Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

The gloves are off, the gauntlet is cast down, yes, it's a Saturday crossword, so you might need some PLOTARMOR to protect you from the absolute deluge of tough clues. starting with, well, speak of the devil, 1A, Protection of a protagonist for narrative purposes, in slang, PLOTARMOR. The fun continues with the clues beneath it, 15A, Get in the pool, say, RIDESHARE, which bumps into the even slier 7D, Bunch of hipsters?, MANBUN -- and that's just the top-left corner!

The bar for the rest of the crossword remains at that same stratospheric level, but it did include 35D, Source of Vibranium in the Marvel universe, WAKANDA, and 44A, Father of Jörmungandr, LOKI, so we will not only forgive Adam Aaronson for any transgressions. we will award his oeuvre a 5 squares on the JAMCR scale.

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A somewhat challenging Friday, with head-scratchers in all 4 quadrants. Jean struggled in the middle of the crossword, with 40A, "Vice" principal?, DICKCHENEY, while Mike struggled with, well, it would be faster to say what he didn't struggle with -- he got 42D, Province named for a daughter of Queen Victoria, ALBERTA, right off the bat. Everything else he had to work for.

In today's episode of Fun Fact Friday, we talk about Otis Boykin, best known for his work with resistors and pacemakers.

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Sufferin' succotash! It's Sylvester, one of Mel Blanc's many, many creations, and the basis of the theme, which involves exchanging S's for TH's, e.g., 35A, When an armistice is signed, as 58-Across would say, MOMENTOFTRUCE. Mike wasn't quite sure about 50-A, Looking pretty, as 58-Across would say, INGOODFAITH, but Jean assured him, INGOODFAITH, that INGOODFAITH was a legitimate answer. 

A good Thursday offering, we give it a 5 squares on the JAMCR scale.

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Mi, mi, mi -- sorry, we're just warming up to analyze a Will Nediger crossword that had three ME references, all tied to 53A, Ominous request from a teacher ... or a hint to the first words (and following letters) of 17-, 26- and 43 Across, SEEMEAFTERCLASS. The answers to those clues were, incidentally,  BUSINESSMEETING, GYMMEMBERSHIP, and GERMANMEASLES.

There  was a lot to like in this crossword -- Will Nediger does not know how to write anything less. Most notable were 

• 14A, Brest milk, LAIT (brilliante!); 
• 13D, They run when they're broken, EGGS,; 
• 31D, Duty-free?, IDLE; 
• 8D, Food, in a food fight, AMMO, and, just because it's so fun to say, 
• 44D, Granny, in the South, MEEMAW (yet another, unrelated-to-theme ME!).

Overall, a nice puzzle, we give it the often requested but infrequently bequested 5 squares on the JAMCR scale.

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Jean found today's crossword to be a piece o'cake, while Mike found it more of a torture, er, torte, as he wandered down various dead-end alleys (1A, Evidence of a recent scrape, SCAB (not SCAR); 6D, Go here and there, ROVE (not ROAM); 17A, Many a graduate of 37-across; Abbr., ENGR, not MNGR; etc., etc.).

Both Jean and Mike enjoyed the delicious irony that 9A, Expensive Super Bowl purchases, TVADS, was kitty-corner to 64A, Rival of Hydrox cookies, OREOS  (and since OREOS were involved, the irony had to be delicious). And finally, Mike was delighted to see yet another reminder that Loki will be out in a few weeks, 53D, God who wields the hammer Mjölnir, THOR. 

Finally, it was Triplet Tuesday™️, in which Jean displays her crossword-solving chops, with a 100% solve rate.

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There are a lot of body parts in today's crossword, but that's not really a bad thing, just a good theme, well implemented. There was also a diverse array of foods that hopefully you'll never encounter at one meal -- 16A, Challenging vegetables to eat with a fork, PEAS, 46D, Three-ingredient lunchbox staple, familiarly, PBANDJ, and 44D, ____ Balls (chocolaty snack), SNO. 

Beyond the crossword, we got some mail ([email protected], we promise to read every missive!), so download and listen up.

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In today's episode, Jean explains about PIONS, and the fact that SELFSOWN is not superfluous; Mike, meanwhile, ponders where he can download the latest version of CLAROS, in spite of the fact that it is the answer to 33A, Mild, light-colored cigars, and not, as he had posited, a new version of Linux. While they have been known to have a DIFFERENCEOFOPINIONS, both Jean & Mike do agree that 32A, They have stems and white heads, HALFNOTES, is brilliant, as is the crossword in general -- a 5 squares on the JAMCR scale.

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Today's crossword was a bit of a slog, although we were happy to see the return of AMONRA - the god of tricky spelling -- and several Star Wars references (21A, Hoth, in "Star Wars", ICEPLANET, and 27A, Sci-fi enemy collective, perhaps, EVILEMPIRE). Jean struggled in the northwest corner, and both Jean & Mike had to grit their teeth in the southeast, where the dubious 49D, Hit on the head, in slang, DONK, and the clever but obscure 32D, "100 Years ... 100 Stars" and others, in brief, AFILISTS, caused difficulty. Still, any crossword that includes 47A, Portmanteau coinage for the uneducated and uncultured, BOOBOISIE, can't be all bad -- we give this a 4 squares on the JAMCR scale.

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In today's crossword, we discover that one of us (Jean) knows the difference between ELEGIZE and EULOGIZE, and that one of us (Mike) knows that to dispose of the one ring that rules them all will require a trip to MTDOOM. Jean has to work for her supper in the top-left corner, whereas Mike has a relatively smooth solve except for 37D, Fit to be tried, which he took to be STABLE rather than the (in retrospect) much more plausible SUABLE. 

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A tough Thursday, foreshadowed in some of the clues, such as 59D, Sounds of puzzlement, EHS, and 62A, Cry of frustration, AARGH. Jean struggled in the bottom center, having inexplicably neglected to memorize the Dewey Decimal System before starting today's puzzle. Mike, meanwhile,  took to heart yesterday's conversation anticipating rebuses, and was bound and determined to use them, even if the crossword constructor, Trenton Charlson, chose not to.

Besides the theme, there were some noteworthy clues, such as 1D, Brand that many people stick with, ELMERS (nice), and 9D, Rodin's thinker, TETE (manifique!). 

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