Tuesday, August 19, 2025 - MONITORLIZARD, available if Best Buy and Petco decide to merge 🙄
This was a fine Tuesday crossword by Eric Rollfing, marking his fourth overall in the NYTimes, and his Tuesday debut. There were a bevy of TWL (Today We Learned) clues in today's puzzle. Most notably, we had 7D, Color whose name comes from the Greek word for "cuttlefish", SEPIA; the interestingly named 36A, Reptile that can reach up to 10 feet in length, MONITORLIZARD; and finally we went with the only loch we knew in 65A, Largest loch in Scotland by volume, NESS. In other news, it's Triplet ...
20 Elo 17min
Monday, August 18, 2025 - Ha-ha-ha-HA-ha!
Today's crossword was truly a labor of love for one of the greatest voice talents of all time. We speak, of course, of the immortal, indomitable, indefatigable Mel Blanc, pretty much the reason why the Golden Age of American Animation came into being. We'd like to say more, but we have an overwhelming urge to go take in some Looney Tunes shows! Show note imagery: The cast of The Jack Benny Program, with Mel Blanc on the far right. We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love list...
19 Elo 9min
Sunday, August 17, 2025 - Red Alert! It's a Sam Ezersky puzzle, coming in hot 🥵
Sam Ezersky is known for making devilishly difficult crosswords, and he does not disappoint today. Jean found this to be a bit of a challenge; Mike has decided that ... the intersection of Sam's wheelhouse and his own is the empty set. We have all the deets inside, as well as our latest JAMCOTWA (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award) winners (yes, plural!) so please, download, listen up, and enjoy! Show note imagery: MINORCA, not to be confused with MAJORCA, or PENTATONICORCA. We love fe...
18 Elo 14min
Saturday, August 16, 2025 - Byron Walden puts it to the metal!
Byron Walden has had a whopping 109 crosswords published in the NYTimes, including an astonishing 70 Saturdays. Frankly, it shows, because today's was perfect: highly challenging, but sprinkled with just enough toeholds to move it out of the realm of the impossible. Bravo! Show note imagery: BOARDIES, when you need to look good on the beach! 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 f...
17 Elo 14min
Friday, August 15, 2025 - This was a BOSS crossword!
Depending upon what you've squirreled away in your wheelhouse, you may have found today's crossword a) straightforward, or b) a Friday crossword wrapped around a zesty Saturday mini-crossword. In the case of our cohosts, Jean was the former, Mike, inevitably, the latter. While their puzzle solving journeys today did most definitely diverge, they were both agreed that this crossword, the third by Dena R. Verkuil, was a delight: we hope for more, soon. Beyond the crossword, we have a fabulous f...
16 Elo 16min
Thursday, August 14, 2025 - We'll take "Awesome Crossword" for $500
A few Sundays ago we had a puzzle paying homage to Star Trek, and now we've moved on to another iconic show, Jeopardy! While we feel that the editors missed a fabulous opportunity to play the Jeopardy theme in lieu of the usual ditty upon solving the puzzle, we nonetheless had a great time with this crossword, for reasons that we outline in today's episode. Show note imagery: WHATSTHETEA, by Mary Cassat We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, c...
15 Elo 20min
Wednesday, August 13, 2025 - Hola, OLLAS!
Just like the answer to 29D, "Too ___" (2024 #1 Hozier hit), this was a SWEET Wednesday crossword, and we're not just saying that because Jared Cappel took the time to introduce us to a magnificent book and movie (17A, Acclaimed 2004 science fiction work by David Mitchell made into a 2012 film, CLOUDATLAS). However, between that, and the appearance of our favorite 18th century Austrian composer (51D, "Surprise symphony" composer, HAYDN) we are compelled to give this a full and enthusiastic 5 ...
14 Elo 15min
Tuesday, August 12, 2025 - The planet with the most moons? Give us a ring, we'll tell you 🙄
This was an Erik Agard puzzle, meaning the clues were fabulous; but it was a Tuesday Erik Agard puzzle, which means that the clues were not too difficult. We loved 45D, He or I, but not she, ELEMENT 😀; 6D, Like some R's and oats, ROLLED; and our favorite Australianism, the clue in 44D, "No worries", THATSOK. In honor of Tuesday we have another Triplet Tuesday segment, so have a listen, and see if you can do better than Mike (which we definitely hope you can!). Show note imagery: In days...
13 Elo 15min
