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© 2026 Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
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A short, fun and occasionally not unintentionally educational podcast in which two fans of the New York Times crossword describe their puzzle-solving travails.
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Kudos to Adryel W. Robles Ojeda for getting their very first crossword published in the NYTimes. We found it both fun and fast. We liked all the clues in today's puzzle, but among those that we did not already cover in today's episode, three stood out: 49A, Sharp or flat location on a piano, usually, BLACKKEY (makes sense); 37D, 3 to 1 are good ones, ODDS (cute); and 42A, Most common word in English, THE (not, as we initially guessed, HEYIMWALKINHERE 😀 ). Show note imagery: Harry HOUDIN...
BATSIGNAL has appeared a total of 4 times in the NYTimes crossword — once in 2014, twice in 2020, and today. The real BATSIGNAL shows up much more frequently in DC Comics, and continues to this day to serve as a means of summoning the caped crusader, who we would argue really needs to slip a cellphone into the ol' utility belt. A quick check reveals that, in one paragraph, we have covered exactly one clue, and at this rate these show notes would be approximately 25 pages long. We therefore pr...
This was Samuel A. Donaldson's 42nd NYTimes crossword, and it is joyous, with effervescent clues and answers that richly reward the diligent solver. The themed answers were particularly fabulous, but we were also fans of 86D, Manage moguls, say, SKI; 74A, Place to store magazines, ARMORY; and 104A, Monopolist's portion, ALL (brilliant!). There were more (of course), check out today's episode for all the deets. Show note imagery: The gorgeous Manila skyline We love feedback! Send us a text... ...
This was Royce Ferguson's third Saturday NYTimes crossword, and it was highly enjoyable. It was not a walk in the park, but neither was it the "scale El Capitan by one's teeth" type of puzzle that it could have been — and for which we are grateful. There were terrific clues in the grid, such as 26D, Crystal and Rock, notably, OSCARHOSTS (😀); 42A, What isn't anyone's fault?, LET (😀 😀); and a gimme for the musically inclined, 53D, F or G, but not H, NOTE (😀 😀 😀) Show note imagery: Artemis II, a...
We are always partial to crosswords with KAZOO in the grid, but that is not the only reason why we are so enamored with today's puzzle. No, they had us at the theme — perfect for a Thursday — and kept us engaged with such great clues as 63A, School with a larger-than-life bronze statue of Henry VI, ETON (um, ok); 46A, One side in a "Holy War" rivalry in college football, UTES (vs??? Sure, leave us hanging 😉); and the itch inducing 65A, Irritating "cloud", GNATS (natch!). Show note imagery: Co...
If you forgot that today was April 1st, fear not — the NYTimes Crossword is here just in the nick of time to remind you. They do it, unsurprisingly, in a surprising and highly amusing way. We'll say no more on the subject, but rather exhort you to download today's episode, where we haul out the ol' magnifying glass to give the puzzle a careful once-over. Show note imagery: A lovely SNÖDROTTNING pillowcase, from IKEA We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop...
This was a well-crafted Tuesday crossword (and not just because of 52A, Cloudy craft beer, HAZYIPA). No, there were many other clever clues that contributed to this assessment, including 10D, "Aaron Burr, ___" ("Hamilton" number), SIR (one of our faves!); 8D, Establishment where a D&D party might refuel and pick up new leads, TAVERN (cute!); and 28D, Potatoes, in Indian cuisine, ALOO (yum!!). Show note imagery: Taiki Morii, one of the best para alpine skiers in the world, caught mid-fligh...
Gary Cee's crosswords have appeared 41 times in the NYTimes since 2009, mainly on Mondays and Tuesdays — he knows the territory well. This crossword had a "predictable" Monday theme — but predictable only in the sense that we knew it would be great. We found a few other nuggets in the grid, so join us for another glorious Cruciverbal Panning Session (CPS)™️. In addition to the crossword, we've picked out our JAMCOTWA™️ (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award), and we're sure you'll agree t...
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 the old record of 16h33m. We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us ...
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, Former M.L.B. team with the mascot Youppi!, EXPOS (yippee!); and 41A, Start of a Christmas carol in Lati...
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 absolutely awesome piece of listener mail / feedback about yesterday's puzzle, by itself worth ...
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, See 4-Down, HALF, and 4D, Double 3-Down, ONE. The debut at 47D, Some online discounts, EBATES, also tickled our fan...
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 though we did not immediately suss out the theme, our failure to do so did not significantly impede our progr...
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! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.com. Also, we'...
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 And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award) for last week. Did we pick your favorite? Let us know in the usual way. Show note imagery: ...
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 us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.com. Also, ...
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 blanket, perhaps, SNOWEDIN (bravo!); 33D, They've been played!, ROLES (brava!); and as we can definitely attest based on th...
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!) — but the rest of the grid was equally eloquent. We eagerly anticipate RM and RG's next collaboration. Show not...
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. That was completely expected. Show note imagery: EUROPA, the smallest of Jupiter's Galilean moons, a...
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 mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.com. Also, we're on FaceBook, so feel free to drop b...
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