Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

While a MONONYM might sound like a one-note Gregorian chant, it is, in fact, a term for a person with a single name, and forms the basis for today's crossword, featuring BONO, PINK, ENYA and EMINEM. What a great concert that would be!

It's Tip Tuesday: Jean lists common tests that tend to pop up in the crossword, while Mike reminds listeners to explore the cultural references -- if it's mentioned in the NYTimes  it's worth investigating -- and makes a plug for the OED.

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!

The EPITOME of what a Monday crossword should be -- not too difficult, with a GLOB of humor (6D, Try, try again?, REHEAR, and 25D, Shelters for shelties, KENNELS), and a few novel words (41D, Theatergoer's break, ENTRACTE, and the slightly more common but even more difficult to spell word, 67A, Garlicky sauce, AIOLI). Jean was able to get through all of this with her usual APLOMB, while Mike wasn't quite as TIMELY. 

We give it a 5 squares on the JAMCR scale.

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!

A perfect puzzle for a perfect day (28 is a perfect number, we kid you not). The puzzle was not too tough, especially if you knew your planetary moons (ARIEL, DEIMOS, and the like). There were several smile-inducing clues, but we have to give a shoutout to one of the funniest, genuinely LOL clues that we've seen in a while -- 60A, Hit movie released as "Vaselina" in Mexico, GREASE. Bravo!

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!

The toughest crossword of the week lives up to its billing, with a bottom right corner that was a real HAIRRAISER. Both Jean and Mike had to dig for 39D, Rogues, PICAROS (not (Jean thought) GIGOLOS, or (Mike thought) PIRATES). That ran into another poser, 53A, Entry point in the walls of Babylon, ISHTARGATE. 

Meanwhile in other parts of the puzzle, the author didn't ease off,  FARFROMIT, but had enough HORSESENSE to up the levity quotient as in 17A, Start of a nudge, DONTFORGET, and 31A, Spot to have a look sea?, CROWSNEST. Nice! We give this a 5 squares on the JAMCR scale.

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!

A loooong crossword, at least the answers were: but the clues were relatively merciful for a Friday, which means (based on the Law of Conservation of Crossword Difficulty) that tomorrow's puzzle is going to be an ursa, if you'll pardon our Latin. But back to the here-and-now, there were quite a few clever clues, including 2D, Not fast, EAT, and 62A, Place for a hot date?, DESERTOASIS. Jean was able to make short work of 6D, Heart of an academic paper, THESISSTATEMENT, whereas Mike's first thought, ATTEMPTEDTENURE, did not help at all. 

A fine effort by serial crossword constructor Daniel Larsen, we give it a 5 squares on the JAMCR scale.

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!

Opposites attract, but some of the time they just hang around in bigger words, as Alex Eaton-Salners demonstrates in this fine  puzzle. Alex was able to find AMITY in ANIMOSITY, WOEFUL in WONDERFUL, and a few others that we'll not reveal here (but we discuss in the podcast, and you can also see at xwordinfo.com). 

Beyond the central theme, there were several clues of note: 12D, Distance between "some" and "where" in "Somewhere over the rainbow", OCTAVE, and 23D, Intruder warning, maybe, ARF.

We give it a rousing 5 squares on the JAMCR scale.

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!

A crossword for the animation fashionistas in the crowd, where readers were challenged to the question of WHOWOREITBETTER, with sartorial standoffs among PAIRS of fictional characters, including 17A ... Donald Duck orPopeye?, SAILORSUIT, and 24A, Minions or Mario?, DENIMOVERALLS.  

Jean immediately picked up on this theme; Mike was left totally AREEL, and had to fight for every square, SOSAD!

Oh, to answer the initial questions: definitely Donald Duck and Minions -- no doubt at all.

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!

You'll probably get a charge out of today's puzzle, an electrifying effort by Dan Schoenholz. Jean managed to complete today's crossword within 3 seconds of her Monday time. Mike was too distracted by the appearance of TWEE (48A, Too cute, on the Thames) and ONUS (35D, Albatross) to turn in a good time.

It's Tip Tuesday. Jean explains the architectural terms OGEE and ORIEL, while Mike advises solvers to be wary when reading clues, as there might be puns lurking within.

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!

Today's crossword creator was on fire -- or at least thinking about fire, witness the three themed answers, MATCHBOX, TINDERPROFILE and FLINTMICHIGAN. Those three looooong answers made this a more strenuous Monday than usual, but that's why crosswords come with crosses. 

Speaking of fire, COALS (18D, Classic eyes for Frosty) also made an appearance, although the pluralization of what is already a collective noun did sound a bit off.

After last week's ULTRAVIOLET, INFRA made an appearance in 43A, Prefix with red or structure. And earlier this month, REQS made a jarring appearance as the answer to March 3's 47A, Academic musts, for short -- so we were glad to see that the much more conventional PREREQS made it into today's puzzle, as in 46D, Algebra for calc, e.g.

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!

Sunday is punday, at least as far as this crossword is concerned -- with plenty of groaners to make (or break, but probably make) your day. Exempli gratia, 23A, Nod off at a self-serve restaurant, SLEEPINTHEBUFFET, and 88A, "We should stall",  LETSMAKEADELAY -- very droll.

Jean learned a slew of new words today, including 56D, Piece with a title like "10 Best Places to ...", LISTICLE, and 4D, Brief summary, APERCU. Mike was stunned to learn not so much the answer to 26A, Jupiter, exempli gratia, DEUS, but that exempli gratia was, in fact the Latin phrase that is (always) abbreviated as e.g. Gasp!

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!