Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

There were some truly awesome clues in today's crossword . We definitely hit the highlights in the podcast, but we'd be remiss if we didn't mention 44D, Stage name of South Korean rapper Park Jae-sang, PSY (Mike's favorite artist!); 47D, Tie one on at dinner, BIB (ha!); and an oldie but goodie, 21D, Parliament constituent, OWL. What a hoot!  Show note imagery: One of Disney&apo...

Today's crossword , a debut (huzzah!) by Dario Salvucci, was one of those puzzle-in-a-puzzle challenges that we just adore. In this case, one had to decipher some emoticon-like clues to get the correct answer. Jean cottoned on to the theme fairly quickly, and Mike, alas, had to piece it together after the fact. Still, the crossword was a gem, and kudos to Dario for such a fine work. Show note...

Today's crossword leveraged a hilarious line from a very well-known sitcom, and with just the slightest change in syllabification, turned it into the foundation of a terrific theme. Sheer genius from the gifted minds of Hanh Huynh and Ted Mayer. Deets inside. Show note imagery: DELHI, land of 16+ million people and —  inevitably and indubitably — the best curry restaurants on the planet! We l...

It's been almost 2 years since Nate Cardin last graced the pages of the NYTimes, and from our perspective that's almost 2 years too long. But he's back now , and in excellent form, with a wry theme and some amusing other clues. We were buoyed by the juxtaposition of 53A, Beyond well-done, BURNT, and 56A, Exceptionally good, in Gen Z slang, FIRE (a GUCCI of a clue, in our opinion 😀)...

The Cardinal Rules of Crossword Construction: Rule # 1: never repeat an answer in the grid Rule # 2: ignore rule 1 if it'll make for an especially awesome  crossword We are pleased as punch to report that the authors of today's crossword — John Ewbank and Colin Thomas — have taken great pains to adhere to the  aforementioned cardinal rules, and the result of that adherence is most gratif...

Both cohosts found t oday's crossword, a collaboration between Lance Enfinger and John Kugelman, to be a real workout (mentally, of course: physically they were pretty much doing their best mannequin imitations throughout the entire process). The theme was intriguing, to put it mildly: and the clues were definitely crunchier than usual for a Sunday, making the happy music, when it did at last...

This was a strenuous Saturday workout , no doubt, with more misdirection then you'd see at a Penn & Teller performance. Consider 15D, "Science is ___ that works": Kurt Vonnegut, MAGIC (what a fabulous quip!); 31A, Dice rolls from Jail to Free Parking, in Monopoly, TENS (easy if you'd memorized the board!);  and 8D, Part of a great deal?, ACE (what an ACE clue! 🙄). These ar...

Robyn Weintraub is one of our favorite constructors, and today's crossword shows why. It is, in a word, the clues . OK, technically that's two words, but we're feeling generous after having just enjoyed Robyn's handiwork. Pick a clue anywhere in the grid, at random, and you'll find it to be excellent. Repeat, and the result will still be excellent, there are no meh clues a...

This was a debut crossword by Kit Sheffield — kudos! — with a cute theme that must've been a bear to put into practice. Somehow Kit managed, though, and we are better off for it! Apart from the theme, today's crossword seemed a little crunchier than usual for a Thursday, with awesome clues such as 61A, "Think again!", NOPE; 42A, Sound made with a wince, OOF; and 66A, Five train...

This was a fun mid-week crossword, built with HI (Human Intelligence), with just a skosh of (non-AI) assistance from Excel. (See the xwordinfo.com entry for the gory details).  The theme was, well, punny, and the surrounding clues intriguing. We liked 1D, It goes down in flames, ASH; a reference to a lady desperately in need of Aveda, 5D, Monster whose gaze remained lethal after her death, MEDUSA;...

Miranda Kany and Tracy Bennett have teamed up to create a sweet Tuesday crossword , most definitely not   for the birds (even though birds did manage to glide into the grid). We found the theme sweet, and the rest of the clues just right for a Tuesday. Deets inside. Show note imagery: Some COYOTEs are slyer than others. We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop...

There's a lot of pressure on a Monday crossword. It needs to be easy (well, eas ier ), entertaining, and educational. Today's puzzle definitely checks all the boxes: Easier: 44A, Food court pizza chain, SBARRO ✅ Entertaining: 6D, "Aiiiiieeeee!," SCREAM; ✅ and  Educational: 28A, Purple yam used to flavor desserts, UBE.✅ We've also selected our JAMCOTWA™️ (Jean And Mike C...

If you're a member of the Geek Squad or work at Apple's Genius Bar, you'll find today's crossword to be a breeze. If not, fear not: the crosses were not too difficult, as befits a Sunday puzzle. We have all the deets inside, so, if you need something to listen to while you're digging out from this weekend's snowcopalypse, we've got your back! Show note imagery: J...

Adrian Johnson and Ryan McCarty have a predilection for writing late-week crosswords, and they have a predilection for getting them published because they are awesome ! The clues in today's puzzle, for example, universally ranged between amazing and woah! We give it a full 5 squares on the JAMCR scale (obviously), and consider it a top contender for this week's JAMCOTWA™️ (Jean And Mike...

In the course of two days we've spanned the experience spectrum. Yesterday's constructor, Joe DiPietro, has published 142 (!) NYTimes crosswords. Today's , Joyce Keller, has published 2, both Fridays, and both excellent. We covered the best-of-the-best clues in today's episode, but we'd also like to give a shoutout to 37D, Hangouts, HAUNTS (🧐); 51A, Out of joint?, FREE (...

If somebody has published 142 crosswords in the NYTimes, there's gotta be a reason ... and today's GUCCI crossword reminds us why Joe DiPietro gets published over and over again. It has an awesome theme, and nougat-like clues: tough to crack, but delicious on the inside. In addition to our analysis of today's puzzle, we also have some terrific listener mail. So, to take advantage of...

Today's crossword , a collaboration between Ginny Too and Avery Gee Katz, had scads of splendid clues. In addition to those mentioned in today's podcast, we also were amused (and at times bemused ) by 64D, The Three Kingdoms in Chinese history, e.g., ERA; 61A, Opportunity to dress up, OCCASION; and 31D, Let float, as a currency, UNPEG. Show note imagery: Promo for The GREATESCAPE. We lov...

This was a debut crossword by Jonathan Raksin and an auspicious start to what we hope will be a lucrative crossword-writing career. The theme was a hoot, and the supporting cast of clues played their roles to perfection. Hence our official (non-Yelp) review: 5 squares on the JAMCR scale. Being Tuesday, we have, naturally, a Triplet Tuesday™️ segment, and this time Jean is playing the role of inqui...

Peter Gorman has produced his third NYTimes crossword since February of last year, each on a different day of the week, which is quite 62D, Chilly, COOL. We had several celebrities in the grid — 37A, Cosmonaut Gagarin, YURI; 41A, R&B singer whose album "SOS" spent 100+ weeks in the Billboard top 10, SZA; and from a slightly more distant epoch, 58D, Biblical ark builder, NOAH. Being M...

This was an excellent crossword by Rena Cohen, a Washington University in St. Louis student. If the university sounds familiar, that might be because another NYTimes crossword contributor, Sid Sivakumar , also hails from there. What are the odds? And we'll leave it to the reader to contemplate whether the appearance of 77A, Sloth in 2002's "Ice Age", SID, is coincidence or the...

This was a fun Saturday crossword , which one of our cohosts (Jean) found to be an easy solve whereas the other (by process of elimination, Mike) found to be deucedly difficult. The reasons for both may be found on today's podcast. A few other artfully-crafted clues that were left on the editing room floor* include 6D, ___ Carlos Jobim, father of the bossa nova, ANTONIO (careful: the music is...

This was a great cruciverbial workout by Kyle T. Dolan, whose crosswords tend to be on the challenging side, with 11 of his 19 NYTimes puzzles appearing on Friday or Saturday. The clues today were deviously clever, yet oddly obvious in hindsight. We have all the deets inside, plus a Fun Fact Friday™️ segment celebrating one of the great leviathans of the deep (but no, not that leviathan, the other...

Today's crossword , a collaboration between Wendy L. Brandes and Barbara Lin, had an awesome theme that both cohosts temporarily missed in distinct and rather amusing ways that we will not describe here, so as to mildly increase suspense as you wait for the episode to download. While that is happening we would also like to draw your attention to 58D, Where the coffee and Wi-Fi might both be s...

As the week progresses, the crossword constructors get more opportunities to add spice to the mix, and Joseph Gangi, author of today's fine puzzle (edited, as always, by the legendary Will Shortz), has been spending overtime in the kitchen, the result of which is the effervescent grid you see before you (or will see if you visit our favorite site, xwordinfo.com ). Besides our cutting-edge ana...

This was a debut for Nate Hall, and he does a bang-up job. The theme was perfect for a Tuesday, and there were some marvelous clues throughout the grid. Jean's favorite was 44D, Pet sitters?, LAPCATS, whereas Mike's was definitely 22A, Creature that moves at an average speed of 0.03 miles per hour, SNAIL. 🐌 Besides our tour through the grid, in honor of Tuesday we have another Triplet T...