Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

If this crossword seemed taller than usual -- in spite of being the standard 15x15 -- that is probably because of the preponderance of tall themed answers -- SPACENEEDLE, EIFFELTOWER and FERRISWHEEL. These were all constructs built for one of the WORLDSFAIRS that seem to have gone out of vogue nowadays. Jean and Mike both appreciated 66A, Like some college bros, FRATTY; and Mike was pleased that his go-to for solving tricky problems, BRUTEFORCE, got a shoutout, although the clue -- 3D, Inelegant problem-solving technique, seemed a little elitist. ETTU, New York Times crossword?

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A punny Sunday crossword ... ORISIT? Well, with clues like 41A, When the nudist club was founded?, MANYMOONSAGO, it is apparent that the answer is a a resounding yes! Jean's favorite themed clue (and the gimmick all revolved around people going au naturelle)  was 78A, What happens in the stand-up show at the nudist club?, COMICSTRIPS, whereas Mike although partial to the aforementioned 41A, also appreciated 24A, Leadership style of the nudist club president?, BARELYMANAGING, and 58D, Victory in the annual nudist club 1K?, WiNNINGSTREAK 😀 

There were some other intriguing clues -- 54A, Graduation wear for a University of Hawaii student, LEI; 60A, Time's Person of the Century, EINSTEIN (which made more sense than Mike's first and inexplicable guess, HOLSTEIN); and finally 90D, Punk cousin, EMO. 

A nice puzzle all round, we give it a 5 squares on the JAMCR scale.

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Jean sailed through this crossword so quickly that her keyboard ignited, while the fate of Mike's keyboard was never in doubt nor peril. There was a goodly number of arcane (depending upon your age) clues, including 61A, Actress/YouTube star ______ Condor, LANA, 38A, Title character in a "Sgt. Pepper" song, MRKITE, 8D, George Sand title heroine, ISIDORA, and 63A, "East of Eden" twin, Aron, just to name a few. 

Both Jean and Mike were suckered in by 44D, Begrudge, independently answering RELENT, instead of the correct (and for both of them the last) answer, RESENT. 

A great crossword, all round, we give it a cheery 5 squares on the JAMCR scale.

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There were no ERRATA in this perfect Friday crossword, with 5 loooong answers that spanned the grid -- 3 across and 2 down. Despite their length, however, they were relatively accessible, common phrases -- sneakily disguised to ELUDE discovery. Jean found a few new words to add to her vocabulary - 43A, Fencing sport with bamboo swords, KENDO, and 46A, Film composer Morricone, ENNIO. Mike learned about 7A, Painting technique used in van Gogh's "The Starry Night", IMPASTO, and the existence of 57D, ________ of This Swirled (Ben & Jerry's flavor), OAT. Yum!

For Fun Fact Friday, we discussed the 3 musketeers of The Three Musketeers. Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, along with their friend, d'Artagnan. En guard!

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Jean cruised through this crossword like it was a Monday, while Mike  got hung up on the REEFS, and had to DOUBLEDOWN in order to get OVER the finish line with his self ESTEEM intact. The theme DOUBLEDOWN referred to several words that had repeating triplets, e.g., HEARTMUR ==> HEARTMURMUR, COVERSION ==> COVERVERSION, etc. Very clevlever.
 

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A punny Wednesday, with multiple clues, based on PARADOX, that happened to contain, DOX, um, make that Docs as in Dr. EVIL, Dr. OZ, Dr. WHO, Dr. RUTH, Dr. DRE and Dr. NO -- clearly the makings of a great medical clinic!
There were a few grin-inducing clues -- 53A, Elbows and such, PASTA, and 32D, Togs for sawing logs?, PJS -- offset by one sad clue -- 61D, Number of season's played by baseball's Seattle Pilots, ONE.  Clearly there is a story to be told ...

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Both Jean and Mike found this puzzle to be a tad easier than Monday. There was much  music in today's crossword -- Lady GAGA, ELTONJOHN, EMINEM, all made an appearance, and if IRONTHRONE isn't the name of a heavy metal band it ought to be 😀. KARAOKE, DEADHEAD, and 23A, Movin' _______ ("The Jeffersons" theme), also contributed to this toe-tapper of a puzzle.
It's Tip Tuesday(tm). Jean recommends solving the crossword with a buddy, as you can learn a lot from the experience. Mike describes the seven early warning signs of a rebus, and how to enter them electronically.

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We have no doubt that the illustrious editor of the New York Times, Will Shortz, was PEPPERED with questions after today's crossword was published, and might've thought, GIMMEABREAK. Nonetheless, controversy swirled around the answer to 29D, Evian and Perrier, EAUS, as opposed to (as any bon étudiant de la belle langue Français* could tell you), the correct answer, EAUX. Jean was serenely unperturbed by this faux pas, but Mike blames his suboptimal solving time on having passed out for several minutes after answering the clue. Dangerous waterx indeed!

*good student of the beautiful French language

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Are you feeling INARUT? Matthew Stock has just the ticket, a crossword with great APPEAL that will have you SINGININTHERAIN in no time! Jean got through today's crossword in her usual exemplary fashion.  Mike wasn't quite the STARPUPIL, he REWROTE a staggeringly large percentage of his answers before finally hitting ORO, so for him it wasn't so much a matter of WEARETHECHAMPIONS as POURSOMESUGARONME 😀 

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Saturday is traditionally the hardest crossword of the week, and Ali Gascoigne does OBLIGE, with this ACE example of the genre.

Jean's favorite clue was 14D, Protective suits?, SECRETSERVICE; Mike's was 13A, Things often hit during rush hour, CARHORNS. There were a few "today-we-learned" moments, including 15A, "I Wish" rapper, 1995, SKEELO, 39D, One doing some stitching, SEAMER, and 2D, ________ von Der Leyden, first female head of the European Commission, who negotiated Brexit for the E.U. (and possibly won an award for longest NYTimes crossword clue 😀), URSULA. 

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