Friday, January 22, 2021

A tough Thursday, foreshadowed in some of the clues, such as 59D, Sounds of puzzlement, EHS, and 62A, Cry of frustration, AARGH. Jean struggled in the bottom center, having inexplicably neglected to memorize the Dewey Decimal System before starting today's puzzle. Mike, meanwhile, took to heart yesterday's conversation anticipating rebuses, and was bound and determined to use them, even if the crossword constructor, Trenton Charlson, chose not to. Besides the theme, there were some not...

21 Maj 202116min

Today's crossword was chock-full of IDEAS tied to cosmology - from the universe's start, in the BIGBANG, to its end, with (according to TSELIOT), a WHIMPER. It also had a shoutout to the person who helped confirm the BIGBANG, PENZIAS (not, as Mike incorrectly SPELT it for reasons that are SPELT out in the podcast, PENSIAS). A few other clues of note: 53D, Shiny button material, NACRE, and a word that most people will never, ever need to use but it's just reassuring to know that it exists, 47D...

20 Maj 202111min

Typical Tuesday fare, which since this is the New York Times means really, really good fare, involving SAUSAGELINK synonyms and a secondary theme (if three related clues can be considered a theme) involving volleyball (SETTERS, SPIKES and NET). Jean of course had no problem with today's puzzle, Mike got off to a slow start, guessing that1A, Hospital scan, for short was CAT, rather than the correct answer, MRI, and then misspelling 1D, Chief of a fire department, MARSHAL as MARTIAL (oops!). T...

19 Maj 202112min

Did we like this crossword? JA, DA, OUI, SI, or, to put it another way, YES! Beyond the clever theme (answers that embedded YES, in various languages), it was slightly more difficult than the usual Monday fare. However, it did have 29A, Where to order a Blizzard, DAIRYQUEEN, so we are contractually obligated to give it a yummy 5 squares on the JAMCR scale. We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.com. Also, we're on Face...

18 Maj 202110min

It's not easy to BUILDABETTERMOUSETRAP, nor to build a better crossword gimmick, but in today's CADILLAC of a puzzle Joe DiPietro shows us how it's done -- so if you want to CLAP, or sing a PAEAN in his honor, we would certainly understand. After all, any puzzle that include 21A, Loud thudding sound, CRUMP 😀, or 59A, Hasbro game requiring increasingly quick reflexes, BOPIT, or manages to cross ATOMS, IOTA and MITE, clearly deserves acclaim. We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact In...

17 Maj 202113min

It wasn't quite RAGNAROK, but today's crossword was a major challenge, with deliciously deceitful clues, like 9A, Avon lady, for one, BRITON, 3D, What's on the fast track?, ACELA, and 60A, Hip joints, HOTSPOTS ... actually anywhere you look in this puzzle you'll find that same ultra-high quality, as we have come to expect by the master of cruciverbal cunning, Sam Trabucco. Definitely a 5 squares on the JAMCR scale! We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener m...

16 Maj 202114min

It was ALLSYSTEMSGO for Jean, who set a new best time for a Friday crossword, typing so quickly that relativistic effects caused her fingers to noticeably elongate. Mike meanwhile, had a spot of bother in the top left corner, thanks primarily to 2D, "________Camp", 2020 Oscar-nominated documentary, CRIP, and 3D, "Woman's rights pioneer Elizabeth _________ Stanton", CADY. But thanks to 52A, One way to crack a code, BRUTEFORCE, he too was able to persevere. It's Fun Fact Friday, and in t...

15 Maj 202113min

While today's crossword had a few of THEUSUALSUSPECTS - LAB, TASE and ARSON -- it also had some more ANOMALOUS entries -- movie titles that were (for the most part) questions, the answers to which were ... other movie titles. For instance, 38A, Who framed Roger Rabbit? [1995], turned out to be the aforementioned THEUSUALSUSPECTS. It must've taken TRUEGRIT to construct this crossword, hats off to the J.A.S.A. Crossword Class (and their teachers, Andy Kravis and Natan Last), who provided such a...

14 Maj 20219min