Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

This,  Robert Logan's second NYTimes Crossword,  took him 17 months to complete! The end result, though, is a chef's kiss of a crossword, one that gives up its secrets gradually and grudgingly, with clues so good that you'll be inclined to stand up and applaud: which we heartily encourage you to do, and thus simultaneously exercise both the mind and the body.

In other news, it's Saturday, time for the JAMCOTWA - Jean & Mike Crossword Of The Week Award - and this week the choice was an easy one!

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A fiendishly clever crossword by Drew Schmenner, with a worthy theme -- that's not UPFORDEBATE -- that would've taxed even the great IBMWATSON. We loved it -- as you can tell from today's episode -- and can't wait for Drew's next opus!

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As the week progresses, the NYTimes crosswords, by-and-large, get more difficult, and you can start to feel the friction on Wednesday, with clues like 37D, Kind of mark, SKID; 26A, "Ya dig?", FEELME (aha); and 37A, Fast pitch, SPIEL, starting to make you, well, dig,a little more deeply than on a Monday or Tuesday (at least on average). And speaking of dig (for the third time in this paragraph), we dug deeply to extract the finest clues from today's grid for your edification. Enjoy!

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Today's puzzle is educational -- a primer for those of you who can't tell your Greek gods from your Roman ones., as well as entertaining -- what you'd expect if Steinberg was in the byline. We'd tell you more, but ... we've already told you everything we know in today's podcast, so have a listen and let us know what you think.

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A marvelous Monday crossword by Fulbright scholar (!) Alexander Liebeskind, and that genius shines through wherever you look in today's grid. There were (almost) impossible to pronounce answers, 66A, One whose property is being held as debt security, LIENEE; (almost) impossible to spell answers, 43A, ________ - daisy, OOPSY (not OOPSIE); and (almost) impossible to forget answers, 40D, Yawn-inducing, BORESOME (!!).

A reminder that the NYTimes Crossword is a great way to keep your wits sharp and your fingers on the pulse of modern (and ancient!) culture: you can subscribe at nytimes.com/crosswords, tell 'em Jean & Mike sent ya'.

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An absolutely delightful Sunday crossword by Michael Schlossberg, brilliant clues everywhere you look, guaranteed to put a smile on your face. We have all the deets inside, so please subscribe (so you won't miss an episode), then download, listen up, and enjoy!

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Jeff Chen is known for writing great crosswords and he is in excellent form today. Clues like 2D, Head of the bar, FOAM (not SOAP!), 36A, Word that can be described by changing its last letter to a P, SHARD (wow!); and the droll 52D, Take for a spin, TURN (of course it is) tell the tale. Loved it, clearly worth a full 5 squares on the JAMCR scale.

In other news, we have hit 100,000 downloads, so thanks to all of you for getting us to that lofty peak , and here's to the next 100,000!

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Today's crossword, by Jonathan Kaufman, didn't faze Jean in the slightest, whereas Mike was almost done in by 16A, Drank discretely, HADANIP (not, as both Jean & Mike, and possibly most of humanity  first thought, HADASIP). That tricky northeast corner notwithstanding, the entire grid was well done, not a bit of crossword-ese, just ALOADOF entertaining and educational clues. Deets within, as well as some great listener mail, so download, listen up, and ... enjoy!

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Our co-hosts took wildly divergent routes in solving today's crossword, with Jean taking the highway and Mike taking a barely discernible PATH through dense woods to arrive at the same destination. So, while he was OUTSHONE, Mike believes he should get some points (and possibly seek medical treatment) for ES (Extreme Stubbornness). Deets inside, so download, listen up, and enjoy (and don't forget to subscribe!).

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You know you're in good hands when the byline reads Brooke Husic and Brian Thomas, who between them have published  19 (Brooke) + 14 (Brian) = 33 NYTimes crosswords, no mean feat. To see why they keep getting puzzles accepted, you just have to look at today's exemplar,  or listen to our description right here, right now!

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