Tuesday, December 10, 2024 - The answer might be UGLI, but the clue is beautiful 😀

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

You'll need to be flexible to solve today's crossword, because that's what some of the answers are - they flex when you least expect it (which would be ... all of the time, because answers tend to either go across, or down, not both). Jean, following her usual MO, cottoned onto the trick quite quickly, Mike, following his, did not. There were some intriguing clues in today's crossword, including some very interesting revelations about OCEOLOT anatomy that you won't want to mis...

22 Jul 202216min

A crunchier than usual Wednesday crossword, not because of the presence of OREOs in the grid, but rather because today's constructor, Josh Kindler, is so adept at his craft. The clues ranged from sorta-kinda obvious, e.g., 53D, It's rigged!, SAIL, to somewhat more obscure, e.g., 45D, King of the Titans, in Greek mythology, KRONOS, to the we never saw that coming, e.g., 38A, Part of a botanical garden, FERNERY. [For the record, the most excellent Green Bay Botanical Center, our go-to for ...

21 Jul 202213min

A fun Tuesday crossword by Andy Kravis, with some great clues like 52D, "Performer" in a tiny circus, FLEAS (😄); 2D, "What did the _____ do when it was still hungry? Go back for seconds" (dad joke), CLOCK (🙄); and 48A, Bum around London, ARSE (😏). We would also be remiss if we didn't point out a reference to what appears now to be the preferred font of the New York Times Crossword, 31A, Typeface akin to Helvetica, ARIAL -- ironic as that would appear to be the only place where that fo...

20 Jul 202217min

A HEAP of cruciverbal goodness in today's grid, easier than yesterday's BYLEAPSANDBOUNDS, and very unlikely to leave one ATSIXESANDSEVENS, or, for that matter, ONPINSANDNEEDLES. In short, the perfect start to our crossword solving week, we give it a cheery 5 squares on the JAMCR scale.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 there and strike up a conversation!

19 Jul 202211min

Considering how frequently ANTE shows up in the grid, perhaps it's not surprising that an entire crossword devoted to Texas Hold 'Em ought to eventually make it into the New York Times, and ... today's the day, thanks to a fabulous debut puzzle by Greg Slovaceck. This crossword caused a wee bit o' controversy because it involved rebuses, which some solvers always seem to have problems with. Rather than go over it here, we'll cover it in a future episode -- everything you ever wanted to...

18 Jul 202224min

Another tough Saturday crossword (hmm... there seems to be a trend here), with a particularly diabolical southwest corner, with clues like 31D, California city in the Mojave Desert, BARSTOW, 32D, Emergency device in DC, BATPHONE (oh, that DC) and 29D, Buttercup relatives, ANEMONES, ready to trap the unwary. In other news, we've found a highly deserving crossword for our JAMCOTWA (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award) -- the deets, as they say, are inside. We love feedback! Send us ...

17 Jul 202212min