If it seems like you've been seeing Zhou Zhang's name in the crossword a lot, lately, you are not imagining things: her name has appeared in the masthead a whopping 7 times ... and the year's not over! 

The reason she is appearing so frequently is as obvious as today's crossword was sublime — she writes clever, quirky clues that make you think, smile, and feel great once, or if, you've figured them out. Check out today's podcast for a profusion of examples. 

Show note imagery: An example of Labanotation, a dance notation used by choreologists to capture dance moves.

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Mac Motz has produced a mmmmagnificent debut crossword. We are not entirely sure how he came up with the theme, but we thought it terrific — we are such suckers for alliteration. Who could resist 46A, Making out openly or a mobile device, in brief, PDA; or 12D, Member of a membership, TIER; or 50D, Mouth moistener, SALIVA. We could go on and on, because every single clue had the same alliterative structure. Stupendous! This definitely merits a full and enthusiastic 5 squares on the JAMCR scale.

Show note imagery: UPS, née The American Messenger Company 

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This was a relatively rare event, a double debut for Paul Hudes and Margot Kohn. Kudos to both for an excellent job. The theme sparkled, and clues like 

• 53A, Like Javan rhinos, RARE; 
• 29A, Risky bets, FLIERS; and 
• a reference to Mike's favorite beverage, 22D, Locale of Coca-Cola's headquarters: Abbr., ATL 

kept us thoroughly engaged.

After analyzing the crossword, there is a Triplet Tuesday segment in honor of, well, Tuesday — and Jean makes short work of it.

Show note imagery: A Javan rhino, one of, if not the, rarest large mammals on Earth, with just over 70 known to exist.

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This was another fine Monday crossword by Christopher Youngs. The theme was delicious, and the clues maybe a tad more feisty than usual for a Monday. As an illustration, consider 37A, Took shots first, then paid for them later, RANATAB (nice!); 50A, "Need an ark? I Noah guy," e.g. PUN (argh!); and 43D, Tetra- minus one, TRI (indubitably 🧐).

In honor of Monday we have picked out our JAMCOTWA, a doozie of a crossword that really tickled our fancy. Deets inside.

Show note imagery: The Inuit village, of Oopungnewing, near Frobisher Bay, Baffin Island, about 160 years ago.

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Today's crossword relied on an anagram-adjacent concept, that of a letter bank: all the letters in the clue can be used as many times (but at least once) in the answer. Once you realize this (which may only happen once you get the revealer figured out), you can rule out answers that include non-banked letters, considerably shortening the solve. 😀 

What makes the puzzle particularly challenging (and therefore fun!) is the need to recognize the names in the answer based only on an unrelated name. Both cohosts were able to get through this, Jean through talent and encyclopedic knowledge, Mike by repeating his mantra, aka the Galaxy Quest theme — never give up, never surrender*.

 There were a slew of difficult (read: abfab) head scratchers in today's crossword. We don't have enough room to list all of them(!), but these certainly got our attention: 82D, Barolos e Brunellos, VINOS; 52D, John ___ Day (California commemoration), MUIR; and 42D, Double-breasted pieces of menswear, POLOCOATS.

Show note imagery: John MUIR, environmentalist extraordinaire!

*unless it's a Saturday Sam Ezersky puzzle, in which case knock yourself out 😀 

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Rafael Musa and Kate Chin Park have put together an awesome Saturday crossword, tough, fair, with some absolutely magnificent cluing. Both cohosts had to follow the advice of 42A, Put your backs into it, TRY — while reconciling that with the Yoda's famous quote and meme, "Do or do not. There is no try".

We've covered some of our favorite clues in the podcast, but others stood out as well. We were enthralled with 35A, Ones giving a toast at an outdoor party?, PATIOHEATERS. 😀 Right beneath it was the nicely misleading 37A, Court session, perhaps, TENNISLESSON (ah, that kind of court...). Finally we had the rarely spotted 11A, Half-spoken, half-sung passages of an opera, ARIOSI. 

Show note imagery: Three of the founders of TECHNO — Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson and Derrick May — in their native habitat, aka the recording studio.

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Jack Hatchett seems to be getting a good handle on Friday crosswords. This marks his second in just over two months, and both have been quite entertaining. Today's did include a large dollop of pop culture, which Jean barely noticed, but caused Mike to mutter "heavens to murtagroyd!", and, in particularly sticky corners, "what the deuce!", while en route to victory. 

We have all the deets inside, plus a Fun Fact Friday segment that just may cause you to adjust your travel plans. Have a listen, and let us know what you think!

Show note imagery: BRER Rabbit, getting ready to do something very tricky indeed

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We wouldn't say that today's crossword had a boring theme, au contraire. But you still might think about snoozing as you solve, for reasons that will become abundantly clear once you've looked at the puzzle. Apart from the non-snoozefest of a theme, we did admire 38D, French bread?, EURO (trés drôle!). We also were astonished that 56A, Large storage unit, GIGABYTE, was a debut. Finally we loved the nostalgia-inducing 31D, "Heavens to Murgatroyd!", EGAD. EGAD!

Show note imagery: The mysterious, awe-inspiring NAZCA Lines, of Southern Peru. 

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Today's crossword, a collaboration between John Kugelman and Lance Enfinger, had a bonus puzzle within a puzzle. First, there was the traditional 15x15 grid we all know and love (to solve); then we had the theme, whose revealer seemed to be more of a concealer. Fortunately, the light eventually dawned, so we've got the full 411 right here for your listening pleasure.

Show note imagery: The one, the only, it's Mr. Rockhead Sylvester Nate Oscar George Slate (really, that's his full name!).

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Bryan Kaproth-Gerecht's debut NYTimes crossword is a marvel, with an insanely clever theme brilliantly executed. We can't say enough good things about it, but in today's episode, we give it the ol' college try.

We also have a Triplet Tuesday™️ segment to test your mettle, so have a go, and let us know how you did!

Show note imagery: There's nothing like a quick holiday getaway to Saturn's largest moon, [NAME REDACTED TO AVOID SPOILERS], for a little water skiing, er, hydrocarbon skiing 😀 

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