Wednesday, February 26, 2025 - We long for more crosswords by Dan Caprera 😁

An absolutely brilliant Friday crossword by Patrick John Duggan, hopefully he got paid extra for this tour de force / masterclass in clever cluing: we simply cannot say enough good things about it, although we tried. So to hear all of that, as well as to learn lots in today's Fun Fact Friday segment, subscribe, download, and listen up. 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 fe...

20 Aug 202217min

One of those epic Thursday crosswords that makes you want to shout "huzzah", or words to that effect -- thanks to a clever, rebusian (if that's a word, if not, we're inventing it here and now!) theme that will leave you gasping in amazement. At least that's the effect it had here at Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword HQ. We have all the deets inside, so we humbly beseech thee to download, listen up, and revel in the magic of it all. We love feedback! Send us a text... Conta...

19 Aug 202216min

Today's crossword was a real TREAT. Jean found it a cake walk. Mike found it more of a treacle pudding walk, thanks to a natick at the corner of 41D, Supermodel Wee, ALEK (not ALEC), and 48A, Video game franchise featuring Sub-Zero and Sonya-Blade, MORTALKOMBAT (and not, as we're sure you saw this coming, MORTALCOMBAT). But live and learn, that's our MOTTO, and besides, it's hard to HATE any crossword that, essentially, celebrates typoos! We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info...

18 Aug 202213min

A fine Tuesday crossword by Sue Fracker, with a well-done and clever "bendy" theme ( deets are in the podcast). Both Jean and Mike were slightly taken aback by at least two clues, Jean by 23A, Motorboat's trail, WAKE, and Mike by 14D, Sport with a coxswain, CREW (not ROWING: but the two are synonymous). In other news, Mike almost faints when he discovers that there is a 3-letter music genre that is not SKA; but recovers enough to save some face in today's Triplet Tuesday challenge...

17 Aug 202212min

A lively enough Monday crossword (esp. considering the presence of NAP and MICROSLEEP in the grid), with a few celebs (SELA Ward, Justin TRUDEAU, and NEYO) to give it that extra PEP! In other news, our NY Times Crossword Subscription Contest has drawn to a close, and we have winner!! Was it you?? There's only one way to tell: subscribe, download, and listen up! We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.com. Also, w...

16 Aug 202213min

Today's crossword is by the founders of xwordinfo.com, Jeff Chen and Jim Horne, and today's high-quality puzzle reflects that: the theme is ingenious, multilayered and ... well, we'd say more, but we want to keep you in some (mild) suspense before you hit the ol' download button!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!

15 Aug 202216min

Opinions on the difficulty of today's crossword were mixed: Jean finished it in 19 minutes, Mike finished it in slightly less than forever. What the dynamic duo do agree on is that this was a fantabulous crossword, we are both METAFANs, and that it deserves (along with Thursday's, for the first time we have a tie) the JAMCOTWA (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award)!! We also have listener mail, and our "Win a Free NYTimes Crossword subscription" contest is rapidly drawing to a close, so...

14 Aug 202214min

A relatively straightforward Friday crossword, with some elegant subtleties in the grid that need to be seen to be appreciated. For instance, let us draw your attention to the intersection of 54A, Response to someone who got the answer instantly, YOUNAILEDIT, and 36D, Crushed a test, ACEDIT. [That was apparently the section of the grid devoted to smarties.] We also had 21A, _____ blanc, VIN, and 45A, _____ noire, BETE (where blanc is white and noire is black, in French). Finally we had 28A, F...

13 Aug 202214min