Saturday, February 8, 2025 - A *perfect* Saturday crossword!

Colin Adams seems to have hit the sweet spot with Friday crosswords chock-full of cracklingly good clues. Besides those mentioned in today's podcast, we also have such notables as 14D, Locales for some residents, in brief, ERS (ah, those types of residents); 32D, Sch. that's home to Mike the Tiger (and his 15,000-square-foot habitat), LSU (we're suckers for clues that reference a cohost😉); and 47D, One might be ticked off, LIST (nice one, Colin!). Besides our coverage of a most excellen...

11 Okt 14min

This was Freddie Cheng's 18th NYTimes crossword. He mainly publishes earlier in the week, but he has had a crossword published on every day, no mean feat. Today's puzzle had some awesome cluing, including 28D, Way to go, ROAD; 53A, What Zuckerberg dropped from before "Facebook" in 2005, THE; and the bound-to-be-useful-someday-to-somebody clue 37D, Equivalent of five carats, GRAM. There's more, besides, so check out today's podcast for all the deets. Show note imagery: The Burghers of Calais, ...

10 Okt 11min

This was an enjoyable Wednesday crossword, with a warm, uplifting, nostalgia-centric theme that both cohosts greatly appreciated. We were glad to see Jules VERNE in the grid for his 77th time, in 48A, Author of "L'Île Mystérieuse"; we were not at all surprised to see YAOA (Yet Another OREO Answer) at 60D, Double Stuf cookie; and we also appreciated the next clue over, 62A, A 2-1 record has one, LOSS (of course!). A nice debut by Daniel Trujillo Diaz. Will his second appear before not to...

9 Okt 13min

This was a fine debut crossword by Corry Cropper. It felt a little crunchier than usual for a Tuesday, but not overwhelmingly so; and it revolved around a mythological theme, which both cohosts found intriguing. Deets inside! In addition, we have a challenging Triplet Tuesday™️ segment for your enjoyment and edification, so prepare to be ... amused and/or edified. Show note imagery: A CAPUCHIN, runner-up in 2024's Most Meme-able Image Contest™️. We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Inf...

8 Okt 16min

This was a straightforward Monday crossword, as Monday crosswords tend to be, and an enjoyable crossword, as all NYTimes crosswords edited by Will Shortz are destined to be. We were glad to spot the HIDEYHOLE at 33D; marvel at ICEDANCERS not too far removed at 28D; and delight at 40A, "Sure is", YEP (which, coincidentally, is our answer to the question, was this a great crossword?). We also have our JAMCOTWA™️ (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award) pronouncement, and some awesome listene...

7 Okt 12min

For those who like puns, you are in for a treat; and for those who do not, you still are, because in a 21x21 Sunday grid there's room for all manner of entertaining / educational clues. If the name of today's constructor, John Kugelman, sounds familiar, that's because he has appeared in February, April, May, June, July and October of this year -- not a bad showing at all. Apart from May, all of those crosswords were Sundays, which is simply astonishing. We have the full deets on today's puzzl...

6 Okt 13min

This was an enthralling Goldilocks of a Saturday crossword: not too hard, not too easy, but just right. For that we can thank Ryan McCarty, edited by the seemingly indefatigable Will Shortz. There were oodles of great clues in the grid, and we have the full analysis right here - so please download, listen up, and enjoy! Show note imagery: an ELAND, trying to calculate how much it should charge in exchange for letting the NYTimes use his name in the crossword. We love feedback! Send us a...

5 Okt 14min

Rebecca Goldstein and Rafael Musa are both great cruciverbalists, but together they are more than the sum of their (very impressive individual) parts -- as aptly demonstrated in today's crossword. From the amusing 56A, Something raised during Oktoberfest, BEERTENT (nice!), to the educational 5D, The first one was issued in 1936, for short, SSN, to the brilliant 32D, What comes before we go, AWAY, the grid was dazzling. We have the deets inside, as well as a fabulous fact for Fun Fact Fr...

4 Okt 11min