Saturday, October 23, 2021 - What are the PRICES of CARTAGE to STKITTS?
Saturday is traditionally the toughest crossword of the week, doubly so when Sam Ezersky's the constructor. Both Jean & Mike (solving independently, as is their wont), struggled in the bottom right corner, where a trio of potentially ego-crushing clues awaited -- 42D, Charge for some truckers, CARTAGE (not, as Mike surmised, CARRAGE), 43D, Drawing of the body without its skin, from the French, ECORCHE, and 44D, One of the Lesser Antilles, STKITTS. And other parts of the grid w...
24 Okt 202110min
Friday, October 22, 2021 - AFT of the EFT
This was a relatively easy Friday puzzle, but it was filled with sparkling cluing that made it a delight to tackle. As exhibit A, we present 16A, Digital color presentation?, NAILPOLISH, 20D, Dining with one's child?, EATINGFORTWO, and 33A, What may be found between X and Z?, GENERATIONGAP. There were also some nice juxtapositions, EFT and AFT on the same row; and OOZE intersecting OUZO. Kudos to Robyn Weintraub for creating such a fine piece of work. It's Friday, and to find out the F...
23 Okt 202111min
Thursday, October 21, 2021 - PARKOUR, Anyone?
A fun Thursday crossword from Michael Lieberman, with a clever theme - a series of vertical answers, each two words - and they make sense only if you observe that the word on the bottom is under the word on top. For instance, 24D, Give a sworn statement in court, is OATHTESTIFY, and reading this (vertically), the phrase is, literally, TESTIFY under OATH. We also had 3D, Clueless about current trends, AROCKLIVING, 17D, Choke, PRESSURECRACK, and 8D, Take more shots than, THETABLEDRINK. Cl...
22 Okt 202115min
Wednesday, October 20, 2021 - ESOBESO!
Today's crossword was a big BESO from the constructor, David W. Tuffs, with an interesting theme revolving around comparisons. Both Jean & Mike were taken in by 23A, One, in Berlin, EINS (they both thought it would be EINE), and while Jean immediately knew that was incorrect because of the cross, 15D, Root beer brand, DADS, it took Mike about 17 minutes longer to figure that out... A fine crossword, we give it a 5 squares on the JAMCR scale. We love feedback! Send us a text... Conta...
21 Okt 202112min
Tuesday, October 19, 2021 - A PEACH of a Puzzle
Ross Trudeau steps up to the plate, swings, and it's a hit -- because Ross Trudeaus' crosswords are always a hit. This is a more high-brow crossword than is typical for the New York Times, as there were 3 clues that tied in to 28D, Literary trio found in the answers to this puzzle's starred clues, THEBRONTES. Those clues -- 6D, Chain known for its soft pretzels, AUNTIEANNES; 25D, Prominent left-leaning political action committee, EMILYSLIST; and the rather lengthy 19A, Children's book w...
20 Okt 202111min
Monday, October 18, 2021 - War of the Words - ORSON or ODEON?
Freddie Cheng has provided a very ARTistic start to the crossword week, with a series of clues that include multiple spellings of the word ART, e.g., 17A, Athlete who rarely gets sacked or has a pass intercepted, STARQUARTERBACK. Both Jean and Mike had a skosh of difficulty with this puzzle, because, even though solving independently, they were both taken in by 50A, Woman's name derived from the Greek for "peace", IRENA (not IRENE), crossing 46D, Super-miniature dog breed size, TEACUP (not TE...
19 Okt 202110min
Sunday, October 17, 2021 - IGETITNOW!
A splendid Sunday crossword from the pen of Jeff Chen, who overlays the main grid with 5 diagonal answers - it has to be seen to be believed. Fortuitously, you can indeed see that by going over to Jeff Chen's web site - xwordinfo.com - tell 'em Jean & Mike sent you. Beyond the diagonal clues, the rest of the grid was a master class in crossword construction, as you would expect from Mr. Chen. For all the details, just download and listen up! We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact In...
17 Okt 202115min
Saturday, October 16, 2021 - NICEONE!
A well crafted crossword from Caitlin Reid and Erik Agard, not too soul-crushingly difficult, and not too fall-off-a-log easy, either. There was only one pop culture reference -- 17A, Pop music nickname, RIRI -- but it has been in the grid multiple times in recent months. Some other clues worth highlighting -- 6D, Check for bugs, INSECTREPELLENT (the old verb-for-noun. switcheroo), 55A, Having trouble making a call, ONTHEFENCE, and 14D, Life lines?, BIOS -- are just a few of the gems that awa...
17 Okt 202110min
