Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

A challenging Saturday crossword, Jean in particular had to take a stroll through her vast mind palace in order to get through today's puzzle, whereas Mike had to rely on what is, alas, not so much a mind palace as a mind broom closet in order to seize victory from the jaws of cruciverbial defeat.  We liked this crossword a lot, and for that reason unreservedly award it our highest rating,  5 squares on the JAMCR scale.

Speaking of award, today's JAMCOTWA -- Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award -- is out, so to find out which of your favorite of the 7 won, have a listen right now (or later, after all,  it is a podcast 😀 )

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A delightful Friday crossword by Malaika Handa, with some familiar clues, but not many, as befits a Friday. Some of our favorites include the most excellent 12A, Illegal product that's still made?, MOONSHINE (ha!); the mysterious 22D, Go into one's "phone voice", say, CODESWITCH (huh!); and the rarely seen (at least in crosswords!) 27D, Form of protest for tenants, RENTSTRIKE (hmmm). A fine crossword, 5 squares on the JAMCR scale, and our heartiest congratulations to Malaika on this, her 4th NYTimes crossword of the year!!

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Once again the NYTimes crossword typesetters are pushing the envelope, today by working musical staffs into the clues. They did a great job (er, except on the iPhone, where the staffs appeared as black rectangles 😱), and all in a good cause, the theme. We don't want to give away too much -- check out today's episode for the full deets -- but we will say that this crossword is definitely in the running for a JAMCOTWA (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award), which will be announced, as usual, on Saturday. 

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It is reasonable to assume that any crossword that works NOAMCHOMSKY into the grid and the theme is going to be deep, and we're talking Mariana Trench complexity here, thanks to a splendid work by Scott Koenig. Deets inside, as well as some insightful listener mail about Lyme, CT and why you should visit -- so have a listen, and, as usual, let us know what you think!

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For those of you who have been hoarding tech terms like they're going out of style (which being tech terms, they will), now's your chance to haul them out, and for a good cause: to solve a great puzzle by Shannon Rapp (her debut!) and Rebecca Goldstein (her 10th, or in binary, 1010!).  A fine Tuesday, clearly worth 5 squares on the JAMCR scale.

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It's not clear if the phrase "Queen of Mondays" has ever been applied to Lynn Lempel, but having written 73 crosswords for the first day of the work week (out of a whopping 101 of hers that have been published in the NYTimes), it is an apt one. To see why the NYTimes has seen fit to publish so many of her crosswords, all you have to do is check out this one, which we do -- and we invite you to do as well, if not on your own, at least vicariously through today's episode.

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Today's crossword, by Joel Fagliano and Christina Iverson, is either, depending on your perspective, a magnificent collection of brilliant puns, or ... a magnificent collection of brilliant puns, there is no other way to interpret what is, as previously noted, a magnificent collection of brilliant puns. 🙄 Can you tell that we liked this crossword? To find out exactly why that is so, have a listen, and remember we love feedback - [email protected]

Check out "Dance Myself To Sleep", as recommended in today's crossword.

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A challenging Saturday crossword, at least for one of our dynamic duo, thanks in part to his confidence that McTwist was a delectable McDonald's treat. Ah, but today's crossword disabused him of that notion (eventually): to hear all the deets, and see what else is lurking in the grid, have a listen and, as always, let us know what you think!

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An excellent Friday crossword - not particularly difficult, but filled with some delightful clues. For example, 38A, Country described in "One can't impose unity out of the blue on a country that has 265 different kinds of cheese", France (delicious!); or 10D, Givers of priceless gifts, ORGANDONORS (in retrospect, of course!); and 41A, Bear necessities, DENS (😀 🐻‍❄️). In short, a great crossword and a fine intro to a weekend of solving, a solid 5 squares on the ol' JAMCR scale.

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Just when you think that the lode of clever themes has been exhausted, someone strikes pay dirt, and today we have Dan Cabrera to thank and congratulate for his new find, a delightful theme that really soars -- thanks to a flock of fabulous themed clues and answers. Deets inside, so have a listen, and, as usual, let us know what you think!

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