Sunday, November 3, 2024 - A Sid Sivakumar spectacular!

A nice Friday crossword by a veteran constructor, Robyn Weintraub. Jean found the puzzle to be a piece of cake, Mike found it to be almost impossible, until the crossword deities smiled benevolently upon him, and reminded him that a better answer for 21A, Employment history, would be CAREER, rather than RESUME or CRVITA. Robyn is known for her great clues, and today's puzzle is exemplary. In other news, it's Fun Fact Friday, and today' we explore the mysterious life and times of ENOS, ...

30 Jul 202218min

A curious Thursday crossword by Bill Pipal and Jeff Chen (always a good OMEN to see M. Chen in the masthead), that asks you to do what we generally try and AVOID, i.e., CUT CORNERS. The result is a crossword about which we have no choice but to wax RHAPSODIC, for reasons that will become clear in today's installment. 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 free to drop by ther...

29 Jul 202211min

Have you ever considered how many phrases involve articles of clothing? Fortunately Enrique Henestroza Anguiano has, and this witty Wednesday crossword is a result. Jean had no trouble with the grid. Mike didn't so much forget how to spell 48D, Traditional garment in West Africa, as discover that he never even knew how to spell it -- for the record, it's CAFTAN (as in today's grid) or alternatively KAFTAN, but never, ever CAFTEN -- Mike's guess being based on that famous Walt Whitman poe...

28 Jul 202213min

A fine Tuesday crossword by Lillian Simpson, with a debut entry for 25A, Certain spousal state (which we will not state right here, you'll either have to be a good guesser or listen to the podcast to find out), a jaw-dropper as far as Mike's concerned with 46D, Leaf (through) (and again, download / listen up to get the 411 on that); and finally 50A, More eye-roll inducing, maybe, CHEESIER (which these show notes seem to be degenerating into, so we are going to stop right ... here!)....

27 Jul 202214min

A marvelous Monday crossword, with a grid that just sings -- thanks in no small part to some great musical references - from LIL Jon (and Wayne), to Yoko ONO, to one of those discoveries that make you want to shout with joy, DRU Hill (definitely check them out if you are unfamiliar ... or even if you are, their music clearly will abide many, many listenings). For more on them and the rest of this sizzling grid, you are just this far away (we are holding our fingers very, very ...

26 Jul 202214min

A shout-out to today's constructors, Jessie Trudeau and Ross Trudeau, who got married this very weekend. Whether the placement of today's crossword on this particular Sunday was just a coincidence, or possibly a wedding present from the NYTimes, doesn't really matter, because the crossword was certainly a present to its solvers - a fun romp with a diverting theme. We have all the deets inside, so raise a toast to the happy couple, then download, listen up, and enjoy! We love feedbac...

24 Jul 202212min

A majorly difficult Saturday crossword, with a fair number of rarely mentioned celebrities (at least here in 2022). Even the most recent, 18A, Defense secretary under Obama, PANETTA, is not exactly a household name; 31A, First person to fly solo around the world (1933), WILEYPOST, probably also isn't a frequent topic at the kitchen table; and 27A, Marion ________, Best actress winner for "La Vie en Rose", COTILLARD, was a new name for Mike, and a spelling challenge for Jean. In o...

24 Jul 202215min

Well, to be precise, today's crossword is a work of David Steinberg, but it definitely is also a WORK_OF_ART. There were so many great answers, it's hard to single them out, but we certainly appreciated the artistry in working both BLUR and SLUR into the grid, as well as the tactical deployment of WHAMO!. The clues were also nicely done: 24D, Bolt for the finish line?, USAIN; 43D, Put down, WRITE (woah!); and 42D, Latin lovers, officially speaking, POPES (double woah!). Truly an elegant puzzl...

23 Jul 202215min