Saturday, February 17, 2024 - Here comes the ... ZITI?
Spencer Leach and Jem Burch have produced a splendiferous Saturday crossword that entertained, educated, and ... whatever the opposite of enervated is, ah, yes, energized. The highlight of the grid was undoubtedly 60A, Finished, colloquially, DONEZO, although 61A, Drinks are on me!, BARMENU, definitely gave it a run for its money. There was much more to this puzzle, though, and we have all the deets inside. Show note imagery: Speed skater Johann OLAV Koss, winner of 4 Olympic golds and occas...
18 Helmi 202416min
Friday, February 16, 2024 - Not one SOURNOTE in today's grid, Colin Adam's creation is all NICEWORK
Colin Adams has turned in a fine (debut!) Friday crossword: no theme (as befits a Friday puzzle), but plenty of sharp cluing (as one would also expect). We cover a boatload of them in today's podcast, but even the "also-rans" were quite good. Consider 30A, European airline that was nationalized from 1944 to 2001, IBERIA; 62A, [Violin emoji], OHBOOHOO; and the fabulous 66A, Moving company?, TROUPE. We also have a Fun Fact Friday, and some great listener mail, so ... enjoy! Show note videogra...
17 Helmi 20249min
Thursday, February 15, 2024 - An epic Thursday spectacular!
Years from now, cruciverbalists will be able to say, I remember where I stood (or, more likely, sat) when I finally solved this crossword, it's that good. To find out why, we beseech thee, with all due haste, to downloadeth, listen upeth, and enjoyeth this fine work from Teddy and Rich Katz. Show note imagery: Karl the FOG 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 by the...
16 Helmi 202415min
Wednesday, February 14, 2024 - A Valentine's Day present from the NYTimes!
Today is Valentine's Day, and the NYTimes Crossword team was ready, thanks to a fabulous opus by Ella Dershowitz. It was a crunchier than usual Wednesday crossword, but all for a good cause - a lovely Valentine's Day theme that we explore, in detail, in today's podcast. Show note imagery: RAPANUI, aka Easter Island 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 by...
15 Helmi 202418min
Tuesday, February 13, 2023 - Finally, DOGTV makes it into the NYTimes Crossword. Woof!
A lovely pre-Valentine's Day crossword, clearly a labor of love by Peter Gordon, his ninth in the NYTimes. There was a sizable ... what's the term for a collection of inspired crossword clues? Apparently there is no such word, so we therefore cheerfully seize the nettle and welcome the word clueclub™️ to the English language. Now where were we? Oh, yes, today's puzzle featured a sizable clueclub, including 51D, Bird with a lot of stuffing, LARRY (😀); 2D, Class that covers price ceilings and p...
14 Helmi 202420min
Monday, February 12, 2024 - 😉😉
A gentle Monday crossword to get our work week going, with a theme that involved nonverbal answers. For those of you unaware, a nonverbal answer, written in [ ], is meant to evoke a sound or an action, a nonverbal answer. There were plenty of opportunities to practice that today, as you will discover when you (we hope!!) check out today's episode! Show note imagery: Examen de danse, by EDGAR Dumas We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crossw...
13 Helmi 20246min
Sunday, February 11, 2024 - We are not the least bit REPINE about today's crossword
Depending on your upbringing and life experiences, you have found this crossword to be a breeze (Jean), or a quagmire of naticks (Mike). Both agree that it was a fine crossword, for reasons that are spelled out in today's Super Sunday podcast. Check it out! Show note imagery: Thomas Edison, on the cover of Time magazine, 1925 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 by ...
12 Helmi 202415min
Saturday, February 10, 2024 - Welcome to the YEAROFTHEDRAGON, GONGXIFACAI!
An elegant Saturday crossword by Zhouquin Burnikel, her 79th! It was a perfectly timed reminder that today is the Chinese New Year, the YEAROFTHEDRAGON, so GONGXIFACAI, everyone! The crossword was relatively straightforward for a Saturday, although there were some great gotchas throughout the grid. For example, have a gander at 7A, "Ah, got it now", OKISEE (not, as both Jean and Mike, solving independently as always, had speculated, OHISEE); 37D, Badly off-base, GONEAWOL (ha!); and 11D, Carri...
11 Helmi 202417min
