Podcast Episodes

Tuesday, August 19, 2025 - MONITORLIZARD, available if Best Buy and Petco decide to merge 🙄

Season 13 Episode 94

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,…

Published on 2 weeks, 3 days ago

Monday, August 18, 2025 - Ha-ha-ha-HA-ha!

Season 13 Episode 93

Today's crossword was truly a labor of love for one of the greatest voice talents of all time. We speak, of course, of the immortal, indomitable, indefatigable Mel Blanc, pretty much the reason why t…

Published on 2 weeks, 4 days ago

Sunday, August 17, 2025 - Red Alert! It's a Sam Ezersky puzzle, coming in hot 🥵

Season 13 Episode 92

Sam Ezersky is known for making devilishly difficult crosswords, and he does not disappoint today. Jean found this to be a bit of a challenge; Mike has decided that ... the intersection of Sam's whee…

Published on 2 weeks, 5 days ago

Saturday, August 16, 2025 - Byron Walden puts it to the metal!

Season 13 Episode 91

Byron Walden has had a whopping 109 crosswords published in the NYTimes, including an astonishing 70 Saturdays. Frankly, it shows, because today's was perfect: highly challenging, but sprinkled with …

Published on 2 weeks, 6 days ago

Friday, August 15, 2025 - This was a BOSS crossword!

Season 13 Episode 90

Depending upon what you've squirreled away in your wheelhouse, you may have found today's crossword a) straightforward, or b) a Friday crossword wrapped around a zesty Saturday mini-crossword. In the…

Published on 3 weeks ago

Thursday, August 14, 2025 - We'll take "Awesome Crossword" for $500

Season 13 Episode 89

A few Sundays ago we had a puzzle paying homage to Star Trek, and now we've moved on to another iconic show, Jeopardy! While we feel that the editors missed a fabulous opportunity to play the Jeopard…

Published on 3 weeks, 1 day ago

Wednesday, August 13, 2025 - Hola, OLLAS!

Season 13 Episode 88

Just like the answer to 29D, "Too ___" (2024 #1 Hozier hit), this was a SWEET Wednesday crossword, and we're not just saying that because Jared Cappel took the time to introduce us to a magnificent b…

Published on 3 weeks, 2 days ago

Tuesday, August 12, 2025 - The planet with the most moons? Give us a ring, we'll tell you 🙄

Season 13 Episode 87

This was an Erik Agard puzzle, meaning the clues were fabulous; but it was a Tuesday Erik Agard puzzle, which means that the clues were not too difficult. We loved 45D, He or I, but not she, ELEMENT …

Published on 3 weeks, 3 days ago

Monday, August 11, 2025 - At long last we have it: OREOS, the origin story!!

Season 13 Episode 86

Rebecca Goldstein has won awards for her crosswords, and today's is another fine example of why she has been so afforded. Jean, as is so often the case, made short work of today's puzzle, while Mike …

Published on 3 weeks, 4 days ago

Sunday, August 10, 2025 - The EYES have it 😀

Season 13 Episode 85

This was an elegantly crafted crossword by Adam Wagner and Chandi Deitmer. We were thrilled and delighted to welcome back the rebus, which we have not seen in several Sundays (or so it seems). Jean w…

Published on 3 weeks, 5 days ago