Thursday, May 15th, 2025 - Today's puzzle BELIEs the notion that nobody knows what BELIE means 😉
This marks Simeon Siegel's 17th crossword since 2020, and while he might not be OVERPROUD, it is most certainly something to celebrate. The theme was particularly NOteworthy, and, YES, we meant to write NO just NOw. Confused? Today's podcast will bring enlightenment, so we encourage you to step out of the darkness and into the light, so to speak, by listening to this episode. Show note imagery: EVESDIARY, by Mark Twain We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! D...
16 Mai 13min
Wednesday, May 14, 2025 - Featuring potatoes: the origin story!
Today's crossword was by award-winning crossword constructor Rebecca Goldstein and, if not award-winning, deserving-of-award crossword constructor Adam Wagner. Unsurprisingly, the result was ... award-winning, or at least worthy of 5 squares on the JAMCR scale, for reasons that we will let you discover (no spoilers here, nary a one!) by listening to today's episode. Show note imagery: PERU, where the potatoes come from 😀 We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener...
15 Mai 14min
Tuesday, May 13, 2025 - ELATION! A crossword with *ELATION* in the grid 😀 😉🙄
This was a nice Tuesday crossword by Joe Rodini, his second for the NYTimes. He's now been published on Monday and Tuesday, so ... 5 to go, Joe! Today's theme was a bit messy, but that's by design, as you'll discover when you check out today's episode. Of course, it's also Tuesday, and today Jean's in the hot seat for Triplet Tuesday; so keep listening to find out how she did, and see if you can do better (good luck!). Show note imagery: HYDRA, a monster out of Greek mythology with a co...
14 Mai 12min
Monday, May 12, 2025 - 🥳 Celebrating the 500th appearance of the OREO in the NYTimes crossword!!🎉🎈
It is hard to believe that today marks the 500th appearance of OREO in the NYTimes crossword, but that's the word according to xwordinfo.com, and they oughta know! Now that might sound like Nabisco has architected one of the greatest product placement campaigns in the history of advertising. Truth be told, though, from the beginning of the NYTimes crossword up until 1993, OREO was always clued as a prefix for mountain; but it's been cookies or bust ever since Will Shortz took over the reins. ...
13 Mai 7min
Sunday, May 11, 2025 - Danger, Will Robinson! Extremely hard crossword approaching
Brendan Emmett Quigley is famed for writing tough crosswords, and he has the pedal to the metal today. First, the grid: it is the standard 21x21 Sunday, but has only 54 black squares, a record. So, that means more to figure out, i.e., more fun! While clue difficulty is often a YMMV affair, we can say that, in general terms, some of these clues would've felt right at home in a Saturday crossword. In short, if you struggled working through this crossword, that is perfectly normal; and if you su...
12 Mai 13min
Saturday, May 10, 2025 - Happy Mother's Day Eve!!
This was a fine Saturday crossword - tough but fair, as Saturday crosswords were meant to be. Our favorite clue had to be 29A, Some dragonflies, DARNERS (really: apparently people used to believe that dragonflies could sew your lips shut!). We were entranced with 38A, Mediterranean plant named for its brightly colored flowers, SUNROSE. And finally we just loved discovering 27A, George ______________, voted "Coach of the Century" by the International Swimming Hall of Fame, HAINES. ...
11 Mai 14min
Friday, May 9, 2025 - At long last, GRACEHOPPER is in the grid!
This was a Friday crossword, and even a casual glance through the clues and grid makes it clear that co-constructors Willa Angel Chen Miller and Erik Agard are dialing up the difficulty. Clues like 33D, This too shall pass, PHASE; 26D, What one might subscribe to, ISM, and 30D, Seeking comment, READYORNOT (brilliant!) make it perfectly clear that this is not a Monday crossword, far from it. [Four days from it, to be precise 😀] Show note imagery: DRU Hill, an R&B group 18 Interesting Facts...
10 Mai 17min
Thursday, May 8, 2025 - Battle stations! An incoming Dan Caprera crossword at 9 o'clock!!
It seems appropriate that MENSA was in the grid (well, 4/5 of it, anyway - see the podcast for deets), because this crossword was genius. It had a stunning theme, which made the puzzle much tougher than one might expect for a Thursday. In short, think of this less as a "walk in the park" and more of a "sprint through Disneyworld". Show note imagery: Alain-René Lesage, simultaneously sitting for a portrait and (probably) plotting out his next novel. We love feedback! Send us a text... Co...
9 Mai 19min
