Friday, January 9, 2026 - No two ways about it, this was a fantabulous crossword!
Greg Snitkin and Glenn Davis have collaborated on two crosswords, both Fridays, and both fantabulous. Today's had some novelties, including 3 superb debuts: 14A, Winning like crazy, ONAHEATER (woah!); the award-winning 34A, Stealthy flier, AIRMARSHAL (hey, what happened to the second L??); and the equally splendid 61A, He's great for the time being, MRRIGHTNOW (brilliant!). In addition to today's puzzle, we have a fun fact for Fun Fact Friday, and if the suspense of what that might be is gett...
10 Jan 15min
Wednesday, January 7, 2026 - EPIC or ACK? You be the judge!
Our co-hosts had almost comically differing experiences solving today's crossword. Jean found it to be ... a breeze, whereas Mike found it to be a category 5 hurricane, which he will dub Hurricane Adrianne, after the creator of said hurricane, er, puzzle, Adrianne Baik. Apparently Adrianne was able to quickly and remotely rifle through Mike's memory palace (more like a memory shanty, but nvm), identify everything he didn't know, and then put it into a crossword. Well played, Adrianne! For all...
8 Jan 16min
Tuesday, January 6, 2026 - NOCAP, this was an *awesome* crossword 😀
Today's crossword was terrific. A theme that pegged the pun-meter, a second theme that nobody other than your cohosts know about 😀, and a lot of other fine clues in the grid. We particularly enjoyed the duality of 42A, One-named supermodel, IMAN and 39D, Country in which men traditionally wear robes called dishdashas, OMAN; and we also appreciated the memory-lane moment induced by 50D, "Ghosts" playwright Henrik, IBSEN. In other news, we have another Triplet Tuesday segment: to find out if Mi...
7 Jan 17min
Monday, January 5, 2026 - 🎵 Leavin'... on a Jet Plane 🎶
This was a gentle Monday crossword, easing us into our crossword-solving week. It was still entertaining, though, thanks to a theme that will lift your spirits — literally. In addition to the crossword, we also have chosen our latest JAMCOTWA™️ (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award), and this week goes to ... [REDACTED, TO HEIGHTEN SUSPENSE AND BECAUSE WE GET PAID BY THE WORD😀]! Show note imagery: Fanny BRICE, legendary actress and inspiration for Funny Girl We love feedback!...
6 Jan 11min
Sunday, January 4, 2026 - Gene Louise De Vera, Rule Breaker! 🚔
Gene Louise De Vera's 5th NYTimes puzzle was one for the books. One of the sacrosanct rules of NYTimes crossword-dom is that an answer never appears twice in the grid. Well, rules are meant to be broken, so they say, and today this one was -- but all for a good cause, aka the theme. We had some other great clues in the grid. Besides those mentioned in the podcast, we had the slick 94D, Paired chips with dips?, RHYMED; the fabulous 84D, Ixnays from Irkutsk, NYETS; and a favorite of whate...
5 Jan 19min
Saturday, January 3, 2026 - A Brilliant End-of-Week Crossword
The clues in today's crossword, Hannah Slovut's third for the NYTimes, were so dazzling that we felt we ought to wear shades while solving it. There were scads of clever clues everywhere you look in the grid, and nary a clunker anywhere: just way we like our Saturday crosswords! For the full 411 — as well as another episode of "Oh, That's How You Pronounce it!"™️, check out today's podcast. Show note imagery: Some actors in MOCAP (motion-capture) suits Show note url: The name's PESCI, Joe PES...
4 Jan 9min
Friday, January 2, 2026 -- Hello, awesome crossword 😁 and good bye, Deb Amlen😢
To explain the episode title: this was, indeed, an awesome crossword. And, as has happened for years upon years, Deb Amlen scrutinized the crossword in the accompanying NYTimes column, Wordplay. This was her last Wordplay column, however: she is now retiring to take up other pursuits. But her last column was as good as usual, and today's crossword was a great send off. Besides the crossword proper, we also have a weather-related fun fact for Fun Fact Friday™️, and some great listener ma...
3 Jan 16min
