Tuesday, October 28, 2025 - The world definitely needs more SOFAFORTS 🤗

Today's theme was great (as always), and there were oodles of appealing clues lurking in the grid today (see previous parenthetical remark 😉). A few of our favorites were 45A, Cabinet department since 1913, LABOR (now we know!); 53D, Creator of a lot of buzz in the music scene, KAZOO (cute!); and 6D, Language of W.W. II "code talkers": Var., NAVAHO (absolutely fascinating). Show note imagery: The Red Lion Pub (one of many, in the UK) We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We ...

3 Jul 202511min

For those of you wondering about the episode title, it is explored and explained, along with a multitude of other topics riffing off of today's excellent puzzle, in our "Canada Day" special. In addition, Mike may (or may not) have gone down in flames in today's Triplet Tuesday™ segment; place your bets, and then have a listen to see if you (unlike, possibly, Mike) are a winner! Show note imagery: Some delicious ELOTE, a delicious Mexican street food, which often, understandably, causes partak...

2 Jul 202516min

This was a delightful Monday crossword, thanks to the hardworking team of Dena R. Verkuil and Andrea Carla Michaels (abetted, no doubt, by the mighty mighty Will Shortz). The theme was funny, and the clues were "Festival Food fresh", as we like to say in Northeast Wisconsin. Deets inside, so have a listen, and, as always, invite the crossword-philes in your life to have a listen as well. Show note imagery: BYEFELICIA We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener m...

1 Jul 202510min

Once again an NYTimes contributor -- today, that would be Mike Hobin -- has created a theme that will make you want to cheer, doff your hat, and applaud (although not simultaneously, for obvious reasons): it deserves that much praise. The rest of the clues were of course also of a very high caliber, resulting in the delightful puzzle that we take a magnifying glass to in today's episode. Show note imagery: The one, the only ... Daffy Duck, smiling because he was mentioned in today's cros...

30 Jun 202515min

This was Jesse Guzman's third NYTimes crossword, and with quality this good it's no surprise that the publication of his fourth NYTimes crossword is imminent. There was no theme, but the clues were uniformly brilliant and tricky, perfect for the "Hardest Crossword of the Week", aka, Saturday's. We approve, and bestow upon this puzzle the maximum number of squares -- that would be 5, for those of you not keeping track -- on the JAMCR scale. Show note imagery: Just a few of the many characters ...

29 Jun 202515min

Today's crossword marks Carolyn Davies Lynch's third NYTimes crossword, and she just keeps getting better and better. This had some great clues, including 9D, It's not observed in Hawaii, DST (😀); 27A, Hypocorism for Harold, HAL (🧐); and 46D, Smart guy, ALEC (🤣). There were plenty more where those came from, so check out today's episode for the 411. Show note imagery: Syzygy, without which we wouldn't have solar eclipses. We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail...

28 Jun 202515min

Simeon Seigel is definitely on a tear, this marks his fourth NYTimes crossword this year, and his second in under a month. Quality isn't suffering at all, though, as today's puzzle is chockfull of sparkling clues and topped off with a head-scratching theme. Show note imagery: Fancy a game of Centipede? 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...

27 Jun 202517min

This was a surprising crossword, in a number of ways that we will not enumerate here, but dive into in depth in today's episode. There were too many great clues to squeeze into the podcast, so we'll just mention the also-rans but also-great trio of 43D, Acquisition that may solve a mouse problem, PETCAT (meow!); 42A, Olympic blade, EPEE; and 44A, Olympic "blade", OAR (nice juxtaposition!!). Remember, the NYTimes crossword makes an excellent gift, either for yourself, a friend, or a loved one:...

26 Jun 202517min