Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

This was a delightfully intriguing and decidedly crunchy Thursday crossword, penned by Colin Ernst and adroitly edited by Will Shortz. It took both cohosts, working independently as is their wont, no little time to figure out what was happening, theme-wise: but both eventually did, and appreciated the mental gymnastics. Deets inside, so have a listen, and please let us know what you think.

The NYTimes has recently introduced a family subscription plan; so if you want to treat your loved ones to the entire newspaper at a very good price, check it out here.

Show note imagery: Anatolia (aka Asia Minor), encompassing most of Turkey.

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This was a fun crossword by Michael B. Berg, his second for the NYTimes. The theme was terrific, revolving around a word that neither cohost had heard before, ZHUZH. Fortunately, the crosses were fairly forgiving (except when they weren't: we're looking at you, KATZ). 

All in all an excellent middle-of-the-week crossword, we hereby bestow upon it with 5 squares on the JAMCR scale.

Show note imagery: KATZ's Delicatessen, doing a booming business.

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In keeping with the nursery rhyme, we would argue that today's crossword was full of grace ... or at least some very cool clues. Mike's favorite was 10D,
Certain parent overseeing a child's career, in showbiz lingo, MOMAGER; Jean's was 66A, "This decision is hard!", IMTORN. Both agreed that they would love to do a podcast from 37A, Caribbean hot spot, ARUBA. 

Besides the crossword, we have a Triplet Tuesday segment, in which Mike, well, let's just say that he tried to swing for the fences but forgot to hold onto the bat. 

Show note imagery: The first question when building any new mall: where are we going to put the Auntie Anne's? 🥨😋

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Today's crossword marks Lynn Lempel's 103rd for the NYTimes, and was a great way to usher in September. While there were no debut answers, quite a few of the clues caught our fancy, including 64A, Flexible Flyer, for one, SLED; the almost onomatopoetic 4D, Smooth-talking, GLIB; and what sounds like it ought to be delicious (and surely is), 21D, Russian pancake, BLINI. 

Bravo, Lynn!

Show note imagery:  An absolutely stunning view of LAPAZ, the capital of Bolivia

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Michael Lieberman was definitely playing against type when he dreamed up this crossword, because he spends his days at his law firm fighting corporate mergers, but his nights -- apparently -- trying to encourage them. You'll see what we mean when you have a listen to today's episode, or wander over to (warning: it's spoiler city if you click that link!) the solution at xwordinfo.com.

In addition to the crossword, we have identified our JAMCOTWA™️ (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award) for this week; deets inside.

A small logistical side-note: we are taking a break for the next week, as one of us is  traveling to such a distant time zone that we can't sync up for recording. But we will be back at it, laboring, so to speak, on Labor Day. Until then, may your crossword streak grow ever longer.

Show note imagery: The Cliffs of Moher in ERIN (aka Ireland)

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The fifth NYTimes crossword by Ryan Judge made for a very nice Saturday; not a walk in the park, by any stretch, but more straightforward than last Saturday's "let's scale Mt Everest barefoot" uber-challenge. 

There were some great clues in today's grid. Jean in particular was fond of 35A, Drew Carey once called it "crossword puzzle cheese" on "Whose Line Is It Anyway?", EDAM. Mike was glad to learn about 32D, It's formed in Pittsburgh, OHIORIVER, and even gladder to discover the name of a song that has been stuck in his head for years, 26D, Composer of "In the Hall of the Mountain King", GRIEG.

Show note imagery: NOME, the finish line of the Iditarod since 1973 (even though the starting point has had to move multiple times for myriad reasons).

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Our cohosts were surprised and delighted to learn, thanks to today's crossword, that there are four countries whose national anthems have no lyrics, and so people instead hum, or sing something along the lines of "na, na, na". The four countries in question are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, San Marino, and Spain. One of those appears in today's grid, and to preserve an air of suspense and mystery, we will defer identifying that country here in the show notes. We will say, though, that the crossword in general, courtesy of Gia Bosko, was quite well done, perfectly satisfying and suitable for a Friday: we give it 5 squares on the JAMCR scale.

Besides the crossword, we also have some very interesting listener mail, so be sure and check that out as well!

Show note imagery: SAMUELCHASE, the only supreme court justice to have ever been impeached (but he was acquitted of all charges).

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Once again, the NYTimes crossword has delivered the perfect blend of joy and education in one neat bundle. The joy comes from, primarily, the theme -- which we will say no more about here, but we have plenty to say about it in the podcast. The education comes from clues like 69A, Yani ___, youngest pro golfer to win five major championships, TSENG), and our absolute favorite, something that sounds like it came from the pen of Douglas Adams, 57A, Early PC game whose nonsense working title stuck, ZORK. We were also quite partial to 5A, Units equal to nine inches, SPANS.

tldr; a terrific Simeon Seigel crossword, his streak of awesome Thursday crosswords remains unbroken!

Show note imagery: The Argo, under full sail

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One of our favorite foods is SEITAN - healthy, delicious, and, up until now, never mentioned in the NYTimes crossword. Ah, but the times they are a changin', as evidenced by today's 50D, Wheat-based meat alternative, SEITAN. 

There were many other clues worthy of admiration in today's grid. There was the somewhat sardonic 25A, "I had something come up," maybe, FIB; the (to us) surprising 32A, Custom in Japanese food service, NOTIPS; and the good-to-know 20D, January and November have the most federal ones, HOLIDAYS.

All of these are courtesy of Victor Schmitt, a nice bit of work (especially on the theme, although the rest of the puzzle was nothing to sneeze at!).

Show note imagery: The famous T. Rex Sue, now safely ensconsed in the Field Museum in Chicago

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This was a fine Tuesday crossword by Eric Rollfing, marking his fourth overall in the NYTimes, and his Tuesday debut.

There were a bevy of TWL (Today We Learned) clues in today's puzzle. Most notably, we had 7D, Color whose name comes from the Greek word for "cuttlefish", SEPIA; the interestingly named 36A, Reptile that can reach up to 10 feet in length, MONITORLIZARD; and finally we went with the only loch we knew in 65A, Largest loch in Scotland by volume, NESS.

In other news, it's Triplet Tuesday™️, and today Jean's in the hot seat, so you'll definitely want to check that out!

Show note imagery: The  el Museo del Prado, which at one point had the distinction of having "the largest concentration of masterpieces per square meter". 😮

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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!