Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

A fabulous Friday crossword by Claire Rimkus: both Jean and Mike started off slowly, but eventually managed to persevere, Jean by dint of knowing a lot, Mike by dint of lucky guesses (many, many lucky guesses). We have all the deets inside, as well as a Fun Fact Friday that we know you're jonesing to listen to, so subscribe / download / listen up and enjoy!

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There was, as is oft the case, vast differences in our co-hosts' solving journeys as they worked on today's puzzle. One of them (Jean), had no problem, and the other (not Jean) had almost exactly the same lexiconic failure that he had yesterday, except this time it was the northeast, rather than southwest, that almost did him in. The smart money says that for tomorrow's crossword, Jean will set a personal best and Mike will get stuck in the ... southeast. Tune in tomorrow to see which if any of these predictions come to pass!

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A brilliant Wednesday crossword by Joe Deeney, with a genuinely LOL theme. There were at least two debut answers -- the revealer, 35A, Dubious food-eating guide, or a hint to the answers to this puzzle's starred clues, and one of the themed-answers, 57A, Federal tax incentive for buying a Tesla, say, EVCREDIT. A nice bit of work, definitely 5 squares on the JAMCR scale!

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A fine Tuesday crossword by Emily Carroll, with an amusing theme and some wry clues that will bring a smile to your lips. And if that doesn't do it, then our Triplet Tuesday spectacular is guaranteed to make those lips part. All the deets are inside, as well as references to IHOP that are not nearly as gratuitous as they might seem once you've grokked the theme. So, to take advantage of all this, just subscribe / download / listen up / enjoy!

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Today's crossword had plenty of heart, and thanks to 32D, James who sung "Tell Mama", ETTA, also plenty of soul! For those of you who don't remember Reader's Digest "I am Joe's Heart", today's crossword is just what the doctor ordered. In other news, we had listener mail explaining how tonic water worked, and this article from McGill University is definitely worth checking out.

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Jean, as seems to be her MO nowadays (even if she is living in WI), tore through today's crossword in about half an hour. Mike ... did not, primarily due to some tragic misspellings in languages with which he has only a passing acquaintance. Deets inside, so download, listen up, and enjoy!

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A fabulous Saturday crossword by Andrew Linzer, who pulled out all the stops to come up with a cornucopia, or possibly a piñata, of great, great clues. We'd go over them here, but basically it's ... all of them! Pick a clue, any clue, and be prepared to be amazed.

Naturally, of course, you'd think that this would be the JAMCOTWA (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award) winner, and indeed it is, but ... we have another winner, because Tuesday's, by Trey Mendez, was also top notch. For all the details, you know what to do - subscribe / download / listen up / enjoy!

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A terrific Friday crossword by Robert Logan, as folksy as all get out, and that's not a complaint! It included many interesting factoids, such as 39A, Largest of the society islands, TAHITI; 53A, Snack item since 1912, OREO; and 42D, Scottish sheepdog, informally, SHELTIE. The structure of the puzzle was also intriguing -- as revealed by 64A, A 50/50 chance ... or a description of the lengths of this puzzle's Across and Down answers, respectively, EVENODDS. (We checked, it's true).

It's Friday, and on Fun Fact Friday we delve into the origin of the word "randy". So, to learn about that, and so much more, subscribe, download, listen up, and enjoy!

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An ingenious Thursday crossword by Olivia Mitra Framke and Andrea Carla Michaels, who discovered how to amusingly squeeze US states together, to great effect, in this 5-square-on-the-JAMCR-scale-worthy puzzle. We have all the deets inside, just waiting for you to discover. 

Remember that if you haven't done the crossword, and want to be able to follow along, just wander over to xwordinfo.com -- there you can see the entire grid filled out (so, huge spoiler alert before you go there!), as well as the clues. 

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There were SCADS of good clues in this crossword, and AUGHT bad ones - thanks to the efforts of constructor Colin Ernst (aided and abetted, undoubtedly, by Will Shortz). A few old friends dropped in - 63A, Indian tea region, ASSAM; 22A, Shakespearean schemer, IAGO. who, blessed with 3 vowels and a G, has managed to worm his way into a NYTimes crossword  grid a total of 408 times,  including 5 this year!; and of course, what appears to be the official cheese of the NYTimes crossword, 26A, Mild yellow cheese, EDAM, yum!
 

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