Wednesday, September 9, 2026 — Argh, It's Write Crosswords Like a Pirate Day!
Our cohosts had very different experiences, solving today's puzzle. Jean cruised through it like the QE2 on a serene summer's day; Mike's journey was more reminiscent of the Vasa's, thanks to a series...
10 Sep 11min
Tuesday, September 8, 2026 — A Terrific Tuesday Debut! ❤️
We are pleased to report that Sunny Maharjan has joined the elite pantheon of NYTimes crossword constructors. This, his debut, is a gem. It was a quick solve (especially for Jean), but the theme was a...
9 Sep 14min
Monday, September 7, 2026 — Alas, Poor Muzak, We Hardly Knew Ya'!
For the of you who are feeling nostalgic for Muzak, you have two choices: this crossword, or Urgent Care 😀. We recommend the former, because Jeff Chen and Stephan Prock have put together a wonderful ...
8 Sep 15min
Sunday, September 6, 2026 — Lights, Camera, ... Really Cool Crossword!
John Kugelman has written 24 crosswords for the NYTimes, including an impressive 17 Sundays. Today's was novel, in that for the first time it featured color illustrations — Gray Lady indeed! Both coh...
7 Sep 16min
Saturday, September 5, 2026 — We'd Be Lyin' If We Said We Weren't Curious About the LION Dance 🙄
Both cohosts found today's crossword easier than yesterday's, but just as entertaining. It featured some phenomenal clues, including those discussed on today's episode, but here are a few more to whet...
6 Sep 12min
Friday, September 4, 2026 — Julian Xiao Cranks it Up to 11! 😱🥳
Both cohosts struggled mightily with today's crossword, the third from Julian Xiao since 2024. Here are just a few clues, to give you a taste of the difficulty level (spoiler alert: it's high): 28A, C...
5 Sep 17min
Thursday, September 3, 2026 — Holy ingenious crossword theme, Batman!🦇😉
If it seems like you've been seeing Zhou Zhang's name in the crossword a lot, lately, you are not imagining things: her name has appeared in the masthead a whopping 7 times ... and the year's not over...
4 Sep 16min
Wednesday, September 2, 2026 — MMMMagnificent! 😋
Mac Motz has produced a mmmmagnificent debut crossword. We are not entirely sure how he came up with the theme, but we thought it terrific — we are such suckers for alliteration. Who could resist 46A,...
3 Sep 11min
