Monday, November 2, 2020
Jean almost beats her personal best Monday time, her fingers a blur over the keyboard. Mike, meanwhile, takes heart in the fact that he solved a crossword with a GOLDENDOODLE in it (20A, Popular dog crossbreed), HEHE. Also of note was the interesting overlap from yesterday's (Sunday's) puzzle: 31D, Green-EYED monster, tied in with Sunday's 75A, Source of the words "O, beware of jealousy, my lord! It's a green-eyed monster ...". And 17A, Z ASIN Zebra was the same answer to Sunday...
3 Nov 20208min
Sunday, November 1, 2020
An EXQUISITE and very ARTY start to November, with references to various works and writers, including OTHELLO, BAUM, DANTE, and, while not quite as classical, the definitely classy EBERT and CARLSAGAN. There was a nice mix of fun clues -- 21A, Bottom Lines? (XAXES), and obscure ones, such as 17D, Boat sometimes built around a whalebone frame (UMIAK (!)). We give it a 5 squares on the JAMCR scale. In other news, for those interested in creating your own crosswords, check out cro...
2 Nov 202012min
Saturday, October 31, 2020
A very scary Halloween crossword, avec trop de français, à nos avis (if you know what I mean, and pardon our French). Mike spent a lot of time pondering veggies, eventually migrating from CROUTONS to CARROTS before settling on RADISHES for 14D, Sources of crunch for a salad, while Jean struggled with a startling number of French-related clues. Saturdays are meant to be tough, and this one certainly succeeded on that score. We give it a 4 on the JAMCR sale. We love feedback! Send us a text... ...
1 Nov 202012min
Friday, October 30, 2020
A not-at-all-scary crossword for Halloween's Eve. Mike particularly enjoyed the appearance of his favorite comic, Mitch HEDBERG, and Jean enjoyed DEEPSIGH -- as she explained with a DEEPSIGH. Some unfamiliar words also cropped up -- the magnificent 52A, Acts like a quidnunc, MEDDLES (distantly related to a geometric arrangement that appeared recently, quincunx), and 3D, River through Victoria Falls, ZAMBEZI. A fine puzzle by Trenton Charlson, it clearly deserves a 5 squares on th...
31 Okt 202011min
Thursday, October 29, 2020
A palette cleanser of a crossword -- see yesterday's podcast to see why! -- with a fun twist, and a few novel entries -- 13D, Serfs of olden days, HELOTS, and an interesting variation on scathing, 46A, Denounce harshly, SCATHE. There were some entries that showed off the TLC that clearly went into this puzzle -- 2D, Aries animal, RAM, directly opposite it at the bottom of the puzzle, 69A, Son of Zeus, ARES. And, of course, the entire theme was quite clever. Definitely a 5 squares...
30 Okt 20208min
Wednesday, October 28, 2020
Brace yourselves, because today's Wednesday crossword definitely felt like a Saturday, with a northwest corner that crossword aficionados will be talking about -- not always in the kindest terms -- for years. You can learn all about the epic struggle right here, and marvel at clues like 6D, What members of the Church of the SubGenius parody religion claim to be descended from, YETIS; and 5D Was verklempt from pride, KVELLED (oy vey!). Peter Gordon was clearly giving no quarter, especially in ...
29 Okt 202025min
Tuesday, October 27, 2020
A very clever Tuesday crossword, with some astonishing anagrams from the pens of Luci Bresette and David Steinberg. Did you know that you could, using just the letters of US CAPITOL, spell out POLITICSASUSUAL? Tis true! There are a few other amazing anagrammatic gems hiding here in plain sight: listen to the podcast for the details, as well as some great tips -- it is Tip Tuesday™️ -- to help you become a better puzzle solver. Tip Tuesday Links: 12 European Rivers - rivers that tend to show ...
28 Okt 202016min
Monday, October 26, 2020
A cracking-good start to the crossword week, with an array of amusing allusions to -- of course -- cracking, as in, what do a CODEBREAKER, STANDUPCOMIC, and CHIROPRACTOR have in common? A few old friends join jus as well -- ALOE, the official balm of the New York Times crossword, ADELE, possibly its official chanteuse, and TSA, definitely its favorite airport security team. We give it a perfect 5 on the JAMCR scale. Tip Tuesday is coming right up, so tune in tomorrow for helpful suggestion...
27 Okt 20209min
