Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

The record does not state whether Michèle Govier, the constructor of today's crossword, was hungry when she set to work, but the presence in the grid of PEAS, NILLA, OREO, BREADFRUIT, TARO, and, as a topping, OREGANO, does make us wonder. What we are not wondering about is the quality of this crossword - excellent, 5 squares on the JAMCR scale. Our justification is as close a

Another day, another debut crossword, this one by Tom Locke -- who has published in other well-known venues before, but this is indeed his first in the NYTimes. In the best tradition of NYTimes Monday crosswords, the theme was amusing, understated (certainly compared to its flashy Thursday sibling), and not too difficult to souse out. Deets inside, so have a listen, don't forg

Today's crossword, a debut in the NYTimes by Mike Ellison, was a relatively gentle Sunday crossword with a host of curious clues, such as 94A, Hats worn by Napoleon, BICORNES; 86A, Golf gimme, TAPIN (not to be confused with last Thursday's golf phrase, HOLESOUT); 80A, Settings for timers, OVENS (nice!!); and the fine 53A, Needles holder, CONIFER (awesome!!). An auspicious

A challenging Saturday crossword by Rich Norris - his 188th!! -- with a nice mix of deceiving and educational clues. Examples of the former include 2D, "Say no more", ONIT, and the aforementioned 26D, "Do I have news for you!", EXTRAEXTRA. Latter examples include 17A, Like some coins, BIMETALLIC (huh), and 7D, NASA rocket since 1957, ATLAS.Today is Saturday, mea

This was a delightful Friday crossword courtesy of Matthew Stock and Christina Iverson (with Joel Fagliano ably editing). It had plenty of crunch, thanks to SCADS of challenging clues -- 43A, Porto-Novo's country, BENIN; 28D, Contend, HOLD; and 28A, Second hand, HELPER (😀) -- but they were reasonably fair (for a Friday!), and both cohosts concur that this crossword was wort

Just when you thought that the PHENOMs who construct NYTimes Crosswords couldn't possibly come up with one more theme, they ... come up with one more theme, and this one, by Hanh Huynh, is so novel that it deserves a standing ovation. Have a listen, and you'll see why!A reminder that the entire crossword, filled out and with clues, is available at xwordinfo.com. When list

Jeffrey Martinovic has graced the pages of the NYTimes before, and one glance at this crossword will tell you why he was invited back - a splendid piece of work, a brilliant (and helpful) theme, with an ARMY (60A, Host) of educational and entertaining clues. Those included 5D, Sound of hesitation ERM, and its counterpart, 68A, Sounds of hesitation, UMS; 71A, Media inits. since 1851

Judy Bower's debut crossword has much to commend it, including 45D, Word with bad or blood, SPORT; 34D, Certain Scotsman, GAEL; 38D, "Ha, no surprise there!", IKNEWIT; and, of course, the awesome theme of which we have more to say inside, so to speak.Show note imagery: SCREENAGERS!Contact Info:We love listener mail! Drop us a line, [email protected], w

A celebration of Earth Day and a word ladder, who could ask for more? We love word ladders, so today's crossword, by David J. Kahn (his 189th!!), hit the sweet spot. There were also several Earth Day related clues not tied to the word ladder -- 18A, Sustainably produced electricity, GREENPOWER; 54A, Carbon-based energy source, FOSSILFUEL; and in between, 36A, One symptom of cl

Michael Schlossberg has created a dazzling Sunday crossword with a doozie of a theme, definitely worth 5 squares on the JAMCR scale. We have all the deets inside, so we cordially invite you to have a listen (and don't forget to subscribe!)Show note imagery: TEDTtalks, which are apparently limited to 18 minutes in lengthContact Info:We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crossw