Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

Joe Deeney has gotten accolades for writing terrific crosswords, and today's puzzle, we are pleased to report, continues the streak. The theme is ingenious, there are lots of gems everywhere you look in the grid, all-in-all a nice bit of work. Deets inside, as well as a return of our "Oh, That's How You Pronounce It" segment, -- which, astonishingly, may provoke the need for another OTHYPI in the near future!

Show note imagery: A CATCAFE!

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You know when a grid has words like HORCHATA and AORTAE lurking inside that the puzzle is going to be tough, and that is most definitely the case today, in this epic Saturday crossword by Margaret Seikel, her 9th for the NYTimes, and her first Saturday entry. Jean got through it much faster than Mike, but both were able to persevere and had a grand time, as today's podcast makes abundantly clear.

It's Saturday, and we've picked our JAMCOTWA (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award), which this week goes to ... nope, no peaking, check out the podcast to get the 411. 

Show note imagery: Some delicious HORCHATA!

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Today's crossword, Jake Bunch's second for the NYTimes, and his second Friday, was splendid: even though Friday crosswords are typically themeless, this did have a meta-theme, really, really intriguing clues. Beyond those mentioned in the podcast, we had 59A, Composer for whom Poland's largest airport is named, CHOPIN; 26D, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.: Abbr, STS (oh, of course!); and an answer that only shows up rarely in the grid, but we are happy whenever it deigns to drop by, 11D, Simply delectable, TODIEFOR.

Besides all that, we also have a fun Fun Fact Friday segment, so do check that out (and remember, our Triplet Tuesday Contest is drawing to a close - you still have until Sunday at 11:59:59 PM in whatever time zone you are listening in to submit an entry, so do take advantage of that).

Show note imagery: A Chipotle competitor, QDOBA

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This is Jesse Guzman's first ever NYTimes crossword, and they've started off with a bang, with a theme that took both cohosts (working independently, as they are wont to do) quite some time to suss out, but that AHA! moment was assuredly worth the wait. There were some other great clues in the grid, including 61A, They take off marks at school, ERASERS (😀); 58A, Final circuit in a track race, BELLLAP (🧐); and we have the delightful juxtaposition of 56A, Unit of explosive power, KILOTON, and 44D, Powerlifter's sound, GRUNT (🏋️😀).

A reminder, our Triplet Tuesday Contest is going strong, check out Tuesday's episode and get your entry in before 11:59:59 PM Sunday, in whatever time zone you happening to be listening in.

Show note imagery: HAIRBOW, as modeled by the one, the only, Hello Kitty!

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This is Peter Gordon's 129th NYTimes crossword, and a perfect example of why the NYTimes keeps publishing his work. The theme is brilliant, the clues sharp and, pardon the pun, upbeat -- quite a lot to like. We have the deets inside, just waiting for you to download all that goodness.

Our Triplet Tuesday Contest is going strong, so if you haven't participated yet, listen to Tuesday's podcast and then submit your entry, for a chance to win bragging rights and some fabulous swag.

As promised, here is a video that features both the Whip and NAENAE 

Show note imagery: SNORRI Sturluson, an expert on Norse mythology, and possibly not the cheeriest Icelander of all time.  

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Today's episode is action-packed, but at its heart is a crossword by Kevin L. Shellito, his debut, and an excellent debut it is, with some ingenious cluing and a delightful theme - deets inside. Also, we're hosting another Triplet Tuesday Contest, so get ready to play along and then email us how many clues it took you, in total, to guess all 3 answers. Good luck, and may the most deserving Triplet Tuesday Contest contestant emerge triumphant!

Contest deadline: Sunday, September 29, 2024, by 11:59:59 PM in whatever time zone you happen to be listening to this in

Show note imagery: A lot of talent in one picture - TRAVISKELCE and Taylor Swift

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We're starting the work week with a pleasing Monday crossword by Freddie Cheng, his 17th for the NYTimes. It had a straightforward, cute theme, and quite a few musicians in the grid, including 35D, "At Last" jazz singer, ETTAJAMES; 28D, Pop star Gomez, SELENA; 15D, Piaf who sang "La Vie en Rose", EDITH; and the ubiquitous (at least in the NYTimes crossword) 7D, Brian of ambient music, ENO. We almost had a fifth, but 67A, Practices boxing, was SPARS, so close to SPEARS 😀.

Tomorrow is our Triplet Tuesday Contest, get ready to show off your mad TTC skills!

Show note imagery: the one and only ... Brian ENO!

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Today's puzzle was a delight - harkening back to an old movie (whose name we will not reveal here, to maintain the suspense), and with some crisp, entertaining cluing -- in short, the NYTimes Sunday crossword at its best.

We dive into details on that, and have a nice bit of listener mail to boot, so delay no longer! Download, listen up, and enjoy!

A reminder, our next Triplet Tuesday Contest is coming up ... this Tuesday, so make your final preparations, write your acceptance speech, etc., it will be here before you know it.

Show note imagery: Harry Houdini, in one of his great ESCAPEACTS, about to escape a milk can!

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Joel Fagliano's given us a bit of a breather, a challenging but relatively straightforward Saturday crossword -- certainly in comparison to the last few weeks, we're still recovering from Sam Ezrsky's last epic. The clues were fun and entertaining, though: 38D, Box office?, CUBICLE; 14D, U.S. city with the motto "Where Discoveries are Made", LOSALAMOS; and (ahem) 54A, Butt text, PEACHEMOJI, are just a few examples.

Also, it's Saturday, so we have a new JAMCOTWA winner to announce!

Finally, remember that we have a rare Triplet Tuesday Contest coming up this Tuesday, so mark your calendar, start training, and may the force be with you.

Show note imagery: LOSALAMOS, Where Discoveries are Made

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This was a fine, challenging, themeless Friday crossword by Jackson Matz (his second Friday puzzle, and third overall). It is refreshing, after struggling with a theme some days, to get a break, even though that break is tempered by the fact that, as a Friday, the clues tend to become more devious. How else could you describe 23A, Pilot productions?, PENS (ha!) or 45A, Like you and me, MORTAL (hmmm); and the obvious-in-hindsight 2D, Extremely solid, HARDASAROCK?

All-in-all a worthy addition to the NYTimes Friday parthenon, and therefore deserving of a full 5 squares on the JAMCR scale.

A reminder that solving the NYTimes crossword is an excellent way to keep those "little grey cells" in peak condition. If you don't already subscribe, consider wandering over to nytimes.com/subscription/games, and be sure and tell them that Jean & Mike sent ya.

Show note imagery: a SHARPEI, guarding its territory

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