Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

Our intrepid cohosts had distinct solving experiences working on today's crossword - Jean found it relatively straightforward (aided and abetted, as usual, by her insanely copious and nearly complete collection of modern pop-culture references); Mike, whose pop culture references are mysteriously restricted to the years 1850 to 1875, inclusive, had much less luck, but still, somehow, managed to persevere. Deets inside, as well as the winner of today's JAMCOTWA™️ (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award™️), so subscribe / download / listen up / enjoy!

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Robert Logan has to make NOAPOLOGIES for today's crossword, a fine Friday, challenging but accessible, with  some shorter toeholds conveniently located everywhere in the grid. There were a lot of fascinating factoids in today's puzzle, such as 30A, Artist of "La Maja Desnuda" and "La Maja Vestida", GOYA;  48A, ____________ Amendment (2010s extension of the Kyoto Protocol), DOHA; and 47D, Entertainment reference that began as a Usenet group, IMDB. There were many more educational and entertaining clues, and to hear all about 'em , you know the drill: download, listen up, and enjoy!

Today's show notes image: La Maja vestida, by GOYA

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A delightful Thursday crossword, an adjective we often find ourselves having to dust off when Rebecca Goldstein is the author, as is indeed the case today. It's not easy turning lead into gold, but she has done so magnificently, in several senses, as will become apparent once you've had a listen. Also, many of the lacunae in yesterday's crossword have been filled, thanks to some insightful listener mail, so for all that and more, download, listen up, and ... enjoy!

Heavy D, in HD 😀 

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It's hard to miss today's theme, as it's spelled out in large letters, in the middle of the grid, for all to see (as we describe in today's episode). But it's such an attention getter that it might detract from some other Highly Hentertaining clues, such as: 12D, Hah!, IBET; 24D, Hummer's interior, EMS (a reference to its two M's, which definitely warrants another Hah!); and 35A, Handle letters, AKA (heh, heh). More examples and deets inside, check it out!

Today's artwork: One of Jimmy STEWART's most famous roles, in It's a Wonderful Life.

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A clever Tuesday crossword, with a theme that was a tad obscure by Tuesday standards (but fortunately was not essential, or really even helpful) in the solving of today's puzzle. We liked it though, for all the reasons spelled out in today's episode. We also had another stirring Triplet Tuesday segment, so check it out, and as usual, let us know what you think!

Today's show notes picture: a POCKETDOOR.

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Monday crosswords always seem to be crafted to put a smile on one's face, and today's puzzle is a case in point. We'e got the deets inside, great listener mail, and -- bonus! --  a hint of an inkling of an inchoate idea about a new contest, so, after you've hit the subscribe button (gently, but with enough force so that you'll never miss an episode), we cordially invite you to download, listen up, and prepare to chortle.

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Both cohosts found this to be a crunchier than usual Sunday crossword, and found it particularly (46A, Difficult), TRYING, in the vicinity of 32D, Rough fabric with a loose weave, RATINE (a word that, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, nobody has ever used, or even heard of 😉). But while the clues were tough, they were also uniformly excellent, as one would expect from the editor of Wordle and one who helps out with the NYTimes crossword, that person being Tracy Bennett. 

For example, besides those mentioned in the podcast, we had 77D, Sweet stuff in asparagus (if you read it backward)?, SUGAR; 64D, Putt-putt, MINIGOLF (fore!!); 39D, Got some shut-eye?, WINKED 😉; and 38D, It cuts the cheese, but not the mustard, SLICER 😀 😀 . 

All in all a great, challenging Sunday crossword, 5 squares on the JAMCR scale.

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A seriously challenging Saturday crossword by Royce Ferguson, who pulls out all the stops, making solvers work for just about every clue in the grid. Still, it was a Saturday crossword, so we expect  no less. For all the deets, have a listen (and don't forget to subscribe, so you'll get every episode delivered milliseconds after it gets published!).

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Jem Burch has crafted a fine Friday crossword to welcome in the new month, and it had everything that one would want in a Friday crossword, from puzzlers like 53A, Feature of many a documentary, VOICEOVER; 48A, Youngest White House resident since John F. Kennedy Jr., SASHAOBAMA; 37A, "Long", in Hawaiian, LOA (oh, that's what that means!); and surely a coincidence from a crossword by Jem Burch, 40A, Exemplary individual, GEM (shades of Raphael and the School of Athens 😀 !)

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Jeffrey Martinovic and Jeff Chen -- who if they were producers on a television show would almost surely be referred to as the "two Jeffs" -- have instead produced a fabulous Thursday crossword, with a delightful theme involving Mike's favorite sci-fi concept, TIMETRAVEL. We have all the deets inside, plus listener mail (woo-hoo!), so for all of that and so much more, please subscribe, download, listen up, and ... enjoy!

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We love listener mail! Drop us a line, [email protected].

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