Thursday, February 20, 2025 - Oh, *so* close

An ENDEARING Saturday crossword, with nary a GIMMICK to be seen (except, of course, for the answer GIMMICK), and at least an OCTET of great clues, including, 1D, Four+Four, OCTET 😀. Mike's favorite i...

12 Mar 202318min

A very satisfying Friday crossword - not a lot of pop culture references, some marvelous mis-direction in the clueing, and not a "blah" answer to be seen anywhere in the grid. We appreciated that the ...

11 Mar 202321min

There were no downsides to this crossword, whose theme revolved around FLIPSIDES. Jean had just a spot of bother, conflating STRAT with STRAD, and Mike felt cert. that Colombo was in the NYPD, not, as...

10 Mar 202315min

Someone -- to be precise, Miranda Kany, the constructor of today's delicious crossword -- has embedded an entire (very tasty) recipe into today's grid. So, don't try this on an empty stomach, and if y...

9 Mar 202316min

A very pleasing Tuesday crossword, with a theme that was an echo / homage to Monday's HUMANNATURE -- surely not a coincidence, with the crossword force-of-nature Will Shortz in charge. Today's puzzle ...

8 Mar 202316min

This is Lynn Lempel's 100th crossword in the New York Times, and if you ever needed proof that practice makes perfect, just check out her latest -- fun clues, a cute theme, everything you want in a Mo...

7 Mar 202312min

A fine Sunday crossword by John-Clark Levin - the clues are uniformly delightful, and over a grid the size of a Sunday (21x21, in case you hadn't measured lately), that's saying a lot. And we have a l...

6 Mar 202317min

Another tough crossword for one of our co-hosts, for whom KACHINA dolls were a revelation. As part of his cunning plan to keep mementos of especially challenging clues close at hand, he hopes to soon ...

5 Mar 202320min