We find it difficult to resist a crossword with the word "cerulean" anywhere in it, or even in near it, when the constructors were working their magic. But it is not only for that reason that we have bestowed upon this fair opus a full 5 squares on the JAMCR scale. To find out what those other reasons are ... merely download today's episode (after clicking follow / like / subscribe, of course), listen up, and enjoy! Show note imagery: The Classics Illustrated version of LORDJIM (for those of ...
This was an excellent crossword by Stella Zawistowski, her 24th for the NYTimes and her 7th Tuesday. There were some awesome clues in the grid, such as 28D, "A pox on thee!", FIE (a truly excellent insult 😀); 23A, Heavily edit with beauty filters, as a photo, in modern lingo, YASSIFY (how do scholars classify YASSIFY, anyways? 😉); and in retrospect an obvious answer (but a fun one nonetheless), 50D, Country whose national soccer team is nicknamed the Pharaohs, EGYPT. In addition to our analys...
This was an intriguing debut crossword by Katherine Xiong. Both cohosts -- solving independently as usual -- found it to be a tad longer than one might expect for a Monday. That just means more time spent savoring the crossword, though, and so more a cause for celebration than anything else. Besides the crossword, we also have our JAMCOTWA (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award). Also, as an exclusive, we have left in the mix the origin story of our next contest (currently unnamed: ...
Both cohosts found today's puzzle to be particularly crunchy due to cruciverbial challenges in different areas of the grid. Jean struggled mightily in the southeast corner, while Mike was temporarily waylaid by his ignorance of sports -- and any pop culture references more recent than around 1850. Still, both eventually prevailed, and lived to tell (podcast) the tale. Deets inside! Show note imagery: Benedick, the comic relief in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, who swore he'd never marr...
Sam Ezersky crosswords can be quite thrilling, as he is renowned for making highly challenging puzzles. He certainly does not disappoint this Saturday, quite the contrary. However, he has managed to inject a lot of humor into the grid, making for an epically challenging but also quite entertaining solve: no slogs here. We have all the deets inside, so have a listen, and, as always, we welcome your feedback! Show note imagery: LAMARJACKSON, a Baltimore Ravens quarterback getting ready to unlea...
Colin Adams seems to have hit the sweet spot with Friday crosswords chock-full of cracklingly good clues. Besides those mentioned in today's podcast, we also have such notables as 14D, Locales for some residents, in brief, ERS (ah, those types of residents); 32D, Sch. that's home to Mike the Tiger (and his 15,000-square-foot habitat), LSU (we're suckers for clues that reference a cohost😉); and 47D, One might be ticked off, LIST (nice one, Colin!). Besides our coverage of a most excellen...
This was Freddie Cheng's 18th NYTimes crossword. He mainly publishes earlier in the week, but he has had a crossword published on every day, no mean feat. Today's puzzle had some awesome cluing, including 28D, Way to go, ROAD; 53A, What Zuckerberg dropped from before "Facebook" in 2005, THE; and the bound-to-be-useful-someday-to-somebody clue 37D, Equivalent of five carats, GRAM. There's more, besides, so check out today's podcast for all the deets. Show note imagery: The Burghers of Calais, ...
This was an enjoyable Wednesday crossword, with a warm, uplifting, nostalgia-centric theme that both cohosts greatly appreciated. We were glad to see Jules VERNE in the grid for his 77th time, in 48A, Author of "L'Île Mystérieuse"; we were not at all surprised to see YAOA (Yet Another OREO Answer) at 60D, Double Stuf cookie; and we also appreciated the next clue over, 62A, A 2-1 record has one, LOSS (of course!). A nice debut by Daniel Trujillo Diaz. Will his second appear before not to...
This was a fine debut crossword by Corry Cropper. It felt a little crunchier than usual for a Tuesday, but not overwhelmingly so; and it revolved around a mythological theme, which both cohosts found intriguing. Deets inside! In addition, we have a challenging Triplet Tuesday™️ segment for your enjoyment and edification, so prepare to be ... amused and/or edified. Show note imagery: A CAPUCHIN, runner-up in 2024's Most Meme-able Image Contest™️. We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Inf...
This was a straightforward Monday crossword, as Monday crosswords tend to be, and an enjoyable crossword, as all NYTimes crosswords edited by Will Shortz are destined to be. We were glad to spot the HIDEYHOLE at 33D; marvel at ICEDANCERS not too far removed at 28D; and delight at 40A, "Sure is", YEP (which, coincidentally, is our answer to the question, was this a great crossword?). We also have our JAMCOTWA™️ (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award) pronouncement, and some awesome listene...
For those who like puns, you are in for a treat; and for those who do not, you still are, because in a 21x21 Sunday grid there's room for all manner of entertaining / educational clues. If the name of today's constructor, John Kugelman, sounds familiar, that's because he has appeared in February, April, May, June, July and October of this year -- not a bad showing at all. Apart from May, all of those crosswords were Sundays, which is simply astonishing. We have the full deets on today's puzzl...
This was an enthralling Goldilocks of a Saturday crossword: not too hard, not too easy, but just right. For that we can thank Ryan McCarty, edited by the seemingly indefatigable Will Shortz. There were oodles of great clues in the grid, and we have the full analysis right here - so please download, listen up, and enjoy! Show note imagery: an ELAND, trying to calculate how much it should charge in exchange for letting the NYTimes use his name in the crossword. We love feedback! Send us a...
Rebecca Goldstein and Rafael Musa are both great cruciverbalists, but together they are more than the sum of their (very impressive individual) parts -- as aptly demonstrated in today's crossword. From the amusing 56A, Something raised during Oktoberfest, BEERTENT (nice!), to the educational 5D, The first one was issued in 1936, for short, SSN, to the brilliant 32D, What comes before we go, AWAY, the grid was dazzling. We have the deets inside, as well as a fabulous fact for Fun Fact Fr...
This was a fine Thursday crossword by Aidan Deshong -- his 6th for the NYTimes. Jean tore through it, Mike ... did not. The theme, discussed within, was great. The clues were also fine -- 20A, Leveled the playing field, say?, MOWED (awesome!); 55A, Pin number, TEN (🎳😀); and 3D, What might come after many years?, AGO (not, as both cohosts originally posited, AGE). Show note imagery: AEGEAN, Greece's national airline We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail!...
Today's crossword was a joy, for reasons that will become readily apparent as soon as you've either a) done the crossword, or b) listened to today's podcast. We don't want to spoil it too much; to say that there was a great pun in the grid is probably not too much of a spoiler, as that is oft the case. For all the deets, though, you'll definitely want to check out today's episode. Show note imagery: ACACIAS, frequently spotted on the African savanna. We love feedback! Send us a text... Contac...
Today's crossword is a debut for Brian Keller -- and it checks all the boxes as far as Mondays are concerned. Fun theme? ✅Not too hard? ✅Interesting clues? ✅15x15 or thereabouts? ✅In addition to a fine Monday, we've also hand-picked our JAMCOTWA™️ (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award) for the last week, which goes to ... a crossword that will be revealed in today's episode, so do have a listen. A reminder that studies have shown that the NYTimes crossword is a fabulous way to improve yo...
A few weeks ago, we had an homage to Star Trek. Well, Rich Katz (ably guided by Will Shortz) has dug into the nostalgia vault once more, and came up with this fine ode to a 1990's sitcom whose name we will not mention in these show notes -- to preserve the element of surprise, as it were. Being a Sunday crossword, there were numerous notable clues. We liked 97D, Chinese "nut" that's really a fruit , LITCHI; 108D, AA or JJ, e.g., PAIR (true, true); and 67D, Sun bloc?, NBA (cute!). Show note im...
This was a Saturday crossword where every clue looked like it was hand-crafted with passion and precision: if the Loeuvre is ever looking for a crossword to hang up next to the Mona Lisa, they could do worse than pick this one. Even after our extensive dive into the grid in the podcast, we couldn't squeeze in all the gems. For instance, 23A, They arose from Ra's tears, according to Egyptian mythology, BEES (BEEautiful)!); 9A, African capital whose name translates to "ants", ACCRA (huh!)...
Opinions were mixed on today's puzzle. Jean found it to be a large-ish challenge while Mike found more of it in his wheelhouse than usual for a Friday. Both agreed that it was an awesome crossword, though, with some sharp and interesting cluing. For instance, we had 39A, Pet food brand whose name reflects its founding in Allentown, Pa, ALPO; 37A, It gets pumped at a party, KEG; and 3D, It might be on display at Comic-Con, INNERGEEK. There's more, including a great fun fact about the the...
Today's crossword was brrrrrrrillllllliiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaannnnnnnntttttttt -- that is to say, brilliant: but definitely a stretch 😀. To be more specific, thanks to the theme solving this crossword seemed virtually impossible, until ... it wasn't. We don't know how long it took to construct this, but it is genius writ large. Kudos to Jesse Goldberg for an outstanding piece of work. Show note imagery: The ERIE Sea Wolves (who aren't at all eerie 🙄) We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info:...