Wednesday, April 2, 2025 - CIAO - the *perfect* word when you've forgotten if you're coming or going 😀 😀

If you like cars, or perhaps we should say, if you like srac, then you'll love this crossword, which features a series of car manufacturers, embedded, in reverse, in various names. For instance, 17A, They often come out at night, FALSETEETH, includes, reading backwards, TESLA; and our favorite, 28A, First Lady of 2001 to '09, LAURABUSH, includes SUBARU. Besides that, the injection of several unexpected I's caught our I, er, eye -- 6D, Longtime "All Things Considered" host Robert, SIEGEL, an...

10 Maalis 202110min

There is always a DEMAND for good crosswords, and contributing to the SUPPLY is Eric Bornstein. whose ECONOMICS themed crossword would've made ADAMSMITH proud. Both Jean and Mike, although solving independently, were temporarily naticked in the same location: 47A, Actor Philip with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, AHN, ran into 38D, Tennis score after deuce, ADIN. Fortunately, that troublesome N was part of the themed answer, DEMAND, which ran diagonally through the puzzle, and saved the...

9 Maalis 20219min

Today's crossword had an ingenious theme. as one would expect when Celeste Watts and Jeff Chen are at the keyboard. Two letters, extracted from each themed clue ,when pronounced, formed a homonym for a word or phrase, as part of a second phrase, that described the original clue. For instance, 49A, LUXUR_ _AUGHT, UNWISEINVESTMENT, and 93A, POI_T OF _IEW, UNENVIABLEPOSITION. Amazing! Jean made short work of this crossword, but Mike, as usual, hit some choppy waters due to his unfamiliarit...

8 Maalis 202110min

The force is strong with this one, this one being Sid Sivakumar, author of a crossword with a distinct sci-fi/nerd/geek vibe going for it. It starts off with 1D, "Star Trek" character first played by 12-Down, DATA, and the 12D counterpart, Actor Spiner, BRENT. It doesn't let up with 14A, Side opposite 41-Across in a sci-fi clash, ALIENRACE, and its counterpart, 41A, See 14-Across, HUMANS. Even 44A, School science project involving a vegetable and a voltmeter, POTATOBATTERY (not, as Mike origi...

7 Maalis 20219min

A strenuous Friday workout from Sridhar Bhagavathula, with lots of challenges ... pretty much everywhere. Jean had a spot of bother with the top-left corner, with 1A, Pitched poorly, OFFKEY, and 3D, Resource for music performers, FAKEBOOK being particular sticking points. Mike found the top right corner a tough slog, with 7A, Trace element?, STENCIL (cute); 17A, The Statue of Liberty, for one, COLOSSUS; and his personal favorite, 9D, If all ________ were laid end to end, they would not ...

6 Maalis 202114min

Jean's favorite crossword device makes an appearance today -- a rebus! The revealer was two clues, spelling NBA JAM, and the rebus required NBA be JAMmed into one square (we see what you did there, Blake Slonecker, author of today's puzzle). A few crossword friends take a bow today, including the apparently contractually obligatory 35A, Male actor with the most primetime Emmys (7), ASNER, the official monster of the New York Times crossword, 46A, Folklore fiend, OGRE, and the off...

5 Maalis 202110min

There were a few ENIGMAS in this puzzle -- the most perplexing being, how did Galileo, born in the 1500's, earn the monicker of 39A, The Father of Modern Physics? Schroedinger is probably rolling over (and simultaneously not rolling over) in his grave 😀 Jean was natticked at the corner of 49A, Lecture series focused on "ideas of the mind", TEDX and 39D, British Pharma giant, GLAXO, while Mike was indignant at the thought that 1A, Body part whose name comes from the Latin for "little mou...

4 Maalis 202113min

We're not sure if Ross Trudeau STAYSSANE by writing crosswords, but he certainly does a fabulous job of concocting them, and we present today's puzzle as exhibit A. It was a themed crossword, and Jean's favorite clue was 61A, Chicken broth or beef bouillon?, STOCKOPTION; Mike liked the tangentially-related 6D, Participated in a stock exchange?, MOOED - ultra-cute! Jean got through the crossword with her usual aplomb and alacrity, while Mike, AHEM, was almost done in by his Diet Coke habit, le...

3 Maalis 202112min