Wednesday, July 16, 2025 - BESTIR, BESTIR, there's a crossword to tackle!
This was a highly elegant Wednesday crossword, featuring that most elegant of drinks (and one of the most famous letters in the English alphabet 😉). If you haven't figured it out by now, then we'll keep this short so you won't have to wait tOOLONG to achieve enlightenment. Show note imagery: Bud Abbott (left) and Lou Costello, two legendary old-time radio comedians who definitely would've appreciated the tOOLONG pun. We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Dro...
17 Juli 14min
Tuesday, July 15, 2025 - Daniel Britt's DeBut 😉
For those of you pondering the episode title, no, our quality control department has not dropped the ball, but rather made a wry (but not awry 🙄) joke that is highly germane to today's crossword. We discussed some great clues in today's episode. We were also glad to see 8D, Capital city on the banks of the Rideau River, OTTAWA (🇨🇦);55A, Bad way to run, AMOK (😀); and one of the worst inventions of whatever century it was invented in, 40A, Auto-___, setting for many subscription services,...
16 Juli 12min
Monday, July 14, 2025 - Happy Bastille Day / Joyeux 14 juillet!!
This was a Monday crossword, which means that a) it should not be particularly difficult for experienced solvers, and b) entertaining. We are pleased to report that it met both criteria, and we submit today's podcast as Exhibit A. Remember, the NYTimes crossword is a great way to keep expanding your lexicon and keeping those neurons in peak fighting form. To subscribe, just cruise over to nytimes.com/subscription/games, signing up is as easy as 🥧 Show note imagery: The Golden Raspberry Awards...
15 Juli 12min
Sunday, July 13, 2025 - Brought to you by RINSO, winner of the "Best Name for a Laundry Soap" contest 5 years in a row 😀
Today's crossword had bells, whistles, and even an EHRU thrown into the mix. It was by Brandon Koppy, however, so at no time did the quality of the puzzle ever dip below 5 squares on the JAMCR scale. Quite a few of the clues got our attention, including 30D, Strung rungs, ROPELADDER (that clue is just sooo much fun to pronounce!); 100A, Chore-o-graph, TODOLIST (brilliant!!!); and 55D, The old you?, THEE (tee-hee 😀). In addition to the analysis of a great crossword, we also have some fabulous ...
14 Juli 24min
Saturday, July 12, 2025 - Katie Hoody definitely has a clue (72, in fact!)
This was a terrific Saturday crossword, because the clues were just brilliant. Who could resist the allure of 58A, Member of a sub-Saharan matriarchal clan, HYENA; or the sly 61D, Wit's end?, NESS; or the witty 29D, Went from 0 to 60?, AGED. And the rest of the clues were of similar caliber, the quality control was that good. Kudos to Katie for this splendid, JAMCR scale-pegging puzzle! Show note imagery: Sidney Crosby (airborne), celebrating his GOLDENGOAL in the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, i...
13 Juli 13min
Friday, July 11, 2025 - Run for your life, it's an onion volcano, yum!! 🧅🌋
Kudos to James McCarron, on creating an excellent Friday crossword, a debut, no less. Among our favorite clues (not mentioned in the podcast) were 21D, Film star whose name consists of two presidents, HARRISONFORD (not to be confused with the slightly lesser-known star, ABRAHAMNIXON); 6D, Nash who wrote "The cow is of the bovine ilk; / One end is moo, the other, milk" (udderly brilliant 🙄); and 36A, "Poppycock!", PISH (the most British word ever 😀). Show note imagery: A BENIHANA chef sho...
12 Juli 18min
Thursday, July 10, 2025 - Pick a card, any card ...
This was an awesome Thursday crossword, courtesy of Emily Biegas and Sala Wanetick (with Will Shortz, as always, at the helm). The were oodles of cunning clues, some of which were quite educational. Par example (as the French like to say), we had: 10D, Like Stonehenge vis-à-vis the Parthenon, OLDER (🤔); 67A, It can follow anyone, ELSE (😀); and 49A, Sparking water additive, ESSENCE (🧐). We cover many of the remainder in today's podcast, and wrap it up with another letter from the ol' mailbox. ...
11 Juli 18min
Wednesday, July 9, 2025 - A true test of your peripheral vision 😉
Just when you think the NYTimes crossword could not possibly come up with one more theme -- they've all been done before -- they prove you wrong (which, happily, seems to happen every day they have a themed crossword!). Today's crossword definitely confirms that observation, as you will discover upon listening to today's episode. In addition, we have some awesome listener mail harkening way back to Monday's episode. Have a listen, and, as always, let us know what you think! Show note imagery:...
10 Juli 16min
