Monday, October 18, 2021 - War of the Words - ORSON or ODEON?

This was an intriguing debut crossword by Katherine Xiong. Both cohosts -- solving independently as usual -- found it to be a tad longer than one might expect for a Monday. That just means more time s...

14 Okt 202515min

Both cohosts found today's puzzle to be particularly crunchy due to cruciverbial challenges in different areas of the grid. Jean struggled mightily in the southeast corner, while Mike was temporarily ...

13 Okt 202521min

Sam Ezersky crosswords can be quite thrilling, as he is renowned for making highly challenging puzzles. He certainly does not disappoint this Saturday, quite the contrary. However, he has managed to i...

12 Okt 202513min

Colin Adams seems to have hit the sweet spot with Friday crosswords chock-full of cracklingly good clues. Besides those mentioned in today's podcast, we also have such notables as 14D, Locales for som...

11 Okt 202514min

This was Freddie Cheng's 18th NYTimes crossword. He mainly publishes earlier in the week, but he has had a crossword published on every day, no mean feat. Today's puzzle had some awesome cluing, inclu...

10 Okt 202511min

This was an enjoyable Wednesday crossword, with a warm, uplifting, nostalgia-centric theme that both cohosts greatly appreciated. We were glad to see Jules VERNE in the grid for his 77th time, in 48A...

9 Okt 202513min

This was a fine debut crossword by Corry Cropper. It felt a little crunchier than usual for a Tuesday, but not overwhelmingly so; and it revolved around a mythological theme, which both cohosts found ...

8 Okt 202516min

This was a straightforward Monday crossword, as Monday crosswords tend to be, and an enjoyable crossword, as all NYTimes crosswords edited by Will Shortz are destined to be. We were glad to spot the H...

7 Okt 202512min