Wednesday, February 26, 2025 - We long for more crosswords by Dan Caprera 😁

A crossword that's sure to be a hit with English teachers everywhere, today's rather subtle -- almost to the point of invisible -- theme reminds us of the importance of proper punctuation. There were numerous other noteworthy gems in the grid, including 97A, Twisted do, LOCS ; 92A, Muppet bear, FOZZIE; and 40D, Oviform:egg :: pyriform:____, PEAR (huh!). And there's more where those came from -- for all the deet's, um, we mean deets, check out today's episode, and, as always let us know ...

24 Apr 202317min

The only thing that was 46A -- A piece of cake, SOEASY -- about this puzzle was, well, 46A. The rest of the grid was crackling with fiendishly clever and often quite arcane clues, such as 61A, Dead letter in a mail sorter's vernacular, NIXIE (woah!); 39D, One with an "If You Choose the Lesser of Two Evils -- You Are Still Choosing Evil" bumper sticker, perhaps", NADERITE (both clever, obscure, and in the running for longest-clue of the week award); and the delicious 48D, Positive restaurant r...

23 Apr 202318min

We would need to break out the thesaurus to do justice to today's crossword, an absolutely brilliant theme. We'd say more here, but we don't want to spoil the surprise, so download, listen up, and be prepared to be amazed.The crossword can be seen, in all its glory, right here.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!

21 Apr 20239min

For all you poetry aficionados, your time has come -- a crossword theme built around an octad of famous (?) poets. This was definitely a crunchier than usual crossword, Jean had to work slightly harder than was the norm, while Mike feared for his streak , almost done in by his completely erroneous conviction that "How Firm a Foundation" was an advertising slogan for Serta. Today's crossword is available here And if you want to read some of the poems alluded to in the grid, the Poetry ...

20 Apr 202314min

As the week progresses, the crosswords tend to get more difficult, and while Tuesday is therefore on the easier side, this puzzle did have a few crunchier clues, including: 19D, Showy basket, DUNK (hah!); 10A, Hip-hop subgenre pioneered by Gucci Mane, TRAP (one word, for the record); and 47D, Comma, colon or apostrophe, MARK (probably lonely because it's missing its traditional partner, PUNCTUATION). A fun crossword, and for those of you starting to feel confident about Mondays, a particular...

19 Apr 202318min

Last Tuesday, MONDEGREEN made its way into the grid for the very first time, and so we were delighted to find an example of that -- ODETOJOY -- make an appearance today: first because we just adore ODETOJOY, and second because we love to work MONDEGREEN into a sentence, as many times as we can possibly get away with it -- so far, our record is two. 😉 And for those of you wondering about what appears to be a suffusion of emojis in today's grid, they are there for a reason that will become cle...

18 Apr 202311min

We found a lot to like in today's crossword -- a debut by Chicago real estate agent Mike Hobin -- as well as a few fascinating mysteries lurking in the grid. Intrigued? Want to know more? In that case, subscribe / download / listen up and prepare to be entertained and educated! Also, here's today's puzzle, fully solved, for your viewing pleasure. 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 ...

17 Apr 202320min

Anytime you see Kameron Austin Collins in the byline, be afraid, be very afraid ... of having a really great and epic time doing battle with the master of opaque cluing. Today's crossword was perfect, and to find out why, have a listen. Also, we're curious to know -- based on our JAMCOTWA award this week -- what's your favorite MC Hammer episode. Let us know on our Facebook page. Finally, do you want to check out today's crossword, solved? It'll make following our discussion so m...

16 Apr 202319min