Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

It seems that on Thursdays anything can happen in the NYTimes crossword, and today it seems that everything happened, all at once, in one place. You'll see what we mean when you listen to today's episode, now waiting calmly on our servers for you to tap download and shortly thereafter experience exhilaration/education/etcetera.

Show note imagery: the greatest MIME of all TIME, Marceal Marceau

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If you haven't visited Rome, you can at least check out two of its many awesome attractions thanks to Casey Callaghan and Will Nediger, the authors of today's puzzle. Beyond those (we will refrain from describing the attractions here, to heighten the suspense), we had some great clues. Nostalgia, courtesy of 46A, ______ Basil, singer of the 1982 hit "Mickey", TONI; a tad of edible mathematics, due to 55D, Toroidal treat, DONUT; and the obligatory "new word in town", 43A, Cutesy term for a swap, TRADESIES.

Next Tuesday we will be holding one of our rare Triplet Tuesday contests, so tune in for an opportunity to win fabulous prizes!

Show note imagery: THESPANISHSTEPS

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There were a boatload of O's in today's grid, but they were there for a reason, that being to flesh out a wonderful debut crossword by Howard Neuthaler. A good crossword not only entertains and challenges, but teaches, and this one, by that standard, was a great one. To learn what we learned, and to hear about a new Triplet Tuesday contest coming up next week, all you need to do is download, listen up, and enjoy.

Shownote imagery: a Klein bottle, absolutely no relation to Patsy CLINE, and for sale by the Acme Klein Bottle, which also happens to manufacture the amazing Imperfecto Ruler. [For the record, none of the names in the previous sentence were made up 😀]

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This is Robert Corridan's debut crossword, and a fine debut it is, one that may induce you to sing, perhaps something along the lines of LA, LA, LA, in which case you will be in a very good place to start solving this crossword! Deets (and the decryption of that cryptic last sentence) are within, so have a listen, and, as per usual, let us know what you think.

Show note imagery: a POMELO, a relatively large -- some grow up to 25 pounds!! -- citrus fruit, sometimes called the Citrus maxima, for obvious reasons.

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Aimee Lucido is both a children's author -- check out "Pasta Pasta Lotsa Pasta" - and cruciverbalist - check out today's excellent example. This crossword was not hugely difficult, but it was hugely entertaining, as we explain, in detail, in today's episode.

Show note imagery: HIGHFIDELITY, by Nick Hornby

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A tough Saturday crossword (of course!) by Christina Iverson, with the northwest corner being particularly tough. But the clues were fair and fun, making for an enjoyable solve. Deets inside, so we encourage you to download, listen up, and ... enjoy!

Show note imagery: A Phillie PHANATIC, limbering up before the big game

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Today's crossword was a debut for Boaz Moser, and it was a fine one - challenging but VALID, including familiar clues like 15D, Beverage steeped in bright daylight, SUNTEA, lesser known ones, such as 13D, Bit of foam, perhaps, PEANUT, and hilarious ones, such as 4D, One doing the lord's work, VASSAL (😀). We found this to be a very satisfying solve, and eagerly await Boaz's second creation.

Show note imagery:  Everybody run, it's a XENOMORPH!! 😱

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A historic first, "BRAT" used in the sense of 52D, 2024 Charli XCX album with a lime green color -- as opposed to all the 179 previous times, when it was a reference to an annoying small child. The rest of the crossword, by Parker Higgins, was similarly entertaining, as evidenced by clues such as 69A, Nose-in-the-air-type?, PLANE; 52D, Give in on Christmas Eve, say, PEEK; and 10D, One of 27 on Disney World's Cinderella Castle, TURRET. A bravura performance, definitely worth 5 squares on the JAMCR scale.

Show note imagery: Charles Perrault, author of Tales of Mother Goose

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A decidedly crunchy Wednesday crossword, Jean managed to chew through it expeditiously, Mike broke a tooth 😉. The theme took a while for both cohosts to grok, after which solving the puzzle became much easier. Deets inside, you are cordially invited to download, listen up, and ... enjoy!

Show note imagery: The ARROYOS Natural Area, where we really, really hope they have some ARROYOS!

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Today's theme was about as NYTimes-esque as they come, just a fun exploration of attributes of the English language, and something that almost surely could not have been constructed without a computer to do the heavy lifting. Without spoiling anything out here in the show notes, let's just say that the theme involved finding three answers that met certain criteria, and those answers were the output of a Python program. To be fair, the author of the crossword wrote said program, and could've done what it did by hand, only it would have taken him probably 3.5 million years to do so, and he was in a hurry.

Show note imagery: A beaver, glad to be mentioned in the NYTimes crossword

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