Wednesday, April 2, 2025 - CIAO - the *perfect* word when you've forgotten if you're coming or going 😀 😀

A ferocious Saturday, so let's get right to today's crossword AUTOPSY! Mike is run over by GRANIMALS, gets kicked in the SHIN, lost a MINT by betting on, well, MINT, and chose a few other words INERROR. Jean, meanwhile, could hardly make a DENT in the puzzle until 35A! In short, just another typical New York Times Saturday crossword, definitely not for the faint of heart! We give it a 4 squares on the JAMCR scale. We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop u...

8 Nov 202014min

A crossword that almost drove both Jean & Mike BANANAS, but they fought it to THEBITTEREND and, abetted by ALOT of luck and a little BARTRIVIA, were able to triumph. Some especially fun clues -- 13A, Loaded questions?, BARTRIVIA; 44A, Take a good, long look at yourself? EGOSURF; and 28A, Strip at the beach?, TANLINES. What can we say? It's a perfect 5 squares on the JAMCR scale! We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icl...

7 Nov 202012min

OHLOOK, it's a Thursday crossword honoring the beloved HASHTAG (nee pound sign, aka octothorp), and ALLTHINGSBEING=, there are no puzzles we'd rather be SOLVING than ones like these, by Jeremy Newton. A 5 squares on the JAMCR scale, AYE!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!

6 Nov 202011min

Put on your PARTYHATS, because it's time to celebrate the debut NYTimes crossword by Jack Murtagh, a real BEAUTY with lots of clever cluing, and multiple homages to Mike's favorite company -- 13A, Jobs creation (IPAD), 7D, 13-Across accessories (STYLI), and 31D, Cook of Apple (TIM). Our favorite clue, hands down, was 65D, It must do it (TAG), which definitely deserves some sort of award for deft phrasing. We give this crossword a perfect 5 on the JAMCR scale! We love feedback! Send us a text...

5 Nov 202010min

WOW, a great but not particularly HEAVYDUTY Tuesday crossword, just the ticket, SOIHEAR, if you need an IDYL to HIDEAWAY in. We just saw GOLDENDOODLEs a few days ago, and today we celebrate the appearance of 45A, Designer dog that crosses a Pomeranian and terror, a PORKIE. It's Tip Tuesday, so be sure to listen to Jean's Excellent, Educational, Exceptional, Extolling of E, as well as Mike's ode to crosswordese.com. We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love l...

4 Nov 202011min

Jean almost beats her personal best Monday time, her fingers a blur over the keyboard. Mike, meanwhile, takes heart in the fact that he solved a crossword with a GOLDENDOODLE in it (20A, Popular dog crossbreed), HEHE. Also of note was the interesting overlap from yesterday's (Sunday's) puzzle: 31D, Green-EYED monster, tied in with Sunday's 75A, Source of the words "O, beware of jealousy, my lord! It's a green-eyed monster ...". And 17A, Z ASIN Zebra was the same answer to Sunday...

3 Nov 20208min

An EXQUISITE and very ARTY start to November, with references to various works and writers, including OTHELLO, BAUM, DANTE, and, while not quite as classical, the definitely classy EBERT and CARLSAGAN. There was a nice mix of fun clues -- 21A, Bottom Lines? (XAXES), and obscure ones, such as 17D, Boat sometimes built around a whalebone frame (UMIAK (!)). We give it a 5 squares on the JAMCR scale. In other news, for those interested in creating your own crosswords, check out cro...

2 Nov 202012min

A very scary Halloween crossword, avec trop de français, à nos avis (if you know what I mean, and pardon our French). Mike spent a lot of time pondering veggies, eventually migrating from CROUTONS to CARROTS before settling on RADISHES for 14D, Sources of crunch for a salad, while Jean struggled with a startling number of French-related clues. Saturdays are meant to be tough, and this one certainly succeeded on that score. We give it a 4 on the JAMCR sale. We love feedback! Send us a text... ...

1 Nov 202012min