Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

A tough Friday, with a real quagmire in the bottom right -- from 47A, Ganja, HERB, to 53A, Way of Life?, CEREALAISLE (nice!), to 56D, Helen of Troy, e.g., DEMIGODDESS, to 51D, R&B singer Erykah, BADU and finally 47D, Gardner of "S.N.L.", it was a who's who of who-knows, who-knows 😀 What we do know is that, bottom right corner not withstanding, we liked this crossword a lot, and give it a 5 squares on the JAMCR scale.

Today was also fun-fact-Friday: Jean discusses demigoddesses, and Mike hearkens back to yesterday's crossword to expound upon the ENIAC.

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There was so much to RAVE about in this crossword that we just have to RATE it a 5 on the JAMCR scale. The author started off with the best of INTENTIONS, and thanks to several verbal INVENTIONS, pulled off an amazing feat that simply left us INAWE: 4 squares that could be either T or V, and the answers, spelled either with a T or V, were both plausible. For example, 17A, Designs, could be either INVENTIONS or INTENTIONS; 3D, Some accommodations, could be either HOVELS or HOTELS. Brilliant!

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A nice Wednesday crossword, although both Jean & Mike had a spot of bother in the top-right corner. Both independently came to the conclusion that 12D, "Never-ending" offerings at Olive Garden, was SALADS, as opposed to the other never-ending offerings, PASTAS. Both (also independently) assumed that 25A, Least bit, was ATAD. There was also some unpleasantness with 18A, "Full Frontal With Samantha Bee" network, but in the end both (independently) fought their way out of that verbal quagmire in the Northeast. Whew!

[Addendum: due to an editing error -- we have already sacked our recording engineer -- the audio for this podcast is actually a repeat of Tuesday's show.  We were going to re-record, but since a) we can't remember what we said , and b) this was a darned-good recording, we are going to let it stand.]

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A solid Tuesday crossword, even though the theme was liquid -- various types of beer, to be precise, embedded in longer clues (e.g., 26A, British fashion designer who's the daughter of Linda and Sir Paul, STELLAMCCARTNEY (after Stella Artois), and  the rather cryptic 57A, Long, straight-sided smoke, CORONACIGAR.

Jean enjoyed the appearance of 23D, Drink that can cause brain freeze, SLUSHIE (her original answer for SLURPIE from a day or two ago). Mike was slightly disappointed to learn that the answer to 1A, Supremely cool person, was BADASS, and not MIKE; and even more disappointed when he got stuck in the bottom right, ironically answering 52A, Not the brightest bulb in the pack, as DODO, instead of the correct DOLT. 

For Tip Tuesday, Jean points out that if LIVY's in the room (or least in the clue) that the answer will likely involve either Roman numerals or words; and Mike points out the dangers of going too far back in the crossword archives, examining a very tricky crossword from November 13, 1963.

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The New York Times crossword is going to the dogs ... but in a good way, with this themed puzzle that provides a shoutout to various presidential woofers.
Jean was intrigued by 40A, The Buddha is often depicted meditating under it [Obama], BOTREE, while, predictably, Mike's favorite was 7D, Apple on a desktop, IMAC. 
We give this puzzle a well deserved 5 squares on the JAMCR scale.

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A tough Sunday, ASSUREDLY not for the faint of heart, with NOTALOT of "gimmes". Still, any crossword that includes CAPTAIN AMERICA (57A and 3D, respectively) can't be that bad. The top right was a bit of a quagmire. thanks to the proximity of 26A, "Thong Song" singer, 2000, SISQO, 32A, In the capacity of, QUA, and 16D, Medieval helmet, CASQUE.  The bottom right had some nice turns of phrase, including 90D, France from France, ANATOLE.  and 105D, Ones with plenty of reservations, MAITREDS. We rate this a respectable 4.5 squares on the JAMCR scale.

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An ARTFULLY constructed Saturday, with plenty of tough clues to RUMINATE over, from 14A, Wait here!, RESTAURANT (very nice), to the slightly less arcane 32D, Main course?, SEAROUTE. Jean had some difficulty with 33D, Nickname for the White House Correspondents' Dinner, NERDPROM, while Mike was temporarily flummoxed by 43A, Bottom lines, SUMS (as opposed to BUMS), crossing with 43D, It's not a good look, SNEER (as opposed to his original guess, based of suspension of disbelief and the basics of spelling, BLEER).

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A RESPITE from some of the harder Friday crosswords we had lately, in both Jean and Mike's wheelhouses. Jean appreciated the XXX stack, 39D, Adult and then some, XXXRATED (crossed with 38A, Goes past, EXCEEDS, 41A, It may be added to the mix, CHEX (very nice!), and the slightly more obscure 45A, Beast vanquished by Oedipus, SPHINX. Mike appreciated not having to spell OCCAM's razor twice in two days, but was glad to see EDASNER (64A, Player of Warren Buffett in "Too Big to Fail"), who had graced the NYTimes crossword less than a week ago. We give this puzzle a perfect 5 squares on the JAMCR scale.

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A terrific Thursday effort by Alex Eaton-Salners, who uses the plural form of words to great COMEDIEDIEFFECT, creating a truly COFFOOTFOOTABLE-worthy crossword. And if that last sentence made no sense, today's podcast will make it all clear.

Both Jean and Mike learned something in today's crossword -- Jean, for instance, learned about 20A, Communist party systems, APPARATS;  Mike learned that he did not know how to spell the answer to 1D, Razor handle?, OCCAM, and that his new favorite fruit is the one with the built-in pun, SLOE.

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AND by for a UPENDOUS crossword by Kate Hawkins, and in case you haven't guessed by now, the theme involved STOUT, as in getting the ST OUT of various clues. Mike's favorite was 37A, The main characters of "Brokeback Mountain", e.g.?, RANGEBEDFELLOWS, while Jean was partial to 57A, Gross messages?, ICKYNOTES.
Jean just had a small typo that slowed her down --RANGEBEDPELLOWS sounds like something you might buy at Bed, Bath and Beyond (not a sponsor, but here's hoping), while Mike  proved the utility of his Tip Tuesday Tip, don't do the crossword when tired, as he had trouble getting traction in the area of 6A, Line crosser, of a sort, SCAB, and 6D, Bulk up, as muscles, SCULPT, and he could've sworn that he knew those in the AM!

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