Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

A relatively straightforward Friday crossword, but a great mental workout nonetheless and with some terrific clues. As a tasty example we have 39D, Meal, REPAST; as a head scratcher we have 44D, Travel that doesn't require a hotel reservation (DAYTRIP, not, as Mike had originally surmised, LSDTRIP); and as an historical fun fact we have 66A, One of eight in a B-52, ENGINE. A fine crossword, definitely 5 squares on the JAMCR scale!

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Is there anything cheerier than seeing Natan Last and the JASA Crossword Class in the byline for a Thursday crossword? Maybe, but not much, and the class has outdone itself today, with a brilliant grid and clues that deserve a chef's kiss. For all the deets, and to see why this is definitely in the running for the JAMCOTWA (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award), download, listen up, and enjoy!

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An adorable Wednesday crossword by Caryn Robbins and Matthew Stock, the latter a familiar name among NYTimes crossword aficionados, the former less so -- this being her second (congrats!). The theme was fun, and there were many educational clues in the grid. For example, did you know that both CHAD and LESOTHO are land-locked? That Jean ARP is a Dada artist? and that OTTO Porter Jr. is an NBA forward? Well, if you didn't before, you know now!

Lastly, today's WYMA is ELO*

*if  WYMA (Words You'll Meet Again) is unfamiliar to you, that's unsurprising, as what we hope will be a continuing segment  just sprung into existence during yesterday's podcast, be sure and check it out if you want the deets.

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A fine Tuesday puzzle by Zachary David Levy, not too terribly difficult (as expected: Tuesdays are supposed to be on the easy-ish side), but still impressive, with a stately theme (that will seem hilarious once you've listened to today's episode) and a few answers that are just fun to say, such as 29A, Sticky stuff, GOOP; 1A, Bit of foolish mockery, JAPE; and 61A, Utopian locale in a Coleridge poem, XANADU.

In other news, we're announcing a new podcast segment - WYMA, Words You'll Meet Again. There are many clues/answers in the NYTimes pantheon of clues and answers that tend to crop up more than once, and they're just good to have in your back pocket when you're trying to be a keener crossword solver. So periodically we are going to just flag one of the answers in the grid we're talking about to be a WYMA word™️.

Remember when listening to the podcast, it may help to have the completed grid available, and if you weren't able to solve it,  fear not! We always link to it in the show notes, as we are about to do right here.

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A fun and frothy Monday crossword by Chloe Revery and Alissa Revness,  perfect for novice crossword solvers trying to learn the ropes . In today's episode we also have an impromptu and unnamed version of OTHYPI (Oh, That's How You Pronounce It!"), based on two of our favorite South Dakota place names. Enjoy!

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Lisa Senzel and Jeff Chen have teamed up to create a mind- (or at least answer-) bending crossword, which if you're familiar with DROPLEAFTABLES will be relatively straightforward, but if not ... be forewarned, it will be a slog! So, naturally, Jean tore through the crossword, and Mike, initially thinking IMTOAST, eluded the TRAP that Lisa and Jeff had SET through a series of lucky AHA moments -- but it was a very near thing. Deets inside,  so please do subscribe / download / listen up / enjoy / let us know what you think!

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An eminently and appropriately challenging Saturday crossword by veteran cruciverbalist John Guzzetta, this is his 39th NYTimes appearance, and practice makes perfect, which basically describes today's puzzle. And we will elaborately describe today's puzzle in today's podcast, so have a listen, and as usual, let us know what you think, and tell others about us as well.

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A brilliant Friday crossword by Brandon Koppy, no theme (of course: Fridays are almost always themeless), but a grid that was chockfull of clever clues/answers, such as 58A, Asteroids system, ATARI; 23D, In shorthand, it's written with 2S's and 2T's, WEEK; and 8D, Charm, to King Charles, ENAMOUR. But, incredibly, there are more, and even (arguably) better ones lurking in the grid: and to find out what those are, you know what to do - download, listen up, and enjoy.

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The perfect blend of entertaining, educational, and 'ead scratching, today's crossword has something for everyone. A theme that makes you reach for it (in both senses of the phrase!); some thought provoking clues/answers, including Jean's favorite, 44A, It is usually blue, DENIM, and Mike's fave, 6D, 1872 Utopian novel whose title is an anagram of NOWHERE, EREWHON. This is Simeon Siegel's 8th NYTimes crossword, and we are eagerly awaiting # 9.

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A breezy Wednesday crossword by Barbara Lin, with a theme that is vaguely related to Sunday's, and yet ... entirely different. You'll see what we mean when you listen to today's podcast,  which we highly recommend you do posthaste -- partially because we think it's so good, and partially because we just like to use the word posthaste as often as possible 😀 

Just a reminder, we love listener mail -- so if you want to, drop us a line, [email protected], and we will get back to you .... posthaste! (😀 😀 )

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We love listener mail! Drop us a line, [email protected].

Also, we're on FaceBook, so feel free to drop by there and strike up a conversation!