Thursday, January 8, 2026 - Beware the Grim ... Rebus??
This was a delightful Thursday crossword by Mallory Montgomery and Zhou Zhang. Jean got through it at gazelle-like speeds, whereas Mike, who made the tyro's mistake of following his own advice, was less gazelle, more giraffe. Deets inside. Show note imagery: Rochester, Jane EYRE, and Adele (well before her breakout album, 19). 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 ...
9 Jan 13min
Wednesday, January 7, 2026 - EPIC or ACK? You be the judge!
Our co-hosts had almost comically differing experiences solving today's crossword. Jean found it to be ... a breeze, whereas Mike found it to be a category 5 hurricane, which he will dub Hurricane Adrianne, after the creator of said hurricane, er, puzzle, Adrianne Baik. Apparently Adrianne was able to quickly and remotely rifle through Mike's memory palace (more like a memory shanty, but nvm), identify everything he didn't know, and then put it into a crossword. Well played, Adrianne! For all...
8 Jan 16min
Tuesday, January 6, 2026 - NOCAP, this was an *awesome* crossword 😀
Today's crossword was terrific. A theme that pegged the pun-meter, a second theme that nobody other than your cohosts know about 😀, and a lot of other fine clues in the grid. We particularly enjoyed the duality of 42A, One-named supermodel, IMAN and 39D, Country in which men traditionally wear robes called dishdashas, OMAN; and we also appreciated the memory-lane moment induced by 50D, "Ghosts" playwright Henrik, IBSEN. In other news, we have another Triplet Tuesday segment: to find out if Mi...
7 Jan 17min
Monday, January 5, 2026 - 🎵 Leavin'... on a Jet Plane 🎶
This was a gentle Monday crossword, easing us into our crossword-solving week. It was still entertaining, though, thanks to a theme that will lift your spirits — literally. In addition to the crossword, we also have chosen our latest JAMCOTWA™️ (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award), and this week goes to ... [REDACTED, TO HEIGHTEN SUSPENSE AND BECAUSE WE GET PAID BY THE WORD😀]! Show note imagery: Fanny BRICE, legendary actress and inspiration for Funny Girl We love feedback!...
6 Jan 11min
Sunday, January 4, 2026 - Gene Louise De Vera, Rule Breaker! 🚔
Gene Louise De Vera's 5th NYTimes puzzle was one for the books. One of the sacrosanct rules of NYTimes crossword-dom is that an answer never appears twice in the grid. Well, rules are meant to be broken, so they say, and today this one was -- but all for a good cause, aka the theme. We had some other great clues in the grid. Besides those mentioned in the podcast, we had the slick 94D, Paired chips with dips?, RHYMED; the fabulous 84D, Ixnays from Irkutsk, NYETS; and a favorite of whate...
5 Jan 19min
Saturday, January 3, 2026 - A Brilliant End-of-Week Crossword
The clues in today's crossword, Hannah Slovut's third for the NYTimes, were so dazzling that we felt we ought to wear shades while solving it. There were scads of clever clues everywhere you look in the grid, and nary a clunker anywhere: just way we like our Saturday crosswords! For the full 411 — as well as another episode of "Oh, That's How You Pronounce it!"™️, check out today's podcast. Show note imagery: Some actors in MOCAP (motion-capture) suits Show note url: The name's PESCI, Joe PES...
4 Jan 9min
Friday, January 2, 2026 -- Hello, awesome crossword 😁 and good bye, Deb Amlen😢
To explain the episode title: this was, indeed, an awesome crossword. And, as has happened for years upon years, Deb Amlen scrutinized the crossword in the accompanying NYTimes column, Wordplay. This was her last Wordplay column, however: she is now retiring to take up other pursuits. But her last column was as good as usual, and today's crossword was a great send off. Besides the crossword proper, we also have a weather-related fun fact for Fun Fact Friday™️, and some great listener ma...
3 Jan 16min
Thursday, January 1, 2026 - Happy New Year! 🥳🎇
It's a new year, so why not start it off with a new constructor? That may or may not be Will's reasoning, but today's crossword is indeed a debut for Topher Booth, and it is an auspicious beginning. We were keen on the theme (and yes, there's a trace of a pun there), and found the rest of the clues to be just right for a Thursday. Apart from those mentioned in the podcast, we'd like to salute 47A, Prefix with genetics, EPI (ok, if you say so!); 54D, Kind of wind ... or an alternative to wind,...
2 Jan 13min
