Tuesday, May 18, 2021
Typical Tuesday fare, which since this is the New York Times means really, really good fare, involving SAUSAGELINK synonyms and a secondary theme (if three related clues can be considered a theme) involving volleyball (SETTERS, SPIKES and NET). Jean of course had no problem with today's puzzle, Mike got off to a slow start, guessing that1A, Hospital scan, for short was CAT, rather than the correct answer, MRI, and then misspelling 1D, Chief of a fire department, MARSHAL as MARTIAL (oops!). T...
19 Touko 202112min
Monday, May 17, 2021
Did we like this crossword? JA, DA, OUI, SI, or, to put it another way, YES! Beyond the clever theme (answers that embedded YES, in various languages), it was slightly more difficult than the usual Monday fare. However, it did have 29A, Where to order a Blizzard, DAIRYQUEEN, so we are contractually obligated to give it a yummy 5 squares on the JAMCR scale. We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.com. Also, we're on Face...
18 Touko 202110min
Sunday, May 16, 2021
It's not easy to BUILDABETTERMOUSETRAP, nor to build a better crossword gimmick, but in today's CADILLAC of a puzzle Joe DiPietro shows us how it's done -- so if you want to CLAP, or sing a PAEAN in his honor, we would certainly understand. After all, any puzzle that include 21A, Loud thudding sound, CRUMP 😀, or 59A, Hasbro game requiring increasingly quick reflexes, BOPIT, or manages to cross ATOMS, IOTA and MITE, clearly deserves acclaim. We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact In...
17 Touko 202113min
Saturday, May 15, 2021
It wasn't quite RAGNAROK, but today's crossword was a major challenge, with deliciously deceitful clues, like 9A, Avon lady, for one, BRITON, 3D, What's on the fast track?, ACELA, and 60A, Hip joints, HOTSPOTS ... actually anywhere you look in this puzzle you'll find that same ultra-high quality, as we have come to expect by the master of cruciverbal cunning, Sam Trabucco. Definitely a 5 squares on the JAMCR scale! We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener m...
16 Touko 202114min
Friday, May 14, 2021
It was ALLSYSTEMSGO for Jean, who set a new best time for a Friday crossword, typing so quickly that relativistic effects caused her fingers to noticeably elongate. Mike meanwhile, had a spot of bother in the top left corner, thanks primarily to 2D, "________Camp", 2020 Oscar-nominated documentary, CRIP, and 3D, "Woman's rights pioneer Elizabeth _________ Stanton", CADY. But thanks to 52A, One way to crack a code, BRUTEFORCE, he too was able to persevere. It's Fun Fact Friday, and in t...
15 Touko 202113min
Thursday, May 13, 2021
While today's crossword had a few of THEUSUALSUSPECTS - LAB, TASE and ARSON -- it also had some more ANOMALOUS entries -- movie titles that were (for the most part) questions, the answers to which were ... other movie titles. For instance, 38A, Who framed Roger Rabbit? [1995], turned out to be the aforementioned THEUSUALSUSPECTS. It must've taken TRUEGRIT to construct this crossword, hats off to the J.A.S.A. Crossword Class (and their teachers, Andy Kravis and Natan Last), who provided such a...
14 Touko 20219min
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
A full-bodied crossword, thanks, undoubtedly, to the presence of VO5 in the bottom left corner. In today's episode, Jean and Mike ponder whether any Georgia teams have a VIDALIAONION as their mascot; whether sailor-scholars pronounce et alii as et al aye-aye, and if anybody, ever, has used SESAMES in a sentence. Download and listen up for all the details! We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.com. Also, we're on FaceB...
13 Touko 202110min
Tuesday, May 11, 2021
Today's crossword was simultaneously exciting (as New York Times crosswords usually are), but also a LOWKEY affair, as several keys appeared in the lower half of the themed answers (running vertically), FIREESCAPE, STORAGESPACE, BIRTHCONTROL, FIRSTSHIFT and OPENTAB. Both Jean and Mike, solving independently as always, finished up at the exact same square -- the intersection of 26A, Twitter thumbs-up, informally, and 19D, Western _______ (college course, informally), The issue, informal...
12 Touko 202113min
