Saturday, September 20, 2025 - A FEARSOME Saturday spectacular!
This is Katie Hoody's fourth NYTimes Saturday crossword, and it is apparent that she has mastered the genre. The clues are devious, to be sure; and diabolical, also true; but you likely know the answers, if you can just maneuver through the maze to get to them. For example, 42D, Demand upon reaching an "enemy border", KINGME (ah, that kind of enemy border!); 27D, What's wrong?, ERROR (cute!); and 58A, Blow it!, SMOKERING. The entire puzzle has the same feel, making this an absolutely splendid...
21 Sep 14min
Friday, September 19, 2025 - You can pronounce magniloquence? OK but don't BRAG about it 😉
This was a tough Friday crossword, following a couple of crunchier than usual Wednesday and Thursday offerings. Extrapolating, we are therefore quaking in our metaphorical shoes awaiting Saturday's puzzle to drop. Will it be impossible? Or merely very, very nearly impossible? 😉 Only time will tell (but then we'll tell you, in tomorrow's episode). Also in today's show ... we have a Fun Fact Friday™️ segment, and some terrific listener mail! Show note imagery: FAILLE fabric never fails to impre...
20 Sep 18min
Thursday, September 18, 2025 - Huh, a Saturday crossword fell through a wormhole into Thursday!
Adam Wagner has a reputation for making tough, high-quality crosswords, which explains ... today's, tough, high-quality crossword. Even after grokking the theme, the rest of the clues required no little effort to unravel. We have the whole story inside, so do have a listen and then let us know: how did you find today's puzzle? Show note imagery: The Earl and Countess of Wessex We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.com....
19 Sep 18min
Wednesday, September 17, 2025 - A crossword that's waaaaay more than OK!
The remarkable xwordinfo.com has compiled a list of the maximum number of times each letter has appeared in a crossword. Up until today, K had appeared a total of 18 times, but now -- thanks to Jackson Matz -- that record stands at 24, all in the aid of a good cause, aka "the theme". Both cohosts found this to be a slightly crunchier than usual Wednesday, and Jean in particular had to put on her deerstalker hat for the win. Deets inside. Show note imagery: AKIRA Kurosawa's greatest epic...
18 Sep 17min
Tuesday, September 16, 2025 - What the deuce, it's ... egad ... a LOOKIELOO! 😀 😀
This was an excellent debut crossword by Jonathan Daly; we were dazzled by the theme, and found gems in the rest of the grid as well. We enjoyed 71A, Floppy part of a beagle, EAR; 49D, Owl's question?, WHO; and of course we are absolutely infatuated with 11D, A shopper, not a buyer, informally, LOOKIELOO. In addition, we have our traditional Triplet Tuesday™️ segment, and today Jean's in the hotseat. Show note imagery: Snoopy, who definitely has a floopy EAR (two, to be precise!) We lov...
17 Sep 14min
Monday, September 15, 2025 - Go, team, go!!
This was a fine Monday crossword courtesy of the very talented Matthew Stock and Michael Lieberman. The latter, based on both this puzzle and his xwordinfo.com photo, is apparently a baseball fan; so, using that metaphor, we'd definitely categorize this crossword as a home run. Show note imagery: Behold, the mighty PEGASUS (and they're accepting pre-orders now!) We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.com. Also, we're o...
16 Sep 12min
Sunday, September 14, 2025 - BEEP, BEEP!
In August we had a fabulous crossword honoring "the Man of 1000 Voices", Mel Blanc, and ... he's back, this time in the grid, and in celebration of what might be the greatest animated toon duo of all time, starring in gags that never get old. Deets inside, as well as our latest JAMCOTWA™️ (Jean And Mike Do The New York Times Crossword) winner. Enjoy! Show note imagery: GINZA, in all its glory. We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpo...
15 Sep 15min
Saturday, September 13, 2025 - YAFSC (Yet Another Fantabulous Saturday Crossword)!
This was definitely a Saturday-caliber crossword, where Will & company pull out pretty much all the stops. On no other day of the week will you see entertaining, educational, and definitely challenging clues like 16A, Italian pianist who composed the scores for "Nomadland" and "The Father", LUDOVICOEINAUDI (yikes!); or 40A, Origin of "The Tale of Genji," considered by many to be the world's first novel, JAPAN (huh); or the amusing 25A, The 21,728th page of 1989's 20-volume Oxford English ...
14 Sep 15min
