Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

This was a crunchy Sunday crossword , with much of the crunch coming from Michael and Oliver Schlossbergs' dizzyingly brilliant theme. As fans of both crosswords and roundabouts, we were absolutely delighted by today's fare. Check out today's episode for all the deets. Show note imagery: Gertrude EDERLE, the first woman to swim the English Channel. She did so in 14h34m, demolishing...

Katie Hoody, the Queen of Saturdays, is back again with an excellent example of the genre. In today's puzzle , the clues were deliciously deceiving, but the amount of pop culture sufficiently tamped down to give pop-culture-challenged solvers like Mike a fighting chance.  Just to give you a taste of Katie's talents, take a gander at 3D, Add to a columbarium, say, INURN (ye gads!); 48D, F...

Today's crossword , a fine effort by Zachary David Levy, will not induce neuralgia, aka BRAINFREEZE, rather just the opposite:  it will cause those billions of neurons to put in time-and-a-half in order to get through this challenging but ultimately highly rewarding Friday crossword. Deets inside. Besides the crossword, we have one of the shortest Fun Fact Friday segments on record, and an ab...

Yesterday's crossword was all about sequels, and today's crossword is itself a sequel — the second for constructor Alex Murphy. That  could be coincidence, or it could be another example of Will Shortz's untamable genius: we're betting on the latter.  While the foundation of today's crossword was a splendid theme, it was supported by some other great clues. We loved 3D, Se...

While Mike often has no idea what's going on with the theme, it is a blue moon day indeed when Jean also fails to get the gist of the thing. While the moon is currently set, we feel fairly confident that when it rises — at 3:35 AM, so we will not be personal witnesses to the event — it will appear blue. But blue does not capture our mood when working on today's crossword , because even t...

Today's crossword , by Killian Olson, was funny, punny, and a subtle reward for those of you who paid attention in Art Appreciation 101. We loved it, and today's episode spells out why. In honor of Tuesday, we have another Triplet Tuesday segment, and it is historic — as well as hysteric(al) — so be sure and check it out! Show note imagery: The Buffet, by PAULCEZANNE We love feedback! Se...

There's a lot of pressure resting on a Monday crossword's black-and-white shoulders: welcome and educate new solvers, retain and entertain experienced ones, and above all, don't be boring. Today's crossword, a debut by Matthew Luter, bears that burden well, as today's podcast makes (we hope!) abundantly clear. Beyond the crossword, we've picked our JAMCOTWA™️ (Jean An...

The very talented Alex Eaton-Salners is back with a cheery Sunday crossword engineered to lift your spirits (if they are sagging) or elevate you to almost Elysian heights (if you are already in a good mood) — and the good news, he succeeds magnificently. The proof is in the pudding ... er, podcast 😀 Shownote imagery: Nauru, purportedly the world's least visited country We love feedback! Send...

Today's crossword was replete with awesome clues — pretty much all of them were fresh, imaginative, and entertaining. We covered a slew of them in today's episode, but even though we used our "end-of-class-but-we-want-to-slip-in-one-more-slide" delivery style, we didn't have time to cover them all. We regret, in particular, not being able to squeeze in 36D, Stuck under a b...

This marks Rafael Musa and Rebecca Goldstein's 4th NYTimes crossword collaboration, and it is a fine piece of work . Being a Friday, it was themeless, but there were oodles of admirable clues in today's grid. We particularly enjoyed 36D, Be a hero, say, COSPLAY (bravo!); 17A, Going against the grain?, GLUTENFREE (magnifique!); and the groan-worthy 26A, Fare way to go?, BUSRIDES (oy!) — b...

Today's crossword was full of surprises. The theme? A surprise. The correct spelling of DADAIST? A surprise (at least to Mike). The fabulous 51D, Nation whose name sounds like a plea for seconds, SAMOA? Unsurprisingly, based on the lead-up to this sentence, a surprise.  The only thing that we were not surprised by, at all, is that John Kugelman has crafted another fine Thursday crossword. Tha...

Adam Vincent has turned in an ab fab Wednesday crossword. The theme was highly amusing, and the rest of the clues equally awesome. We cover a lot of them in today's podcast, because they definitely deserve their 15 minutes. Show note imagery: Oreos that change color when dipped in milk? Truly we live in an age of wonders 😀  We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener m...

MADISON, Wisconsin is a wonderful city that has received many accolades over the years, but one has always eluded it: recognition in the NYTimes crossword. We are pleased to report that those sorrowful years are now in the past, for in today's crossword Kiran Pandey has chosen to clue it as "Midwest capital named for a president", and in consequence Wisconsinites are dancing in the...

This was a superb and somewhat crunchier than usual Monday crossword , a side-effect perhaps of an excellent, and about as NYTimes-ish as you can hope for, theme. For all those reasons we are delighted to give this a full five squares on the JAMCR scale. In addition to today's crossword, we've picked out our JAMCOTWA™️ (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award), so to find out who, and...

Today's crossword was a real deal — two themes for he price of one. But, here's the kicker (and the reason why this puzzle was worthy of the NYTimes): the two themes were slyly related in a way that we will not spoil here, but let you discover on your own, in today's episode. Show note imagery: ARSENE Lupin, gentlemen thief and nemesis of Herlock Sholmes (really!) We love feedback!...

Kameron Austin Collins (aka KAC) has a reputation for writing streak-killing crosswords. Today, however, KAC is playing against type — and the result is a tough, doable puzzle that doubles as a master class in how to write great clues.  We've covered our favorites on today's podcast, but here are a few more for your consideration. First, we have 33A, Hip places, BELTLINES (nice!); 32D, T...

Today marks Joe Marquez's sixth NYTimes crossword. Having started in 2023, that amounts to about 2 crosswords per year — not too shabby! This particular puzzle was particularly non-shabby, with a wry theme and a slew of entertaining clues. We were impressed by 54D, Be important, COUNT (we know you do, listeners!); bedazzled by 51D, Hurricane or mudslide, DRINK (ha!); and suitably perplexed by...

Today's crossword was an homage to proponents of the "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade" philosophy, and it made for an awesome theme — tales of happy accidents that led to some critically acclaimed discoveries/inventions.  We don't want to spoil the suspense by mentioning those particular accidents here, but fortunately, history is replete with examples of the genre ....

Just like the dish in the title, today's crossword was yummy. We found the theme delicious, the clues tangy, and like all good crosswords it left us wanting more. Just to give you a taste, we had 34A, Hardwood tree ... or what's left after it burns, ASH (nice one!); 30D, Something a Möbius strip lacks, END (true, dat); and 48A, Word with shift or skeleton, KEY 😀. In addition to the cros...

This was a fine Monday crossword, straightforward but with a wry theme and clues that spanned a wide gamut of years. For instance, 3D, Bobby, Peter or Greg, to Carol Brady, STEPSON (circa 1969); 46D, Beats by ___ (headphone brand), DRE (est. 2006); and 67A, "___ gratia artis" (classic MGM motto), ARS (roared into life in 1924). So, regardless of what your generation is, there are at leas...

Kelly Richardson has crafted a delightful and timely puzzle in honor of INTERNATIONALWOMENSDAY, in which all of the crosses are the names of famous women — all the way from I SSA Ray to HED Y Lamar. It is an impressive and historically interesting compilation. Have a look at it, see how many of those women you recognize, and let us know: whoever recognizes the most will win a rare and therefore hi...

If crosswords were animals, then today's, by Fritz Juhnke, would be Godzilla , smashing its way through streaks like nobody's business. Fritz was relentless, piling tough clue atop tough clue. From 28D, Dry streamed, WASH, to 66A, Ninnyhammer, MORON, to 48A, When strikes go on the longest?, NOON, he never took his foot off the petal.  We take a deep dive through the grid, and we have som...

Ah, this was a rigorous  Friday crossword — the kind that, after you've solved it (er, if you've solved it), makes you feel a little taller, and compelled to regale your friends with cruciverbial tales of daring-do. Every clue in this crossword makes you think, and many may cause you to shake your head in awe when you finally solve them. We've got the whole blow-by-blow in today&apo...

Making any crossword is challenging; but making a crossword like this one seems almost impossible. Fortunately, constructor Hanh Huynh doesn't know the meaning of the word impossible ... no wait, he probably does: but unless he's some sort of polyglot he almost surely doesn't know the meaning of the word кинути, which explains at least in part the existence of today's magnifice...

Wayne Bergman has crafted a brilliant Wednesday crossword, with several genuinely LOL clues. We discuss several in today's episode, but we'd also like to give a shoutout to 14A, April Fools' Day sign, ARIES (nice!); 34A, Part of a rock band?, ORE (that just rocks! 😉); and 64A, Pay for play, perhaps, TYPO (LOL or groan, you be the judge — but our vote's for LOL 😀). Show note i...