Saturday, April 12, 2025 - Time for some COMICRELIEF, and, good news! It's in the grid, and in the episode.

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

A not-at-all-scary crossword for Halloween's Eve. Mike particularly enjoyed the appearance of his favorite comic, Mitch HEDBERG, and Jean enjoyed DEEPSIGH -- as she explained with a DEEPSIGH. Some unfamiliar words also cropped up -- the magnificent 52A, Acts like a quidnunc, MEDDLES (distantly related to a geometric arrangement that appeared recently, quincunx), and 3D, River through Victoria Falls, ZAMBEZI. A fine puzzle by Trenton Charlson, it clearly deserves a 5 squares on th...

31 Okt 202011min

A palette cleanser of a crossword -- see yesterday's podcast to see why! -- with a fun twist, and a few novel entries -- 13D, Serfs of olden days, HELOTS, and an interesting variation on scathing, 46A, Denounce harshly, SCATHE. There were some entries that showed off the TLC that clearly went into this puzzle -- 2D, Aries animal, RAM, directly opposite it at the bottom of the puzzle, 69A, Son of Zeus, ARES. And, of course, the entire theme was quite clever. Definitely a 5 squares...

30 Okt 20208min

Brace yourselves, because today's Wednesday crossword definitely felt like a Saturday, with a northwest corner that crossword aficionados will be talking about -- not always in the kindest terms -- for years. You can learn all about the epic struggle right here, and marvel at clues like 6D, What members of the Church of the SubGenius parody religion claim to be descended from, YETIS; and 5D Was verklempt from pride, KVELLED (oy vey!). Peter Gordon was clearly giving no quarter, especially in ...

29 Okt 202025min