Thursday, January 2, 2025 - All hail the genius of dead pan

The games a-FOOT, and to get so many references to FOOT in this crossword was no small feat, and would've taken a lot of WORK. Thanks to xwordinfo.com, we discover that AVA -- also seen in today's crossword -- has been seen 448 times before, whereas OREO -- surely the unofficial cookie of the New York Times Crossword -- has only appeared 431 times. Tomorrow is Tip Tuesday (tm), so listen for some novel hints as to how you can improve your crosswording skills. We love feedback! Send us...

8 Sep 20207min

DOUBLE, DOUBLE, toil and trouble, that pretty much summarizes today's crossword, which Jean breezed through, but Mike got hung up on, on the shoals of IRENECARA. We rate it a 4.0 squares on the JAMCR scale. Want to talk about crossswords? We're ready to join in, drop us a line at crosswordpodcast@icloud.com. 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 u...

7 Sep 20208min

If you've worked on this crossword for a while, and decided that ICANTGOON, its GAMEOVER, then listen to this podcast for some inspiration as we deliver spoilers at a BUGATTI-like pace (like that one -- and there's MORETOCOME). For example, Mike's favorite, 22A - Roman foeman (HUN), and Jean's favorite, 13D - Amazon deterrent (ONESTAR). There are more, however, so download and start listening now to find 'em. We have had over *1500* downloads, so thank you one and all for your support. Tel...

6 Sep 202018min

Ooh, a toughie (well, it's a Friday). Both Jean & Mike tore through 3/4 of the puzzle, like they were on SPREES, but then, well, let's just say that STOPSDEAD was an appropriate clue to lead into the ferocious bottom-right corner. Still, there was lots to LOVE about this crossword, including 13D - One of about 500 million needed to fill an olympic swimming pool (TEASPOON), and Mike's personal favorite, 17A - Trucker's tracker, aka MILEAGEMOM (eh, we mean MILEAGELOG). 26D, INAROMP was def...

5 Sep 202012min

A spectacular Thursday, um , spectacular! Sid Sivakumar shows us how to BOUNCEBACK, with a crossword that is definitely not SOSO. We give it a 5+ squares on the JAMCRS. Listen to the podcast to find out why.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 a conversation!

4 Sep 202010min

A fine first crossword by Margaret Seikel, during the solving of which Jean almost gets stuck in BRENNERPASS, Mike can't CATCH the point of CATCHPHRASE, Jean makes the ELEVATORPITCH that LAPTOP is the answer to 55A, it might have an apple on it, to which Mike, being semantically persnickety, replies HUSH. 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 a ...

3 Sep 202010min

Without seemingly any BROUHAHA (HOHO) or ADO, David Steinberg put together a fine crossword - a 5.0 squares on the JAMCRS 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 FaceBook, so feel free to drop by there and strike up a conversation!

2 Sep 202010min

Heavens to BETSY, the 2012 & 2016 women's Olympics gymnastics captain was ALYRAISMAN (not, as Mike surmised, AMYRAISMAN). A few newer favorites show up - YAK from last Thursday's JAW, GAB and YAK spectacular, and NES from ... yesterday! It's good to see old friends. Speaking of which, why not become a friend of Jean & Mike Do the New York Times Crossword. It's really easy, just drop us a line - crosswordpodcast@icloud.com. We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love lis...

1 Sep 20204min