Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

Opinions on the difficulty of today's crossword were mixed: Jean finished it in 19 minutes, Mike finished it in slightly less than forever. What the dynamic duo do agree on is that this was a fantabulous crossword, we are both METAFANs, and that it deserves (along with Thursday's, for the first time we have a tie) the JAMCOTWA (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award)!!

We also have listener mail, and our "Win a Free NYTimes Crossword subscription" contest is rapidly drawing to a close, so get those emails in soon ([email protected])

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A relatively straightforward Friday crossword, with some elegant subtleties in the grid that need to be seen to be appreciated. For instance, let us draw your attention to the intersection of 54A, Response to someone who got the answer instantly, YOUNAILEDIT, and 36D, Crushed a test, ACEDIT. [That was apparently the section of the grid devoted to smarties.] We also had 21A, _____ blanc, VIN, and 45A, _____ noire, BETE (where blanc is white and noire is black, in French). Finally we had 28A, Fictional weapon of the 23rd century, PHASER, and 9D, More, on a score, PIU, which is, as all good Trekkies know, the sound that a PHASER makes, as in PIU, PIU, PIU.

For Fun Fact Friday, we had a listener, and a soon-to-be-published crossword constructor (!)  email us our fun fact for the day, so be sure and tune into that as well.

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An absolutely ingenious theme deftly implemented by David Tuffs, rounded off with some great clues -- 8D, Pasta named for quills, PENNE (huh!), 55A, Phone-y document, FAX, (ha, ha!), and 4D, Title monster in an H.P. Lovecraft story, CTHULHU, (heh, heh, heh! ). All the deets, as well as a reminder about our current contest, are as close as a click or a tap, so click (or tap), listen, and enjoy.

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A definitely easier-than-yesterday crossword, Jean got through it expeditiously; Mike mysteriously forgot how to spell AUTO, opting for OTTO, hence hilarity and longer-than-normal-solve-times ensued. Still, you have to like a crossword with clues like 55D -- One of six in this clue, WORD -- and we did!  

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A definitely tougher than usual Tuesday offering -- probably because Bruce Haight's at the helm -- but a fun solve, with LOTSA challenges and curiosities in every corner of the grid. From 33A, 1st-yr law students, ONELS (obvious in hindsight), to 37A, What "C" faucets are in Italy, confusingly, HOT (huh, who knew?). Even though we were ONEDGE while working through this puzzle, we FESS that we liked it -- a lot!

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A nice start to our crossword solving week courtesy of Kathy Lowden, with several answers definitely worth remembering because they might show up later in the week, but with several orders-of-magnitude more difficult cluing: we're looking at you, IAMB, PHO and BRASSY. 

Just a reminder, we're running a contest this week -- a year's subscription to the NYT Crossword. If you want to enter, just drop us a line, [email protected], and you will be entered! Good luck!

We love feedback! Send us a text...

Contact Info:
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!

We are back after a week's hiatus, and welcoming us back is a superb crossword by Tina Labadie, her debut -- but you wouldn't know it from the finely crafted clues! We have all the deets inside plus ... a new contest! All emails (to [email protected]) between now and next Sunday will be entered in a drawing for a year's subscription to the New York Times crossword! One entry per contestant per day, please, and good luck!

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Contact Info:
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!

A middle-of-the-road Sunday crossword, appropriate considering all the road references lurking in today's grid -- 108D, Inits. on the road, MPH; 109D, Inits. on the road, (yes, again) AAA; 27D, Fwy. or expy., RTE; 64A, Flagship vehicle line for Mercedes-Benz, SCLASS -- and there might've been more, it's a big grid!

Just a head's up, we are taking the week off to recoup and recharge, but we do have a vast collection of podcasts in the ol' archive that will hopefully tide you over until we are back next Sunday!

We love feedback! Send us a text...

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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!

A tricky Saturday crossword (as one would expect!), with vast swathes of white squares and just a few oases of black to break up the monotony. The cluing was suitably obfuscatory -- 51D, Supervisory challenges, EGOS; 26D, Location designed to attract whales, HOTELCASINOS (!); and 56D, Suffix for a rank, DOM (!!!) are just 3 examples, we explore more in today's episode, as well as pick our JAMCOTWA (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award); and ... we have listener mail! 

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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!

A nice Friday crossword by a veteran constructor, Robyn Weintraub. Jean found the puzzle to be a piece of cake, Mike found it to be almost impossible, until the crossword deities smiled benevolently upon him, and reminded him that a better answer for 21A, Employment history, would be CAREER, rather than RESUME or CRVITA. Robyn is known for her great clues, and today's puzzle is exemplary. 

In other news, it's Fun Fact Friday, and today' we explore the mysterious life and times of ENOS, chimp in space!

We love feedback! Send us a text...

Contact Info:
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!