Tuesday, June 10, 2025 - Was this a fine crossword? To quote 10D, YESREALLY!
Today's grid had a few surprising entries. One that in particular caught our eye, because it has never caught our eye, was 30A, Altar constellation, ARA. It is located in the southern hemisphere, and, alas, never visible from Northeast Wisconsin (and when we've been in the southern hemisphere, we forgot to look). We also liked 44A, Flim-________, FLAM, mainly because of its origin story: it came from the Norse, flim, which at some point, for reasons unknown, became yoked to flam. Really, that...
11 Juni 15min
Monday, June 9, 2025 - Expect the unexpected!
Even if you do expect the unexpected, we predict that you'll still laugh when you figure out today's crossword, as the theme is delightful. Note that if you do not figure it out, fear not, we have the 411 for today's puzzle right here, and, if we may be permitted the indulgence of mixing 14th and 21st century English, cordially beseech thee to have a listen. Show note imagery: Rupert of Hentzau (by Anthony Hope). The former was apparently quite adept with an EPEE, whereas the latter is better...
10 Juni 13min
Sunday, June 8, 2025 - An eerily attractive crossword grid 😉
This was John Kugelman's twelfth NYTimes crossword in about 2 years, and today's puzzle makes it clear why he keeps getting published. The theme was fantastic, and there were enough challenging clues everywhere else to transform this into one of the tougher Sunday's we've seen in a while. We have the deets inside, so please, subscribe / download / listen / enjoy! Show note imagery:SALERNO, gateway to the Amalfi coast (and fully reassembled after the big move from Spain to Italy 😀) We love fee...
9 Juni 20min
Saturday, June 7, 2025 - SACRA bleu, this crossword was a BEAUT! 😀
Today's crossword was Blake Slonecker's 9th in the NYTimes, and his 4th Saturday, so he definitely knows how to write challenging clues. The grid here was impressive, with 4 full-width and 4 full-height answers -- no easy feat. And the clues were engaging, amusing, and educational. Apart from the clues mentioned in today's podcast, we did appreciate learning about 52A, Colorful knit top with Scottish origins, FAIRISLESWEATER; enjoyed 47D, Core location, TORSO; and were suitably deceived by 49...
8 Juni 12min
Friday, June 6, 2025 - A perfect Friday crossword
What, you may ask, makes for a perfect Friday crossword? We're not sure about the what, but we are about the who: Adrian Johnson, the author of today's and 5 prior NYTimes Friday crosswords, definitely knows how to make one. Both hosts found his latest to be exceptionally tricky, but, ultimately (with a little luck, a lot of experience solving past NYTimes crosswords, and a surfeit of caffeine), doable. Besides the crossword, we also have a Fun Fact Friday™️segment, and it's a really sockeroo...
7 Juni 19min
Thursday, June 5, 2025 - 1 debut author, 3 debut answers, an ♾️ amount of solving satisfaction 😍
This crossword had a most ingenious theme. Jean spotted it at once, enabling her to solve the puzzle in a goodly time; Mike, alas, solved it in a not-so-goodly time, meaning he had more time to savor all the ingenuity packed into Timothy Gaetz's debut crossword (bravo, Timothy!). All the themed clues were outstanding, but the non-themed ones weren't slackers, either: 56D, Down Under bounders, ROOS; 67A, Flat sign, TOLET; and 15A, Like 2027 and 2029, but not 2025, PRIME, are just a few example...
6 Juni 18min
Wednesday, June 4, 2025 - OPDOC - A Spiderman villain or an NYTimes feature, something like that ...
It is unclear when "crunchy" was first used to categorize crosswords, but what is clear is that today's was definitely a crunchier than usual Wednesday - just the way we like it! Need proof? Check out today's episode, when we run through the crunchiest of the crunchy clues, for your edification and amusement. Show note imagery: T.S. Eliot, not looking nearly as stern as his middle name might lead one to expect 😉 We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! ...
5 Juni 16min
Tuesday, June 3, 2025 - TAUPE, *the* perfect color choice for a toupee 🙄
There was a lot to love in today's crossword, but it had us at 25A, Ref. work with definitions for "colour" and "aluminium", OED (our favorite reference work of all time). We became even more smitten thanks to 27A, Andy Warhol's "Campbell's Soup Cans," e.g., POPART; and the kicker had to be the shoutout to one of our favorite foodstuffs, 30D, Vegan protein source, TOFU (yum!). Since it is Tuesday, we have another one of our patented, trademarked and copyrighted Triplet Tuesday™️ segment...
4 Juni 16min
