Monday, March 29, 2021
The EPITOME of what a Monday crossword should be -- not too difficult, with a GLOB of humor (6D, Try, try again?, REHEAR, and 25D, Shelters for shelties, KENNELS), and a few novel words (41D, Theatergoer's break, ENTRACTE, and the slightly more common but even more difficult to spell word, 67A, Garlicky sauce, AIOLI). Jean was able to get through all of this with her usual APLOMB, while Mike wasn't quite as TIMELY. We give it a 5 squares on the JAMCR scale. We love feedback! Send ...
30 Maalis 20219min
Sunday, March 28, 2021
A perfect puzzle for a perfect day (28 is a perfect number, we kid you not). The puzzle was not too tough, especially if you knew your planetary moons (ARIEL, DEIMOS, and the like). There were several smile-inducing clues, but we have to give a shoutout to one of the funniest, genuinely LOL clues that we've seen in a while -- 60A, Hit movie released as "Vaselina" in Mexico, GREASE. Bravo! We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast...
29 Maalis 202110min
Saturday, March 27, 2021
The toughest crossword of the week lives up to its billing, with a bottom right corner that was a real HAIRRAISER. Both Jean and Mike had to dig for 39D, Rogues, PICAROS (not (Jean thought) GIGOLOS, or (Mike thought) PIRATES). That ran into another poser, 53A, Entry point in the walls of Babylon, ISHTARGATE. Meanwhile in other parts of the puzzle, the author didn't ease off, FARFROMIT, but had enough HORSESENSE to up the levity quotient as in 17A, Start of a nudge, DONTFORGET, an...
28 Maalis 202113min
Friday, March 26, 2021
A loooong crossword, at least the answers were: but the clues were relatively merciful for a Friday, which means (based on the Law of Conservation of Crossword Difficulty) that tomorrow's puzzle is going to be an ursa, if you'll pardon our Latin. But back to the here-and-now, there were quite a few clever clues, including 2D, Not fast, EAT, and 62A, Place for a hot date?, DESERTOASIS. Jean was able to make short work of 6D, Heart of an academic paper, THESISSTATEMENT, whereas Mike's firs...
27 Maalis 202114min
Thursday, March 25, 2021
Opposites attract, but some of the time they just hang around in bigger words, as Alex Eaton-Salners demonstrates in this fine puzzle. Alex was able to find AMITY in ANIMOSITY, WOEFUL in WONDERFUL, and a few others that we'll not reveal here (but we discuss in the podcast, and you can also see at xwordinfo.com). Beyond the central theme, there were several clues of note: 12D, Distance between "some" and "where" in "Somewhere over the rainbow", OCTAVE, and 23D, Intruder warning, m...
26 Maalis 202111min
Wednesday, March 24, 2021
A crossword for the animation fashionistas in the crowd, where readers were challenged to the question of WHOWOREITBETTER, with sartorial standoffs among PAIRS of fictional characters, including 17A ... Donald Duck orPopeye?, SAILORSUIT, and 24A, Minions or Mario?, DENIMOVERALLS. Jean immediately picked up on this theme; Mike was left totally AREEL, and had to fight for every square, SOSAD! Oh, to answer the initial questions: definitely Donald Duck and Minions -- no doubt at all. We...
25 Maalis 202112min
Tuesday, March 23, 2021
You'll probably get a charge out of today's puzzle, an electrifying effort by Dan Schoenholz. Jean managed to complete today's crossword within 3 seconds of her Monday time. Mike was too distracted by the appearance of TWEE (48A, Too cute, on the Thames) and ONUS (35D, Albatross) to turn in a good time. It's Tip Tuesday. Jean explains the architectural terms OGEE and ORIEL, while Mike advises solvers to be wary when reading clues, as there might be puns lurking within. We love feedback! Send...
24 Maalis 202115min
Monday, March 22, 2021
Today's crossword creator was on fire -- or at least thinking about fire, witness the three themed answers, MATCHBOX, TINDERPROFILE and FLINTMICHIGAN. Those three looooong answers made this a more strenuous Monday than usual, but that's why crosswords come with crosses. Speaking of fire, COALS (18D, Classic eyes for Frosty) also made an appearance, although the pluralization of what is already a collective noun did sound a bit off. After last week's ULTRAVIOLET, INFRA made an appearan...
23 Maalis 202111min
