Tuesday, December 31, 2024 - Our New Year's Eve Spectacular (fireworks, champagne, this episode's got it all!)

A twisty-turny theme by Michael Dewey to help celebrate our midweek crossword. No revealers here (you'll have to listen to the podcast for that), but we will tell you that both DALEEVANS and ROYROGERS managed to meander into today's grid. A few mysteries popped up in the grid -- 45D, Contents of college blue books, ESSAYS (why blue?); 46A, Lost freshness, STALED (wait, is that even a word? check out the episode to find out!); and 13D, Home of the Minotaur's Labyrinth, KNOSSOS (is that K silen...

15 Syys 20227min

The wonderful thing about crosswords is -- apart from the sheer joy of solving them (or at least trying) -- all that you can learn from them. Within the course of one 15x15 grid they can introduce you to relatively new singers; currencies that you might otherwise have never known existed; and 14th century philosophers whose name still lives on today. And today's grid, of course, does all of that. For all the deets, you are cordially invited to download, listen up, and learn! A remi...

14 Syys 20228min

A fun Monday crossword by Michael Lieberman, with an LOL revealer that ... we won't reveal here, but most definitely do discuss in today's episode. Perhaps it was a coincidence, but three of Mike's all-time favorite answers appeared in the grid today - 6D, Trevor of "The Daily Show", NOAH; 30A, Disney+ series in the Marvel Comic Universe, WANDAVISION (best.show.ever.); and 57D, Ticklish muppet, ELMO 😍 Definitely a superior Monday puzzle, we give it an enthusiastic 5 squares on the ol' ...

13 Syys 20229min

A very pleasing Sunday crossword by Derrick Niederman, with a terrific theme -- Opposites Attract -- superbly executed. There were a few posers -- 39D, Tom Jones and Anthony Hopkins, by birth, WELSHMEN, 93D, What all companies try to make, PAYROLL (nice!), and a word that we earnestly hope will make a comeback, 87A, Horse-drawn carriage, SHAY. Just a reminder that the New York Times would love to have you subscribe to the crossword, and you can do that at nytimes.com/crosswords. You ca...

12 Syys 202212min

For today's puzzle, the editor's turned to Kameron Austin Collins, which means that the difficulty level was cranked up to 11 (maybe more). Your cohosts had to dig for every clue. Cases in point: 7A, Looks like, MIMICS; 31A, Bad thing to draw when your taking a test, BLANK (woah!!); 7D, Makes fast, MOORS (heh); and the delightfully devilish 56A, Taken care of business, ERRANDS ( yikes!). A brilliant Saturday crossword, we salute KAC for a job well done! We love feedback! Send us ...

10 Syys 20229min

If the main goal of a crossword is to entertain and educate, than today's crossword gets an A, for clues that entertain (47A, French, perhaps, in England, SNOG), educate (Out of nothing, in creation myths, EXNIHILO), and do both (1D, Snit, PET). Today's crossword also had an amazing grid, breaking the usual rules for a very good reason, as you will learn ... all in today's action-packed episode! We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crossword...

10 Syys 202218min

Matthew Stock returns to provide an excellent, geographically-themed crossword, with some intriguing clues throughout the grid to keep us puzzling -- 30D, Press material, GARLIC (😀), Mike's favorite word in the grid, 25A, Verse, POESY, and 59A, Goo for a batter, PINETAR, are just 3 examples. Definitely 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 FaceBook, so feel...

9 Syys 202213min

Kudos to Ekua Ewool for a marvelous, 4th-wall-breaking effort that did a great job of capturing the thoughts of newbies (and not-so-newbies) as they work through a week of crosswords puzzles. All the deets are inside, so have a listen and remember that we love feedback - crosswordpodcast@icloud.com. 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 there and strike up a conver...

8 Syys 202210min