Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

Not that we believe in product placement, but this was a JUUL of a crossword, as the constructor, Nina Sloan, provided a bevy of insulting candy names, from GOOBERS to DUMDUMS, leaving out, presumably because of space, the delicious YOURMOTHERWEARSARMYBOOTS bar. One clue stood out in particular -- 5D, Fit on a hard drive?, ROADRAGE -- brilliant! For that alone we give this a perfect 5 squares on the JAMCR scale. In today's tips, Jean recommends crossword-solver.io, and Mike admonishes list...

5 Maj 202113min

It's a gigantic crossword! No, not really, it is just 15x15, but it did manage to fit a giant's trademark FEEFIFOFUM into the answers. It also slipped in one of our favorite shows, 25D, Discovery Channel program that debunked popular beliefs, MYTHBUSTERS, and therefore EARN our respect. We were glad to see a shoutout to 26A, Island nation in the western Pacific, PALAU, as well as one of our all-time favorite deities, 49D, Greek goddess of wisdom, ATHENA. A nice crossword - Ross Trudeau ...

4 Maj 20217min

After the Herculean efforts yesterday's crossword demanded, today's was a much kinder solve, although it did have its moments -- 2D, Classical poem form, EPODE, and 5D, Floral archway, PERGOLA (well, one of us had troubles with it, at any rate). There was a charming segue between yesterday's puzzle and today's Yesterday offered the clue, Pickup line, NEEDARIDE, and today we had 3D, Drive's home, say, GIVESARIDE. Nice scheduling, Mr. Shortz! We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact In...

3 Maj 20218min

Mayday, Mayday! And, no, we're not just referring to the date. This was a tough crossword, with some delightful verbal misdirection. Exhibit A, 6A, One whose business is home-based?, UMP, and 22A, Popular camp assemblies, SMORES. Jean momentarily got stuck in the top right, convinced that 26A, Passes, was ELAPSED, rather than ENACTS; Mike got mired in the middle of the grid for what felt like a day and a half, having convinced himself that 43A, Motif in much Christian art, was ACORNTREE (rath...

2 Maj 202116min

A nice crossword to round out the work week, with a lot of long answers that can be challenging, although the modern culture references were down to a minimum, giving Mike a leg up. There were definitely a few tricky clues, such as 5A, Brogues, e.g., DRESSSHOES(!), and the amusing 27A, Ones getting you down?, GEESE 😀. We definitely appreciated this crossword, and give it a 5 squares on the JAMCR scale. We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, cr...

1 Maj 202112min

Attention, haiku lovers, your time has come! Well, almost ... there is a haiku in today's crossword, but it is just ONESYLLABLETOOLONG. Today's puzzle was a challenge: almost by definition embedded poems, quotes, etc., require you lean on the crosses, and there were a few toughies, especially 3D, "... not to mention everything that could go wrong!", ORWORSE, and the question of spelling 31A, Pepper between jalapeño and cayenne on the Scoville heat scale, SERRANO. Not a bad crossword, we give ...

30 Apr 202110min

It's an OPENANDSHUTCASE -- the crossword was great, with a very clever and intricate theme: it was NOACCIDENT that the author was Hal Moore, who has had 7 crosswords accepted in the New York Times in the last 4 years, not too shabby! As is often the case, there were a few words here that rewarded frequent solvers -- 16A, Man with morals, AESOP, had just shown up a few days ago, and 12D, Ideal condition for collectors, MINT, had appeared (in a different guise) just yesterday. On th...

29 Apr 20218min

Today's crossword is a MINTCONDITION Tuesday effort, with lots to like. First, it has 22D, ______ Lee, longtime head of Marvel comics, STAN; 6D, Bigwig, NABOB (fun to say, and fun to drink); and 66A, Dubious sightings in the Himalayas, YETIS (aka official Nepalese monsters of the New York Times crossword). For Tip Tuesday, Jean recommends diving through the archives for practice, starting with Mondays; and Mike suggests not confusing DIES IRAE, the hymn, with ISSA RAE, the her. We love ...

28 Apr 202112min