Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

JUSTRELAX is not only the answer to 26D, "Easy ... everything's going to be OK",  it's also a natural reaction to seeing the authors of today's puzzle, Nancy Stark and Will Nediger, two veteran crossword constructors who have packed today's grid with scads of punny themed answers. Intrigued? We thought you might be, so just hit the handy-dandy download button (or bett...

Some serious MENTALGYMNASTICS were required to finish today's crossword, with the northeast being particularly troublesome. Jean managed to do the crossword in a decent time, whereas Mike eventually hid the timer, it was just  that  painful ... er, fun, yes, that's it, fun! Seriously it was, and to find out why, as well as which crossword won the highly coveted JAMCOTWA (Jean And Mike Cr...

A great Friday crossword - Jean flailed about a bit in the bottom-left and -center regions, while Mike at one point desperately tried to stretch out the answer to 40A, Bulb units, as WATTTS (as opposed to the correctly spelled LUMENS). In other news, it's Fun Fact Friday, so to improve your mind, as well as (it's been scientifically proven) make yourself more attractive to whatever gende...

Today's crossword was a very smooth solve, some might even say it was a Tuesday or Wednesday crossword that had snuck into a Thursday slot. Bereft of rebuses and with just a few verbal fireworks raises the question -- is Will Shortz preparing to unleash a Friday crossword the likes of which have never been seen? Perhaps an entire grid of white squares?? Stay tuned, we'll find out (and re...

There was a lot of food and food for thought, in today's grid. In addition to those mentioned in the podcast, MALTS, TOAST,  OATS and ROLL (singular, after all the other food we could only eat one) made an appearance, so definitely a weighty and  delicious  puzzle. Yum! We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.com. Also,...

A cornucopia of corny clues awaits the solver of today's puzzle, which Jean found to be a bit thornier than usual for a Tuesday, and Mike nearly SWOONED at the prospect of  TWOINKMINIMUMS: but both of the intrepid duo managed to persevere. To get all the deets, as well as see how Mike fared in an epic Triplet Tuesday, all you need to do is download and listen up! We love feedback! Send us a t...

A fun Monday crossword, with a clever, some might even say LOL theme, as well as enough interesting other clues to definitely warrant a 5 square rating on the JAMCR scale. Will that be enough to win the coveted JAMCOTWA (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award)? Too early to tell, but it's definitely in contention! We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Dro...

In today's crossword, the NYTimes has generously given us two crosswords for the price of one - a standard Sunday crossword, with a cryptic-crossword buried within. Fortunately, you don't need mad cryptic-crossword skills in order to solve this, because the crosses are, as is often the case, there to save the day. For all the deets on this delicious Sunday treat, check out today's e...

In today's episode, Jean describes the stages of crossword solving ... from Disbelief to Elation, and a few others in between. To find out what those are,  which crossword won the prestigious JAMCOTWA (Jean And Mike Crossword of The Week Award),  and for a deep dive into today's grid, just download and listen up! We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Dr...

A Friday crossword with Sid Sivakumar in the byline (as well as Matthew Stock) is often cause for quaking of knees and gnashing of teeth, but while they ratcheted back the difficulty (just a tad), the cluing was just as brilliant. Clearly, 40D, Bath water unit, LITRE, deserves a standing ovation, and 46A, Abbr. near zero, OPER, also is worth a hoot and a holler. Beyond our usual keen-eyed analysis...

A tough Thursday crossword ... for one of the cohosts, and long time listeners will have no trouble figuring out who. SPOILERLERT -- he's the one with the wild TOE. And to understand  that  reference, you'll have to do what you've been itching to do since this sentence began many aeons ago, i.e., download and listen up to today's episode. We love feedback! Send us a text... Con...

Adam Aaronson is baaaack! Just a few weeks after his JAMCOTWA*-winning AA crossword, he returns with a Wednesday offering that is also definitely in the running for this week's award. To find out why, and to decide for yourself whether or not he is worthy, we invite you to carefully scrutinize the evidence, alà Father Brown, as laid out in today's podcast. *Jean And Mike Crossword Of The...

A nice Tuesday crossword, because a) Ross Trudeau's the constructor, and b) Will Shortz is the editor. In today's episode, we spotlight an R&B singer definitely worth checking out,  and marvel at Jean's prowess during Triplet Tuesday. For all this and more, download and listen up! We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordp...

Today's crossword had a stealthy theme, but Jean ferreted it out, whereas Mike, bereft of a liberal arts education, assumed that the theme involved medical care (ADA, CDC, and YOGA, to be precise, which Mike almost never is). For all the deets, all you have to do is download and listen up. Just a reminder ... the New York Times Crossword is terrifically fun, but not terrifically priced, and t...

Opinions are divided on today's crossword - Jean found it easy, finishing it in 45 minutes, while Mike ... got natticked at the corner of 51A, 1997 pop hit withy a nonsensical refrain, MMMBOP, and 33D, Westernmost sch. in Conference USA, UTEP (as opposed to MMMBOX, a popular restaurant in the UAE and UTEX, a non-existent university).  For more on today's episode (not brought to you by MM...

Today's crossword, with an ocean of white squares and ergo a ridiculously small number of black ones, was, at first blush, a daunting sight, but upon closer inspection it turned out to be ... still daunting:  but keeping in mind the adage, STEADYASSHEGOES, along with the caution to take a rest when you're TOOTIREDTOTHINK, it turned out to be doable (barely). For all the deets, download a...

A fun Friday crossword, par for the course when Robyn Weintraub is at the helm, but that's the only predictable part of the grid. With clues like 1D, Story that goes above your head?, ATTIC, and 32D, They can be felt, PENS, it is no wonder that today's crossword earned a perfect 5 squares on the JAMCR scale, and if Siskel & Ebert were still int he biz they'd undoubtedly give it...

Rebuses, collective nouns, and a reference to Elmer FUDD -- a just about perfect crossword, and when you toss in the susseration of scandal, well, that just pushes it over the edge! For all the juicy deets, just hit the big download button (or better yet, the subscribe button), and enjoy! We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@iclo...

Regardless of whether you're a HALFEMPTY or HALFFULL sort of person, this crossword is guaranteed to EXALT, and we could WAX eloquent about it all night, but we'd rather let you get right to today's episode and ... enjoy! 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 t...

Although crosswords with quotes can be tricky and sometimes a tad annoying (if you don't know the quote, it can be a long slog), we'll give this one a pass because it is a quote by the godmother of the New York Times crossword and one of our heroes, the  original  puzzle editor, MARGARETFARRAR. 👏🏼👏🏼 We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a li...

As we (continue to) say ADIOS to 2021, even though we lack the powers of a MINDREADER or SEER, we have a GUTFEELING that 2022 will, like its predecessor,  be ALLOVERTHEPLACE, news-wise. 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 there and strike up a conversation!

Some crosswords are just joyous , and this is one of them , bubbling with funny and punny clues everywhere you turn -- and as you'll see when you listen to today's episode, it's contagious! 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 there and strike up a...

Happy new year, everyone! The NYTimes celebrated by providing a real WINNER of a crossword, of that we are SERTA -- although as far as the JAMCOTWA (Jean and Mike Crossword of the Week Award) is concerned, it lost out, so to find out who  did  win the award, and why (along with some great listener mail), hit download, play, and enjoy. We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love liste...

There were plenty of fireworks in this New Year's Eve crossword, some sparkling clues, and some brilliant answers (as always). Jean tore through it in good time, Mike took it a bit more sedately but still managed to emerge victorious. For all the deets, and a fascinating fun fact for Fun Fact Friday, download and listen up. We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener ma...

On this New Year's Eve Eve, we have a fine crossword by John Ewbank -- starting with that always tricky question when it comes to 1A, Flatbread from India -- is it NAAN or ROTI?  (today it's ROTI) all the way to the slippery 68A, Coaster, SLED. Jean had to dig for the answer to 39A, Sounder, SANER, while Mike felt slightly vertiginous parsing 52D, Have because of, OWETO -- but fortunatel...