Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

An EXQUISITE and very ARTY start to November, with references to various works and writers, including OTHELLO, BAUM, DANTE, and, while not quite as classical, the definitely classy EBERT and CARLSAGAN. There was a nice mix of fun clues -- 21A, Bottom Lines? (XAXES), and obscure ones, such as 17D, Boat sometimes built around a whalebone frame (UMIAK (!)).  

We give it a 5 squares on the JAMCR scale.

In other news, for those interested in creating your own crosswords, check out  crosserville.com, a sublimely easy to use, lightning fast app. Definitely worth a gander.

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A very scary Halloween crossword, avec trop de français, à nos avis (if you know what I mean, and pardon our French). Mike spent a lot of time pondering veggies, eventually migrating from CROUTONS to CARROTS before settling on RADISHES for 14D, Sources of crunch for a salad, while Jean struggled with a startling number of French-related clues. Saturdays are meant to be tough, and this one certainly succeeded on that score. We give it a 4 on the JAMCR sale.

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A not-at-all-scary crossword for Halloween's Eve. Mike particularly enjoyed the appearance of his favorite comic, Mitch HEDBERG, and Jean enjoyed DEEPSIGH -- as she explained with a DEEPSIGH.

Some unfamiliar words also cropped up -- the magnificent 52A, Acts like a quidnunc, MEDDLES (distantly related to a geometric arrangement that appeared recently, quincunx), and 3D, River through Victoria Falls, ZAMBEZI. 

A fine puzzle by Trenton Charlson, it clearly deserves a 5 squares on the JAMCR scale.

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A palette cleanser of a crossword -- see yesterday's podcast to see why! -- with a fun twist, and a few novel entries -- 13D, Serfs of olden days, HELOTS,  and an interesting variation on scathing, 46A, Denounce harshly, SCATHE. There were some entries that showed off the TLC that clearly went into this puzzle -- 2D, Aries animal, RAM, directly opposite it at the bottom of the puzzle, 69A, Son of Zeus, ARES.  And, of course, the entire theme was quite clever.

Definitely a 5 squares on the JAMCR scale!

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Brace yourselves, because today's Wednesday crossword definitely felt like a Saturday, with a northwest corner that crossword aficionados will be talking about -- not always in the kindest terms -- for years. You can learn all about the epic struggle right here, and marvel at clues like 6D, What members of the Church of the SubGenius parody religion claim to be descended from, YETIS; and 5D Was verklempt from pride, KVELLED (oy vey!). Peter Gordon was clearly giving no quarter, especially in the top left.

We give it a 3.5 on the JAMCR scale (but had it been released on a Saturday, we'd give a 5 for sure!).

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A very clever Tuesday crossword, with some astonishing anagrams from the pens of Luci Bresette and David Steinberg. Did you know that you could, using just the letters of US CAPITOL, spell out POLITICSASUSUAL? Tis true! There are a few other amazing anagrammatic gems hiding here in plain sight: listen to the podcast for the details, as well as some great tips -- it is Tip Tuesday™️ -- to help you become a better puzzle solver.

Tip Tuesday Links:

• 12 European Rivers - rivers that tend to show up fairly frequently
• Merriam Webster - memorize this, and you'll never mispell another word

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A cracking-good start to the crossword week, with an array of amusing allusions to -- of course -- cracking, as in, what do a CODEBREAKER, STANDUPCOMIC, and CHIROPRACTOR have in common?

A few old friends join jus as well -- ALOE, the official balm of the New York Times crossword, ADELE, possibly its official chanteuse, and TSA, definitely its favorite airport security team.

We give it a perfect 5 on the JAMCR scale.

Tip Tuesday is coming right up, so tune in tomorrow for helpful suggestions to help guide you  on your journey from crossword novice to crossword adept.

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A scary Sunday crossword -- Mike was so frightened, in fact, that he entirely forgot how to spell ACOLYTE -- no LIE! -- and wobbled at the junction of SERAPE and APIA. Jean, meanwhile, maintained her joie de vivre in spite of the PANE inspired by a series of very bad puns. We give it a 4.5 squares on the JAMCR scale.

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It's a tough but ultimately doable Saturday, with the clever cluing that you would expect on this day, and just a few real tricksters. Mike gets hung up at the corner of 16A, Categorized by district (ZONAL, not ZONED) and 5D, Hal's earthbound "twin" in Arthur C. Clark's "2010: Odyssey Two" (SAL, not SAD). Jean, meanwhile, quite reasonably goes for CORDUROY for 6A,  Jacket material, as opposed to the quite clever actual answer, COVERART. Fun times!

Remember that you can subscribe to and  enjoy all the New York Times crosswords at nytimes.com/crosswords, and you can talk to us at [email protected].

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Many of us needed to TAKEABREAK after Thursday's epic struggle, and this puzzle by Robyn Weintraub filled the bill nicely. It had some clever cluing, like 24A, One who might have a brush with fame?, ARTIST, and tricky word acrobatics, like 15A, What's before after, at the end?, EVER. 

Of course, based on the law of conservation of crossword difficulty (which we just made up), Saturday is going to be devastating. Or will it now? Tune in tomorrow to find out!

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