Thursday, February 20, 2025 - Oh, *so* close
This was a debut crossword for Peter Gorman, and it was splendid. The theme was definitely unique -- we've seen none like it in recent memory -- and there were a number of excellent clues, including 61A, Hot spot, OVEN (cute!); 34A, Who said "A dress is a piece of ephemeral architecture", DIOR (profound!); and 57D, Locale depicted in Bosch's "The Garden of Earthly Delights", EDEN (we ❤️ Bosch!). Show note imagery: We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! ...
21 Helmi 4min
Wednesday, February 19, 2025 - A FAB, crossword, way above PAR
Joe Deeney has gotten a reputation, here at JAMDTNYTC HQ, for crafting fun and lively crosswords, and we are pleased to report that his streak remains intact! While it has often been conjectured that the proof is in the pudding, here it's in the podcast, so we enjoin you to subscribe, download, and check out our "case for the Deeney, er, defense"🙄. Show note imagery: SKYMALL catalog, in its heyday Game link: Squeezy, a brand new game by Jeff Chen We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact In...
20 Helmi 13min
Tuesday, February 18, 2025 - Erik Agard is back, huzzah!
Erik Agard is a fabulous crossword constructor, so it is a delight to see his name in the marquee, and even more delightful to tackle this crossword. The puzzle is packed with fun and educational clues, and the theme is LOL. Check out today's podcast to see what we mean. In addition to our analysis of today's puzzle, in honor of Tuesday we're running our Triplet Tuesday™️ segment, in which Jean ... uh, uh, no spoilers! Check out today's episode for all the deets! Show note imagery: CHURCHROCK...
19 Helmi 14min
Monday, February 17, 2025 - Nothing MOROSE in this grid, except, er, MOROSE 😉
Today's crossword seemed a little crunchier than usual to at least one of our cohosts (hint: their initial is 'M'), due to a confluence of problematic clues in the southwest corner of the grid. Fortunately, thanks to their belief that all good Danish film directors are called LARS, said cohost was able to complete the crossword successfully. Deets within, so have a listen, and, as always, please tell others about us on "the socials". Show note imagery: IDINA Menzel, after a particularly taxin...
18 Helmi 13min
Sunday, February 16, 2025 - CHOCULA, SKORs, and DEEPFRIEDOREOS, so ... not the *healthiest* crossword ever 😉
This was a fun Sunday crossword by John Kugelman, even if 9 out of 10 cardiologists would recommend you eschew most of the foods in the grid. We've seen John's name in the marquee before, had a notion that good things were about to happen, and were not disappointed. Every themed answer made us smile if not lol, and the rest of the grid was filled with crisply-clued answers. Deets inside (as well as spoilers everywhere you look, so make sure you try the crossword first and then have a listen)....
17 Helmi 16min
Saturday, February 15, 2025 - CERTS - no longer at your grocer's, but at least they're still in the grid 😋
This was a challenging puzzle -- as Saturday crosswords are engineered to be the toughest of the week -- but it also presented some DIVINE clues, including 24D, Places for subs, BENCH (delightful!); 21D, They cover top stories, INSULATIONS (ok, that was unexpected!); 28A, Things put into decks, TAPES (what are those again? 😀); and many, many more. Most of those we cover in today's podcast, and we also have a rare twofer for the JAMCOTWA (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award), so have a l...
16 Helmi 19min
Friday, February 14, 2025 - ♫ Love is in the air ♬ ... and in the grid ❤️!
While Friday crosswords are traditionally themeless, today's grid was rife with subtle, almost ninja-like Valentine's Day references. That's not to detract from the rest of the grid. We were fans of 51D, One-eyed "Futurama" character, LEELA (oh, please reboot that series!); 53D, One sporting a sporran, maybe, SCOT (okay, maybe we do subscribe to Popular Sporran, what about it? 😀 😀); 61A, "Skimbleshanks: The Railway Cat" poet, ELIOT (sporran and Skimbleshanks in one grid? Heart be still!)...
15 Helmi 11min
Thursday, February 13, 2025 - This crossword *rocks* -- must be all that heavy metal 😉
This is Jim Burch's seventh NYTimes crossword. He seems to have taken up residence on the tougher side of the week, with all of his crosswords appearing on Thursday (2), Friday (4) or Saturday (1). This was on the easier side of the spectrum, but still a challenge: as always, YMMV depending on what's in your wheelhouse. Deets inside, as well as the resolution of the Great BELLLAP mystery! Show note imagery: Federal land in NEVADA (shown here in pink), takes up 84% of the state by area! We lov...
14 Helmi 17min
