Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

The misdirections were flying fast and furious in today's epic by Nam Jin Yoon. Consider 48A, Marvel producer, MIRACLEWORKER, not KEVINFEIGE (it doesn't fit, and Marvel ≠ MARVEL).  Right above that, 45A, Background for someone who's good with numbers, MUSICALTHEATER (!), and 34A, Star clusters?, FANBASES (!!). One of those classic Saturday puzzles that requires all neurons on deck, so to speak, we give this an exhausted and exhilarated 5 squares on the JAMCR scale.

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Jean found today's crossword to be a bit of a slog, but Mike (surprisingly) cruised through it in excellent time, although it was touch-and-go at the beginning. There were a lot of amusing clues in today's offering, such as 26D, Traffic directors?, CONES, 51A, That's a wrap!, SARAN, and 61A, Person who is willfully alone, SOLEHEIR. If these didn't bring a smile to your face, then 4D, Revolutionary inventions in the culinary world?, ROTISSERIEOVENS, will surely leave you ROTFL. 

In today's Fun Fact Friday, Jean ferrets out the story behind the 3+ million mile Volvo alluded to earlier in the week.

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HOHO, another exciting crossword from Jake Halperin (with, we presume, a dollop of assistance from Will Shortz), who CALLSITLIKEITIS, calling a spade a spade, and a funny bone a FUNNYNERVE -- because that's what, it turns out, it really is. There are three other misnomers that he lays to rest in this fine bit of gridsmanship: to find out what they are (among other things), download and listen up.

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Today’s crossword featured a fine example of grid art — a face that definitely HADABLANKLOOK, and SHOWEDNOEMOTION - which coincidentally is what Jean & Mike look like when
they have their puzzle-solving faces on.

Apart from the Mona Lisa-like grid, there were some interesting answers: 56A, Brand with the record for a single car driven the most miles (3+ million and counting), VOLCO (huh!); 5D, Pennsylvania petroleum center, once, OILCITY (natch!), and 30D, It’s been known to chase Wild Turkeys, BEER (nice). 

A fine effort by Joe Dipietro, we give it an unemotional 5 squares on the JAMCR scale.

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Today's crossword was a colorful one, well, red, at least, thanks to the theme -- 4 multi-word answers, the first word of which could be preceded by LITTLERED, as in 17A, Educated, but not streetwise, BOOKSMART, as in LITTLEREDBOOK (as in Mao's bestseller).

Mike had a spot of difficulty, uncertain of and therefore focused on 11D, Judicial capital of Bolivia, SUCRE, whereas his real error was 62D, Cheese coating, WAX (not WAC, which would be simply, well, whack). 

Jean breezed through today's crossword, abetted by her crossword solving partner (not Mike, who is not so much an abetter as an aworser ;-)

In other news, Jean overcomes the challenge of doing Triplet Tuesday while on the road, in spite of Mike's sly misreading of the heteronyms NUMBER and NUMBER. To hear all this goodness, download and listen up!

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A slightly more difficult Monday than usual -- crunchier, as they say -- but that's to be expected when Alex Eaton-salners is at the helm. You know that trouble's ahead when one of the first clues, 2D, Wake-up calls played on bugles, REVEILLES, requires that you spell REVEILLES. Not too long after, 20A, Spiral shapes, HELICES, requires that you recollect that long-ago-or-possibly-never-even-happened English class where you learned that the plural of HELIX is HELICES. Yikes! So, a tough Monday, and you can hear all the details in today's episode, so download and listen up! 

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Today's crossword puzzle was ... a puzzle, literally, with 5 shaded areas that when fitted together spelled out that homage to Kodak (maybe), PICTUREPERFECTMOMENTS. There was not a lot of humor in the clues, but 74A, Beehives, but not hornets' nests, UPDOS, and 100A, Songs that can be trilling, ARIAS, were noteworthy. There was a lot to like in today's oeuvre, so to get the full 411, download and listen up!

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There are many reasons to love today's crossword, and a new world's record for use of words containing GHTs is not the least of them. With a minimum of cultural references (Mike's bane),  and the pun-meter dialed up to 11, it was one of those puzzles that starts of as Impossible and then ... well for many people it stays there's but if you're lucky, well-rested, and have been doing these crosswords for a while you can coerce it to yield its secrets. Nice job, Adam Aaronson, we give your crossword a well-deserved 5 squares on the JAMCR scale.

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Both Jean and Mike had issues with today's crossword - Jean missed class the day they covered the moons of Saturn (41D, Moon of Saturn, TETHYS), and Mike is utterly convinced that the only true 23D, Director Cameron, is JAMES Cameron (not CROWE). They also are convinced that an 's' made a break for it in 49D, Just deserts, DUE. Apart from this, the crossword felt like, well, a Friday -- and we give it a 4 squares on the JAMCR scale.

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Today's crossword involves two animals, both clued as Hybrid creature of myth,  that are either ancient and indeed mythical or possibly escapees from S.T.A.R. labs: MERMAID and CENTAUR. And these are central to today's theme, details of which Jean spells out in her inimitable style in today's episode. Beyond that, there were some very clever clues, Jean's favorite, 55A, Where you might search for a lead?, IMDB, and Mike's favorite, 57D, Maneuverable, in nautical lingo, YAR (mainly because it's so fun to say in a Popeye voice).

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