Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

Today's crossword is a middle-of-the-road Wednesday, that is to say, a real TREASURE. It has a NICE theme involving a BILLYCLUB, a smattering of Spanish (ESO and ESTE), and a FEW other BAUBLES, like 5A, First courses, for short, APPS, 46A, Good name for someone with a sharp tongue?, BARB, and 41A, Do with a pick, maybe, FRO. So, according to our CRYSTALBALL, you will find this crossword to be just the thing to RESCUE you if you are in need of rescuing. We give it a perfect 5 squares on the JA...

31 Dec 202011min

Today's crossword had an oblique Bob and Ray reference and a FAIRYTALEENDING, who could ask for more? The reference was 27A, Largest lizard on earth (up to 10 feet long), KOMODODRAGON, the topic of a famous Bob and Ray routine. The FAIRYTALEENDING slyly united WARRIORPRINCESS, KOMODODRAGON, CNTOWER, and GLADYSKNIGHT. Today is Tip Tuesday -- Jean noted that two fairytale villains that show up a lot in the New York Times crossword are OGRES and ORCS, while Mike reminded listene...

30 Dec 20207min

Today's crossword is a tad unusual for a Monday - four 15-square answers, all to down clues. They are not particularly difficult, but without gentle crosses would definitely pose a serious challenge. While solving this last Monday crossword for 2020 we learned what MBE stands for, how to pronounce DOGE, but the mystery of why R2-D2's nickname is ARTOO, as opposed to ARTWO, remains unsolved. Detectives are on the case! We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener m...

29 Dec 20209min

FACTIS, this was an AWE-inspiring Sunday crossword, we are SHIRR, um, sure, of that! Jean cruised through it without too much difficulty, Mike got hung up in the neighborhood of 94D and 95D, having forgotten that 95D, Patchy in color, was PIED, and either forgotten or possibly never even learned that 101A, Money in coins rather than bills, was SPECIE, and 98A, Bake, as an egg, was SHIRR. Still, HUGSANDKISSES to the creators, we give this a 5 squares on the JAMCR scale. We love feedback! Send ...

28 Dec 20208min

It's a Saturday, that should mean tough. and John Guzzetta does not disappoint, with a crossword that crackles with clever clues. Most of the crossword was just ... difficult, but John really cranked it up in the southeast corner. Our best advice: only try a John Guzzetta puzzle when well rested. We give it a 5 on the JAM CR scale. 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 dr...

27 Dec 202011min

Ho, ho, ho, it's a classy Christmas present from the New York Times, a gentle Friday from Erik Agard and Wendy Brandes, i.e., NOTBADATALL. It had some nice juxtapositions - RIPOFF (1D, Con), and RIFFEDON (25D, Used as improv fodder, say), and some amusing clues -- 59A, Perfect score ... or half of one, TEN, and 21D, Labour leader?, DOULA. A great way to end the week! We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.com. Al...

26 Dec 20208min

Happy Christmas Eve, everyone! And to celebrate, the New York Times has provided a cheery Thursday crossword, by Billy Ouska, that could be done, NOLIE, in almost no ___________ at all. Note that the (attempted) humor in that last sentence will become apparent once you've listened to the podcast. Jean cruised through the crossword as usual, Mike confidently and incorrectly assumed that 23D, There are more of these in the U.S. in October than any other month, surprisingly, was BIRTHS -- as opp...

25 Dec 20208min

Today's crossword, while perhaps not the greatest thing since SLICEDBREAD, is still, INALL, a fun and challenging Wednesday (and that's no JIVE!). It had some clever clues, like 7D, Stands up for dustpans, say, abbr., ANAG (short for ANAGRAM), 20A, 10th and 11th, e.g., EXT[RAIN}NINGS, and the rather obscure47A, Lawless figure with legendary fighting skills, XENA.All in all a fine puzzle, we give it a 5 squares on the JAMCR scale. We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact In...

24 Dec 202016min