Saturday, August 23, 2025 - ITSGOOD - in the grid and an apt description of today's crossword
The fifth NYTimes crossword by Ryan Judge made for a very nice Saturday; not a walk in the park, by any stretch, but more straightforward than last Saturday's "let's scale Mt Everest barefoot" uber-challenge. There were some great clues in today's grid. Jean in particular was fond of 35A, Drew Carey once called it "crossword puzzle cheese" on "Whose Line Is It Anyway?", EDAM. Mike was glad to learn about 32D, It's formed in Pittsburgh, OHIORIVER, and even gladder to discover the na...
24 Aug 11min
Friday, August 22, 2025 - Wanna know which country's national anthem has no lyrics? We've got you covered!
Our cohosts were surprised and delighted to learn, thanks to today's crossword, that there are four countries whose national anthems have no lyrics, and so people instead hum, or sing something along the lines of "na, na, na". The four countries in question are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, San Marino, and Spain. One of those appears in today's grid, and to preserve an air of suspense and mystery, we will defer identifying that country here in the show notes. We will say, though, that the c...
23 Aug 18min
Thursday, August 21, 2025 - Five out of five doctors agree: Simeon Seigel has delivered an abfab Thursday crossword!
Once again, the NYTimes crossword has delivered the perfect blend of joy and education in one neat bundle. The joy comes from, primarily, the theme -- which we will say no more about here, but we have plenty to say about it in the podcast. The education comes from clues like 69A, Yani ___, youngest pro golfer to win five major championships, TSENG), and our absolute favorite, something that sounds like it came from the pen of Douglas Adams, 57A, Early PC game whose nonsense working title stuc...
22 Aug 18min
Wednesday, August 20, 2025 - SEITAN makes its debut!
One of our favorite foods is SEITAN - healthy, delicious, and, up until now, never mentioned in the NYTimes crossword. Ah, but the times they are a changin', as evidenced by today's 50D, Wheat-based meat alternative, SEITAN. There were many other clues worthy of admiration in today's grid. There was the somewhat sardonic 25A, "I had something come up," maybe, FIB; the (to us) surprising 32A, Custom in Japanese food service, NOTIPS; and the good-to-know 20D, January and November have the...
21 Aug 7min
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 Aug 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 Aug 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 Aug 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 Aug 14min
