Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

The authors of today's crossword, Jessie Bullock and Ross Trudeau, just got engaged - and this crossword was their announcement! The theme revolved around the song from Aladdin, ICANSHOWYOUTHEWORLD, and various clues that suggested representations of the earth (POCKETATLAS, GOOGLEEARTH, etc.). Hopefully they'll find married life as enjoyable as we found this crossword, and we give both the happy couple and this crossword 5 squares on the JAMCR scale.
In other news, it's Triplet Tuesday, and Jean, true to form, gets all 3!

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HOWSWEETITIS and TWOTHUMBSUP pretty much summarizes our review of  today's frothy , fun, and nostalgia-hued puzzle by Bruce Haight. Who can't help but smile at 49A, "The Jackie Gleason Show" catchphrase, HOWSWEETITIS, or the delicious twist that would always follow 39A, "Columbo" catchphrase, JUSTONEMORETHING? Probably all the people who weren't even born when these shows aired, aka 50% of the New York Times audience! Fortunately, the crosses were gentle, but it would be interesting to hear from some GenYers, so if you want to OPINE, drop us a line, [email protected]!

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A perfect Sunday crossword by Stephen McCarthy, with some extraordinary anagrams. For your consideration we offer 5A, It might be put on for stage PAGEANTRIES, GREASEPAINT, and 42A, You might be MARVELING AT this as it whizzes by, MAGLEVTRAIN. These are just two of the 10  jaw-droppingly good anagram-related clues that grace this puzzle. The other clues weren't too shabby either. Who could resist 106A , Five-letter word that replaces a four-letter word? BLEEP, or 22A, Member of a noble family, XENON (not BARON!)? A great way to end the weekend, we give this a 5 squares on the JAMCR scale 

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Today's crossword was a Saturday, hence the call for all SYNAPSES on deck. Jean's responded as usual, and she whizzed through today's crossword; Mike's also responded as usual, which is why, although he did TRY, he ended up BTEN in the vicinity of 50A, Synthetic material also called frozen smoke, AEROGEL (not AEROSOL).  Life is just FULLOFSURPRISES! Still, overall a good puzzle, we give it a 4.5 squares on the JAMCR scale.

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There was not a STALEJOKE to be found in today's grid. There might have been one at some point, but Will Shortz undoubtedly would've ULTIMATELY exercised his VETOPOWER to set things straight.  There were lots of fun clues in today's puzzle, too many to list here, but we do have to give a shoutout to 48A, Superhero misidentification, ITSAPLANE, as well as acknowledge the two sporting sleights of hand, 3D, A's, but not B's or C's, TEAM, and 24A, Cowboys' headgear, HELMETS. Nice!!

It's Fun Fact Friday, and today we learn the inside story of Congo and Pierre Brassau. It's fascinating stuff, you won't want to miss,  so download and listen up!

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A crisp Thursday offering from the pen of Oliver Roeder, today's crossword had lots of sparkling clues. The pièce-de-résistance was 36A, Life preserver? ... or a hint to six squares in this puzzle, CEREALBOX (and we'll just pause here to let that sink in 😀). Other clues worth applauding for included (this is not an exhaustive  list by any stretch) 17A, Stand-in for the unnamed, ETAL (nice!); 62A, Org. known for counting backward, NASA (outstanding!); and finally, an example of painstaking attention to detail, the grid contains both 4D, In large numbers, GALORE, and its anagram at 27A, 2007 Nobel Prize winner, ALGORE. We are in awe, definitely worth 5 squares on the JAMCR scale.

Just a reminder, if you haven't solved the crossword but want to follow along, you can always find its solution (as well as the clues) at xwordinfo.com. Highly recommended!

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A BLANKCANVAS is how crosswords (and podcast episode write-ups!) begin, but then with a little AGILE thinking you end up with ... a WHITELEPHANT? No, a PLUM puzzle that's just ready to pick! We hope that you'll pick, download and listen up to today's podcast, featuring Jean's deft explanation of today's theme, as well as a loving recitation of a William Carlos Williams poem about fruit!

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Today's crossword had lots of dipping - a NIB in INDIAINK, BREAD in CHEESEFONDUE, etc. Jean's favorite clue in the grid was 18A, Small part in a superhero film?, ANTMAN, and Mike was enthralled with 14A, Parts of clown costumes, REDNOSES, just because he likes the idea of REDNOSES. It's Triplet Tuesday, and Mike flames out spectacularly -- the details are all within, so download and listen up.

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Monday's are generally regarded as the easiest of the New York Times crosswords, but that doesn't mean that they aren't a lot of fun. This one had a lively theme, the opportunity to misspell 14A, Visually challenged "Mr." of cartoons, MAGOO (Mike thought it was MCGOO for a time), and a clue that's guaranteed to induce a chuckle or three,  45A, One who says that you're not on the ball?, FLATEARTHER. In short, Freddie Cheng has set the bar high for crosswords for the rest of the week, which we'll be reporting on ... for the rest of the week.

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Double, double, toil and trouble refers not only to a witch's spell, but also to this crossword, which caused a lot of toil and trouble -- specifically at the junction of 6A, Sarcastic internet laughter, LOLZ, and 9D, Star man?, ZAGAT; both Jean and Mike (working independently, as always) decided that the answers should be LOLS and SAGAN. The authors of the crossword, Aimee Lucido and Ella Dershowitz, begged to differ, and did. Still, apart from that wee little natick the crossword was fine, with some amusing clues. Jean's favorite was 110A, Big believer in the freedom of assembly?, IKEA, while Mike's (apart from 9D, Star man?, SAGAN :-), was 4D, Gladly, old style, LIEF. So, we LIEF give this crossword a 4.5 squares on the JAMCR scale.

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