discernible PATH through dense woods to arrive at the same destination. So, while he was OUTSHONE, Mike believes he should get some points (and possibly seek medical treatment) for ES (Extreme Stubbornness). Deets inside, so download, listen up, and enjoy (and don&apo...

You know you're in good hands when the byline reads Brooke Husic and Brian Thomas, who between them have published  19 (Brooke) + 14 (Brian) = 33 NYTimes crosswords, no mean feat. To see why they keep getting puzzles accepted, you just have to look at today's exemplar,   or listen to our description right here, right now! We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener...

Today's crossword by Aaron M. Rosenberg -- who bears an uncanny resemblance to our vision of Clark Kent -- was most assuredly not LACKINGVARIETY, as it had clues running the gamut from punny (3D, Run just for the exposure?, STREAK 🙄) to nostalgic (58A, 1994 film about a portal through the cosmos, STARGATE) to educational-ish (68A, Entertainment industry quadfecta, EGOT). We loved it, 5 squar...

A delightful Goldilocks of a Monday crossword , not too easy, not too hard (at least if you've been doing these for a while!), with a fine theme (but no revealer!).  If the name of the constructor -- Brad Wiegmann -- is familiar, that's because this is his 5th crossword since 2021, and here's hoping that his 6th will be here before long. We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact I...

A fairly gentle crossword compared to the last few weeks, and between that and a novel theme, it turned out to be a very enjoyable solve. What was that theme, you ask? Well, we could draw you a picture, or ... we could just direct you to have a listen to today's episode, which will explain why the first clause of this sentence is so hilarious. We choose the latter, so checkout today's ep...

A stellar Saturday crossword by Brandon Koppy, a minor struggle for Jean, a major slog for Mike; but both eventually achieved that Elysian feeling of satisfaction that comes from completing a challenging (but fair) puzzle. It's also Saturday, aka JAMCOTWA (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award) day, so to find out who won and why, have a listen to today's episode (and don't forg...