Monday, February 24, 2025 - Rena Cohen is back, and better than ever!
Rena Cohen, who we just saw in the NYTimes crossword last month is back again, and she remains at the top of her game. For proof -- OK, for strong anecdotal evidence -- check out today's podcast. Bonus points if you can guess, in advance, which Spanish museum Mike was thoroughly unable to pronounce. Show note imagery: Dost thine eyes deceive thee? No, tis true, tis a Gumby on a Frisbee 😀 We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, cross...
26 Helmi 12min
Sunday, February 23, 2025 - Nothing SPURIOUS about today's crossword, all clues have been triple-checked! The podcast though ... 😉
There were some very nice pairings in today's crossword: The oh-so-close 7D, Sound of a smooth-running engine, PURR, and 45D, Catherine ___, wife of Henry VIII, PARR 😀The numerically related 89A, 11, literally, ONES, and 78D, 110, facetiously, ELEVENTYthe homonymously-related 10D, Forget to finish writing a clue, mayb, ERR, and 53A, Word with lock or pocket, AIRand, as they say, much, much moreSo our hats are off to today's constructors -- Daniel Grinberg and Rafael Musa -- for crafting a PUR...
24 Helmi 17min
Saturday, February 22, 2025 - Happy Belated GALENTINESDAY 😀
Apologies for not wishing people a happy GALENTINESDAY earlier, but as one of our cohosts had never heard of the word until doing today's superb crossword, and the other deigned to mention it, it is only now, 8 days late but writing fast, that we are in a position to wish you and yours a happy GALENTINESDAY. We might've been late vis-a-vis GALENTINESDAY, but we are right on time when it comes to announcing our JAMCOTWA (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award) winner, and so to ...
23 Helmi 15min
Friday, February 20, 2025 - Today's crossword is SWAK!
Today's episode explores Colin Adams' fifth NYTimes crossword, which is just as good as his other four, i.e., great! It was a tough but rewarding puzzle, requiring a lot of head scratching and memory palace exploration. In short, it was a perfect Friday! In honor of Friday, we're featuring our Fun Fact Friday™️ segment. We don't want to entirely spoil it, but let's just say this: if you think you know where the largest radioactive spill in US history took place ... you're probably wrong. ...
22 Helmi 17min
Thursday, February 20, 2025 - Oh, *so* close
This was a debut crossword for Peter Gorman, and it was splendid. The theme was definitely unique -- we've seen none like it in recent memory -- and there were a number of excellent clues, including 61A, Hot spot, OVEN (cute!); 34A, Who said "A dress is a piece of ephemeral architecture", DIOR (profound!); and 57D, Locale depicted in Bosch's "The Garden of Earthly Delights", EDEN (we ❤️ Bosch!). Show note imagery: We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! ...
21 Helmi 4min
Wednesday, February 19, 2025 - A FAB, crossword, way above PAR
Joe Deeney has gotten a reputation, here at JAMDTNYTC HQ, for crafting fun and lively crosswords, and we are pleased to report that his streak remains intact! While it has often been conjectured that the proof is in the pudding, here it's in the podcast, so we enjoin you to subscribe, download, and check out our "case for the Deeney, er, defense"🙄. Show note imagery: SKYMALL catalog, in its heyday Game link: Squeezy, a brand new game by Jeff Chen We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact In...
20 Helmi 13min
Tuesday, February 18, 2025 - Erik Agard is back, huzzah!
Erik Agard is a fabulous crossword constructor, so it is a delight to see his name in the marquee, and even more delightful to tackle this crossword. The puzzle is packed with fun and educational clues, and the theme is LOL. Check out today's podcast to see what we mean. In addition to our analysis of today's puzzle, in honor of Tuesday we're running our Triplet Tuesday™️ segment, in which Jean ... uh, uh, no spoilers! Check out today's episode for all the deets! Show note imagery: CHURCHROCK...
19 Helmi 14min
Monday, February 17, 2025 - Nothing MOROSE in this grid, except, er, MOROSE 😉
Today's crossword seemed a little crunchier than usual to at least one of our cohosts (hint: their initial is 'M'), due to a confluence of problematic clues in the southwest corner of the grid. Fortunately, thanks to their belief that all good Danish film directors are called LARS, said cohost was able to complete the crossword successfully. Deets within, so have a listen, and, as always, please tell others about us on "the socials". Show note imagery: IDINA Menzel, after a particularly taxin...
18 Helmi 13min
