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A short, fun and occasionally not unintentionally educational podcast in which two fans of the New York Times crossword describe their puzzle-solving travails.
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Talk Direction: The 1D (& Harry Styles) Podcast / SIGN OF THE TIMES / Ever Since New York / Sweet Creature / Kiwi / One Direction / Niall Horan / This Town / Harry Styles / Liam Payne / Zayn Malik / Louis Tomlinson / Just Hold On
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Talk Direction: The 1D (& Harry Styles) Podcast / SIGN OF THE TIMES / Ever Since New York / Sweet Creature / Kiwi / One Direction / Niall Horan / This Town / Harry Styles / Liam Payne / Zayn Malik / Louis ...
Caitlin and Lucia
We're Caitlin and Lucia, two gals who love music, feminism, and One Direction. Here on Talk Direction we discuss everything and anything 1D! This means that as Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik continue their paths as solo artists, we will be right there with them. We’ll be analyzing song lyrics for their deeper meanings, gushing about Harry's fashion evolution, and making predictions about future solo albums from the boys!
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
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Tuesday, November 28, 2023 - ORANGEDOORHINGE - they said it couldn't be done, and ... they were right!
17:52
A colorful and rhyme-rife Tuesday crossword by Gia Bosko, her 4th in the NYTimes and, more amazingly, her 4th of the year. The theme was excellent, and the cluing as crisp as a Wisconsinite in winter. Some of our favorites include: 23D, "Beam me up, ________!", ("Star Trek" misquotation), SCOTTY (huh!); 50D, Corn cake, PONE (make that two slices, p…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
Ricky J. Sirois has produced a more challenging crossword than usual for a Monday -- with just a bit of bite coming from words like 24A, Vegetarian dish on a Mexican menu, BEANBURRITO; the bugaboo of spelling-bee enthusiasts everywhere, 39A, French meat stew for which Julia Child penned a popular recipe, BEEFBOURGUIGNON; and 10D, "No Exit" playwrig…
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A delightful and (compared to Friday and Saturday) relatively straightforward crossword, with a theme that is guaranteed to grow on you, and a magnificent array of clues that will leave you wanting more. Definitely 5 squares on the JAMCR scale! To hear more, include the deets on YEET (we've waited all year to write that!), subscribe, download, list…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
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Saturday, November 25, 2023 - EEEE -- either a) the size of a shoe, or b) the reaction to seeing its price 😀
20:24
A perfect way to wrap up our crossword -solving week, with a rousingly challenging (for one of us, at any rate) Saturday puzzle. Jean, aided and abetted by her eerily encyclopedic knowledge of 1972 hit singles, was able to make short order of the puzzle, whereas Mike, drawing on his uncanny ability to make up words that don't exist, with his forté …
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
Today's crossword proved to be a snap for one of our cohorts, and almost a streak-snapper for the other. To keep up the suspense, we won't reveal who was who just yet, but we will tell you that there were a host of fabulous clues in today's grid, from 3-letter wonders -- 27A, Sydney's home, for short, NSW; to 4-letter pop-culture references -- 51A,…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
In honor of Thanksgiving, we have a crossword to be thankful for, a delightful brainteaser of a main course, with a dash of delectable clues as the sides. From 17D, Not play it by ear, PLAN, to 51A, What the Dutch call "klompeh", CLOGS, to 9D, Flick of a flicker, ASH (we're still working that one out 😀), the grid was a cruciverbal smorgasbord, and …
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
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Wednesday, November 22, 2023 - MALBEC - for when your heart craves a merlot, but your wallet needs a grape juice 🍷
16:10
Today's crossword is a testimonial to MALBEC and grit; the MALBEC because it's in the grid, and grit because that's what Will Pfadenhauer needed plenty of in order to get this published in such a prestigious location, i.e., the pages of the NYTimes. The crossword itself was superb, with a bit of an ODDBALL theme, and some nice clues scattered throu…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
Kevin Christian and Andrea Carla Michaels were definitely using the old bean when constructing today's crossword, an observation that might at first seem just trite and anodye, but it will become uproariously funny, or at the very least wryly amusing, once you've listened to today's episode, so have at it! Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop …
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
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Monday, November 20, 2023 - From the Spelling Bee editor, a crossword with a lot of hard-to-spell words 😀
15:38
Both Jean and Mike took longer than usual to do today's crossword, Jean because she couldn't find a mistake, and Mike because he had a sudden attack of the well-known affliction, BSS (Bad Spelling Syndrome, or as it is sometimes referred to in the literature, Baaad Spellling Sindrome 🙄). Have a listen, but before you do, hit the subscribe / follow …
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
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Sunday, November 19, 2023 - There's NOCAP on the talent's of today's crossword constructors, and that's NOCAP! 😍
18:40
An impressive Sunday crossword by veteran constructors Rebecca Goldstein and Rachel Fabi, who in preparation for Thanksgiving have cooked up a puzzle to be thankful for, stuffed with a delicious array of bad (i.e., good) puns and good (i.e., great) clues to chew on. Deets inside, so please subscribe / download / listen up / enjoy! Contact Info: We …
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
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Saturday, November 17, 2023 - Beware Charybdis, horrific sea monster and even more terrifying spelling bee word 😀
21:14
A scintillating Saturday crossword by Hoang-Kim Vu -- with a grid that is jam-packed with debut answers, including 36D, Photo of someone holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa, say, VISUALGAG; 37A, Writer with good taste?, FOODCOLUMNIST 😀; and one that pretty much stood up on a chair and shouted IAMADEBUTANSWER, 22A, Certain descriptor after a signat…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
A fine Friday crossword by Hemant Mehta. What it lacked for in glitzy animation (we're looking at you, Thursday!), it made up for in flashy clues, such as 47A, What may be behind the curtain, TUB (😀); 53A, Major opening, URSA (😀 😀 ); and 55A, Canvas finish, TKO(😀 😀 😀). And that's just a few choice examples - for more, have a listen to today's episo…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
Today's crossword, by veteran cruciverbalist Paolo Pasco, had its ups and downs, but that was by design, and the payoff - which we discuss in today's episode but don't want to spoil by revealing here - was an absolute delight. The clues were on the trickier side, as befits a Thursday - 33D, So called "African Unicorn", OKAPI, comes to mind (well, i…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
If you found yourself nodding off while solving today's crossword, that's probably because of all the Z's in the grid - but that was the only boring bit. How could you DOZEOFF in the face of such dazzling clues as 1A, Half of an orange? RED (we're still working that one out 😀); 67A, Apt name for a sensei, DAN (ha!); 38A, Pioneering Dadaist, ARP (th…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
A nifty Tuesday crossword by Matthew Linzer, with a remarkable theme that we wish we could talk about here ... oh, wait, we just did 😀. Precisely why that last sentence is so LOL is precisely explained in today's episode, where you can also hear Jean's epic quest to win this week's Triplet Tuesday™️ Contest. Did she succeed? Or did she go down in f…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
A pleasing Monday crossword, a debut by Benjamin Fink, that asks that burning question, CANYOUBELIEVEIT?. The answer is yes, this was a Monday crossword, it was a debut by Benjamin Fink, and it was very pleasing indeed, for reasons that will become abundantly clear once you've checked out today's episode, which we hope you will do ASAP! On the cove…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
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Sunday, November 12, 2023 - A crossword with CHIASMUS, DADGUMIT, and SALBANDO in the grid? What a GAS!
19:17
A scintillating Sunday crossword courtesy of Garrett Chalfin, with a gloriously serpentine theme, and an array of eye-opening clues. For example, 85A, Figure of speech in which words are reversed for effect, like "Never let a fool kiss you or a kiss fool you", CHIASMUS (definitely a debut); Chicken __________ (ancient Mayan city), ITZA (now we know…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
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Saturday, November 11, 2023 - Mountebanks and the Capulets? Yup, we'd like a MULLIGAN on that title!
18:00
Today's puzzle is a tautly constructed Saturday crossword, with just 58 words -- not quite few enough for the Guinness Book of World Records, but getting close! The puzzle itself was not too difficult -- for a Saturday -- but it did have a bevy of fine clues that kept both co-hosts entertained (esp. this one). Deets inside, as well as the winner of…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
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Friday, November 10, 2023 - Smoking a chesterfield, while wearing a chesterfield, and reclining on a chesterfield? It *can* be done!!
19:06
A fine Friday crossword by Kate Hawkins - her 12th in the NYTimes - and it hits the sweet spot - not too easy, not too hard, but juuuuust right. We approve, 5 squares on the JAMCR scale. Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.com. Also, we're on FaceBook, so feel free to drop by there and strike up a conversati…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
A (surprising) crossword by Simeon Siegel, most noteworthy for a profusion of parentheses in the grid, all part of an intricate theme that we delve into in today's episode. We covered quite a few clues in the podcast, but alas, did not quite have room for 36A, Shrunken snack item, PRUNE; 15A, Like 80% of the Arabian Peninsula, SAUDI; and the (for M…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
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Wednesday, November 8, 2023 - Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's ... a TRAPEZIST! 🎪
19:01
A slightly crunchier-than-usual Wednesday, but a wry theme and memorable clues made it all worth while. Beyond those noted in the podcast, we'd like to give a shoutout to 3 answers that are just fun to contemplate and say -- 2D, Enthusiastic response to a bro, MYMAN; 46A, Replica, informally, DUPE; and a word that's as calming to say as the item is…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
As the episode title almost surely gave away -- it was a bit of a ttttttteaser, one might say -- today's theme involved the 20th letter of the alphabet (as well a supporting cast of the other 25). Beyond the theme there were several other amusing clues, such as 20A, Torus shaped treat, DONUT; 49A, One of 5 in a Shakespeare play, ACT (confirming, de…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
Today's crossword was crunchy - the clues were just a tad more difficult than usual, a consequence, perhaps, of a particularly demanding theme (deets inside) - and timely, in the sense that there were numerous references to time in today's grid, from 6D, "Anytime", WHENEVER, to 52A, Back in time, AGO, to 61A, Ages, AEONS. And, of course, we should …
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
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Sunday, November 5, 2023 - This crossword's DABOMB, but it still *might* leave you TUCKEREDOUT
20:00
Jean ACED today's crossword, but Mike just DIDOK, although if it is true that you learn from your mistakes, he is now officially a super genius thanks in no small part to Rich Katz, author of today's fine puzzle (his third for the NYTimes). We have all the deets inside, so please download, listen up, and ... enjoy! Contact Info: We love listener ma…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
A just-the-right-level-of-almost-impossible crossword to wrap up our crossword solving week, one of those where the solving rate seems to follow an S curve -- tough and slow-going at the beginning and at the end, but with a glorious middle section where the clues come relatively rapidly. We liked this crossword so much that we awarded it this week'…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
Robyn Weintraub's puzzles are legendary, and today's effort shows just why: the clues are awesome, the crosswordese is non-existent, and the difficulty level is juuuuuust right. We approve, whole-heartedly, 5 squares on the JAMCR scale! Deets inside, so download, listen up, and enjoy right now! Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, c…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
Today's crossword featured a h--hly entert--ng th--e, and if you can't suss out what it was from what we just wrote, then download today's episode, where all will be revealed! A reminder to check out xwordinfo.com, a fabulous resource for crossword aficionados, with the solution and meta information on the day's crossword. Highly recommended! Conta…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
A nice Wednesday crossword and a debut (yay!) by Steve Weyer, with an inspired theme, some very funny clues, and as a bonus a reference to a fascinating 16th century algebra text, ARSMAGNA (The Great Art). The theme is covered in the episode; some of the more intriguing clues not mentioned there include 51D, Bunyan's ox or Hoggett's pig, BABE 🐷; 57…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
A scary Tuesday crossword, thanks to a slash of scary movie titles in the grid. Neither cohost had seen any of them, but fortunately the answers were either almost gimmes (17A, Horror film franchise named after a holiday, HALLOWEEN (BOXINGDAY wouldn't fit 😀)) or easy to guess with some judicious help from the crosses (60A, 2011 dark comedy slasher …
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
Put on your sunglasses before attempting this crossword, because it's based on a BRIGHTIDEA -- literally! There were a few other answers that glowed, in a manner of speaking: 14A, What magma becomes when it's erupted, LAVA; 35A, Light on a nightstand, LAMP; and 52A, "Suns" of some breakfasts, EGGYOLKS. Just a reminder that we love 5 star reviews, s…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
Today's crossword featured a number of rare-ish answers, making this a bit crunchier than usual for a Sunday. Notable examples include 60A, Brooklyn art school, PRATT; 100D, Country that's more than 2,600 miles long, CHILE; 70A, Latin "Behold!", ECCE; and 20A, Character who lives on the "tippy-top floor" of the Plaza Hotel, ELOISE; and there's more…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
Ryan McCarty does not hold back (much) in today's uber-challenging Saturday crossword, pegging both the difficulty and deceptivity meters multiple times. We have full coverage inside, so have a listen for that -- as well as the announcement of this week's JAMCOTWA (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award). Enjoy! Contact Info: We love listener ma…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
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Friday, October 27, 2023 - City of Big Shoulders (Chicago)? Meet City of Big Meadows (Reno).
14:27
A fine Friday crossword by Adrian Johnson, his 5th NYTimes Crossword contribution. Considering that 39A, Pub ________, TRIVIA, was one of the answers, it should not be surprising that quite a few factoids made their way into the grid. For example ... 19A, Novelist whose "Little Fires Everywhere" became a #1 best seller, CELESTENG (parsed as Celeste…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
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Thursday, October 26, 2023 - ELSIE the MOOCOW makes an appearance, and we're going to milk that for all it's worth 😀
16:18
A fine Thursday crossword and a debut for John Donegan. That's why we didn't recognize the name, but we did recognize the tight quality control common to all NYTimes crosswords. Just take a look at a few awesome touches: 6A, Character who nails a doubloon to the Pequod's mast, AHAB, sitting right above 15A, Surfer's wish, WAVE (perfect!); and 17A, …
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
Aimee Lucido has crafted an excellent Wednesday crossword, with a catchy theme and a plethora of superb clues, a truly outstanding work. Need proof? Have a listen to today's podcast and we are sure that you will agree, or, if not, your money will cheerfully be refunded 😀 Contact Info: We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.c…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
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Tuesday, October 24, 2023 - LUTES, UKES and PECS, either crossword answers or the weirdest law firm ever 😀
18:28
Today we are presented with an amusing and well-timed Tuesday crossword by Daniel Grinberg (ably edited, as always, by Will Shortz, may his beard, if he has one, grow ever longer). It manages to STAYCLASSY and never has us thinking its TIMEFORACHANGE, for a variety of reasons outlined in today's grid. Beyond those, we'd like to give a shoutout to a…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
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Monday, October 23, 2023 - Marisa TOMEI, absolutely no relation, even phonetically, to Mel Tormé
14:34
Today's crossword was the epitome of a marvelous Monday crossword - a cute theme, and some fine clues. We particularly liked the juxtaposition of 1A, Handle difficult matters satisfactorily, COPE, and 1D, Club in a Barry Manilow hit, informally, COPA We take our usual deep dive through the grid in today's episode, so please subscribe / download / l…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
A fine Sunday crossword, Robert Ryan's third in the NYTimes, with a punny theme surrounded by a fine supporting cast of clues, including 85D, Fox coverage?, FUR; 82A, Object with one hole or two, depending on who you ask, TUBE 😀 ; 68A, Head for business?, CEO 😀 😀; 64D, Shares ones bunk?, LIES 😀 😀 😀 ; and the list goes on, and on. To see that list i…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
A fine debut crossword by Kelly Morenus, which our cohosts solved in (choose one) a) comically different amounts of time b) exactly the same time c) trick question: they got stuck, because neither knew how to spell IDOMENEO The correct answer is ... ah, that would be telling! To find out, download today's episode, have a listen, and as usual, tell …
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
A very nice Friday crossword by Jacob McDermott, with some awesome clues, and no crosswordese in sight. A few sample works, 15D, Oh, the humanities!, LIBERALARTS 😀;; 27D, "Heck, yeah!", DARNTOOTIN 😀 😀 ; and 32D, Rocky road ingredient, PEAGRAVEL 😀 😀 😀. In short, a great crossword, most definitely worth 5 squares on the JAMCR scale. Contact Info: We …
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
A challenging Thursday crossword, thanks to the unexpected appearance of a boatload of rebuses (or, as we Latin scholars like to call them, rebusae). For themed crosswords, especially towards the end of the week, we can group our puzzle solving experience into two eras: PGTT (Pre-Grokking The Theme), and AGTT (After-Grokking The Theme). For the rec…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
An absolutely magical crossword, thanks to (possibly) aspiring magician, and (most definitely) adept cruciverbalist Joseph Gangi. Most of the grid was straightforward, but there were definitely some notable clues/answers, such as 54A, Not as well, ILLER (wow!); 55A, Pepper and others, SGTS (cute!); and 61A, Modern initialism when skipping text, TLD…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
A DDDelightful Tuesday crossword by Dominic Grillo, who managed to inject a whole slew of D's into the grid, and remove virtually all "crosswordese", in a tautly written puzzle with a highly amusing theme. DDDDDeets inside, so DDDDDo have a listen, and, as usual, let us know what you think! Just a reminder that the NYTimes Crossword is a great way …
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
A pleasing Monday crossword by Michael Lieberman and Andrea Carla Michaels - a little crunchier than most Mondays, but a pleasant solve nonetheless, with an amusing hunk-related theme -- deets inside. Also, we have a winner in our Triplet Tuesday Contest!! That lucky person will shortly have a virtual cornucopia of Wisconsin swag heading their way,…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
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Sunday, October 15, 2023 - The PLAINTRUTH is that this crossword may leave you with a GLAZEDEXPRESSION 😀 🍩
22:13
If you like donuts, you'll love today's crossword, as the grid is teeming with them. Beyond those, there were a number of novel clues -- a lucky 13 (!), in fact, were making their debut in the NYTimes Crossword, making for an exceptionally "fresh" crossword (to use the terminology of our favorite cruciverbially-related website, xwordinfo.com). We h…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
Today's crossword is a rare bird - a Saturday crossword with a theme. The theme is not particularly difficult (nothing like Thursday's missing OP pairs, for example), but it turned out to be instrumental (for at least one of our cohosts) as they flailed about trying to metaphorically reach 55D, Shangri-La, EDEN, i.e., to solve the puzzle. The deets…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
Today's crossword was a cruciverbial masterpiece, with a stream of LOL answers that seemed to go ONANDON. Beyond those delightful gems that we cover in today's episode, we'd like to note a few other highlights -- 27D, Paramount requirement?, SCREENTEST 😀 ; the curious 33D, World capital where it's illegal to display the Soviet hammer and sickle, RI…
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A tough Thursday crossword, both cohosts had to really dig deeply to get through this one. The theme was tricky, the clues absolutely diabolical ( we mean this in the best possible way), but we were WOWED, when we weren't yelling OYS! as we were making our way through it. Deets inside, and remember there are just a few more days left to enter this …
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
We are presuming that Miranda Kany has an appreciation of CAJUN cooking, based on its key role in today's delicious theme. Beyond that there were other intriguing elements to this crossword, including 20A, Gets old, say, STALES (which is, at least for us, a very new answer); the sly crossing of 24A, Output of the Rolling Stones, appropriately, ROCK…
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Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword
A fine Tuesday crossword by Nate Cardin, with a great theme, some novel answers (5 debuts, in fact, including 4 out of the 6 themed answers), and just a lot of crisp cluing throughout the grid. In addition, today's episode features our Triplet Tuesday Contest!! The rules are in the episode, and we want to encourage everyone to throw your metaphoric…
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