Saturday, September 11, 2021 - ITSMAGIC

A perfectly crafted Tuesday crossword, with a theme that was inscrutable for precisely one of our intrepid cohosts (hint: not Jean), and a nicely balanced set of clues. We enjoyed 59A, Attention -grab...

21 Jun 202315min

So, here's the skinny on today's crossword: it's skinny! Well, the grid is, at any rate, and that certainly grabbed our attention. There's one other aspect of this grid, besides the aspect ratio (heh...

20 Jun 20238min

Joe DiPietro has had 140 crosswords published in the NYTimes, mainly Fridays, although he's done a fair number of Sundays as well. This one was straightforward (for Jean), and a massive Easter Egg hun...

19 Jun 202317min

Ah, Saturday, typically the toughest crossword of the week, and this one lived up to its reputation, with some sneaky/stunning/super clues. Consider as evidence, 56A, Heavy metal band?, MANACLE; 55A, ...

18 Jun 202315min

A fine Friday crossword, a tad on the easier side, in spite of an imposing looking grid. Basically, if you're looking to tackle a Friday crossword, this would be a very good place to start. Deets ins...

17 Jun 202317min

A superb Thursday crossword by David Harris: the theme was fabulous, the clues sparkling, and the pop culture references (Mike's bane) almost non-existent. Some of the stellar clues that didn't make i...

16 Jun 202316min

A unique -- or at least certainly rare -- theme by a debut cruciverbalist, Jennifer Hoelzer, one that was not naughty (even though it did have SMUT in the grid); but it was knotty (although not overly...

15 Jun 20239min

A terrific Tuesday crossword, with a witty theme and some excellent clueing (Jean's fave was 51D, Cute little mishap, OOPSY, while Mike was partial to 43D, Aardvark, by any other name, ANTBEAR). In ...

14 Jun 202314min