Saturday, March 15, 2025 - It was a DARKNSTORMY crossword 🙄
Today's crossword was by Ryan McCarty, who specializes in spectacular Saturday crosswords like this one. The clues were challenging, and there was a lot of pop-culture -- Mike's bane, Jean's forté -- but fortunately there were enough non-pop-culture references so that Mike could prosper, and Jean didn't need 'em. In addition to the crossword, we have listener mail, including some from a former JAMCOTWA winner that involved a discussion of this week's JAMCOTWA winner: or as Robin would have it...
16 Maalis 22min
Friday, March 14, 2025 - A Perfect Friday Crossword ❤️
Brandon Koppy has a knack for writing magnificently deceptive clues, and his gifts are on full display in today's puzzle -- a tough but highly satisfying bit of work. We have all the deets inside, so check it out, as well as a fine Fun Fact Friday™️ segment. Show note imagery: SUGARRAY, creators of some awesome music! 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...
15 Maalis 24min
Thursday, March 13, 2025 - ESSIE, the preferred nail polish for 9 out of 10 mythical Scottish loch monsters 🙄
The consensus at JAMDTNYTC HQ is that this was a terrific Thursday crossword, and a limbering up, as it were, in preparation for the grueling Friday and Saturday crosswords yet to come. We were pleased to see OCCAM make an appearance in the grid, as well as a smattering of frqtly. sn. txt. msg. abbrs., including DMED, OTOH, IRL and IPAS (ok, we're not sure about that last one, but the rest most definitely are frequently seen text message abbreviations). Show note imagery: ATOMICDOG We l...
14 Maalis 19min
Wednesday, March 12, 2025 - No, an ARTEMIS is *not* as good as an ARTEMILE 🙄
It takes just an askance glance at today's grid to know that something's up. Perhaps it's the suspicious symmetry, or the fact that several runs of gray squares seem to have been cut in half. That's because they were cut in half, an essential part of today's cutting edge theme. Now, not that we want to contribute to FOMO, but if you're wondering why that last sentence was absolutely riotous, you'll want to download, listen to, and bask in, today's equally riotous (well, ok, drolly amusing, es...
13 Maalis 18min
Tuesday, March 11, 2025 - An ERIE-ily good crossword!
This was a debut crossword by Jared Cappel, and it was a fine one. The theme was sharp, and surrounded by a bevy of equally keen non-themed clues: the result was, as previously noted, fine. A few clues that didn't make into the podcast, but worthy of shoutouts, include: 62A, Compliment on the green, NICEPUTT (fore!); 6D, "I.e.," spelled out, IDEST (Mike's favorite phrase!); and 44A, Perplex, BEMUSE (Jean's favorite answer). In addition to the crosswords, we have a terrific Triplet Tuesday seg...
12 Maalis 21min
Monday, March 10, 2025 - A (LITTLE)LULU of a crossword!
One of Will Shortz's greatest innovations was the strategy of making Monday crosswords easy, then making them progressively harder throughout the week, with Saturday being quasi-impossible. [Sunday is often described as a "large Wednesday" in terms of difficulty.] And it's not like Will forgot his greatest innovation, but this was a trickier-than-usual Monday, which may (or may not) presage a challenging week ahead -- we'll let you know for sure on Saturday. In the meantime, we did enjo...
11 Maalis 13min
Sunday, March 9, 2025 - Ah, the sweet aroma of newsprint and printer's ink
The doctor -- Dr. Michael Schlossberg, to be precise -- was in fine form today, taking a sentimental stroll through the history books. Jean made short work of today's puzzle, deftly drawing upon her apparently infinitely large collection of pop-culture references. Mike, meanwhile, has the advantage of being able to search through his collection much faster: it does not take long to peruse a list consisting of BTS, LADYGAGA, and ... well, that's it really. Deets inside, so have a listen,...
10 Maalis 17min
Saturday, May 8, 2025 - Joe Deeney, the Houdini of crossword constructors 🙄😁
Joe Deeney has created a daunting looking Saturday grid -- there are oodles of 4-stack answers, and as an ADDEDBONUS, a pinwheel in the center with very few exits into the rest of the puzzle. The clues were definitely of Saturday calibre. As proof, consider 53D, Arabic man's name meaning "servant of God, ABDI; 30D, Scorching, HOTASHADES; 46A, Antonym of "iie" in Japanes, HAI; and the absolutely fabulous 50D, What's added to one to make zero?, NOTA. In short, a brilliant way to end our crosswo...
9 Maalis 6min
