Podcast Episodes

Sunday, May 25, 2025 - 🎵 All together now ... like an Einstein-Rosen bridge, over trouuuubled waters🎵 🙄

Season 13 Episode 11

This was a brilliant crossword by Dylan Schiff. Solving it was terrific fun, but creating it must've been a real bear (to borrow from a recent NYTimes Crossword answer). You'll see why when you check…

Published on 7 months, 1 week ago

Saturday, May 24, 2025 - Today's crossword contained, literally, a PLEASANTSURPRISE

Season 13 Episode 10

Both cohosts found today's crossword to be a tad on the easy side (for a Saturday), but it nonetheless had some brilliant clues. Among these were 32D, Eton ___ (traditional English dessert), MESS (yu…

Published on 7 months, 1 week ago

Friday, May 23, 2025 - No, AKEE is not how you feel after eating an AKEE 🙄

Season 13 Episode 8

Our intrepid cohosts -- solving, as always, independently -- had very different experiences whilst filling in the grid. Jean got through this relatively readily, whereas Mike muttered many imprecatio…

Published on 7 months, 1 week ago

Thursday, May 22, 2025 - If crosswords were paintings, this'd be the Mona Lisa 🖼️

Season 13 Episode 7

This crossword was the embodiment of what makes the NYTimes Crossword so outstanding: a fantabulous theme amid a sea of novel and some LOL supporting clues. Just check out today's podcast, and then r…

Published on 7 months, 1 week ago

Wednesday, May 21, 2025 - A crossword so good you'll wish it was SOSTENUTO!

Season 13 Episode 6

There was art in today's grid -- specifically at 29A, "The most beautiful deception of all," per Debussy, ART, and more generally, everywhere else; because only the most artful of crosswords make the…

Published on 7 months, 1 week ago

Tuesday, May 20, 2025 - It's NIGH well about time NIGH made a comeback! 😀

This was Rena Cohen's first Tuesday crossword, and like the other three that she has constructed for the NYTimes, it was excellent: a brilliant theme and a constellation of ingenious clues made the w…

Published on 7 months, 1 week ago

Monday, May 19, 2025 - We're agOG about today's crossword 😉

Season 13 Episode 4

This was a fun, fast, frothy Monday crossword. It would be a great crossword to solve with the young'uns, for reasons that will become evident as you listen to today's episode.

Also, as presaged in ye…

Published on 7 months, 2 weeks ago

Sunday, May 18, 2025 - A big ola! to those who sell OLLAS 😏

Season 13 Episode 3

Today's crossword seemed (to at least one of our cohosts) to be slightly crunchier than the usual Sunday, thanks to clues like 3D, "Ci vediamo in giro!" , CIAO; 70A, Pauperism, so to speak, RAGS (um,…

Published on 7 months, 2 weeks ago

Saturday, May 17, 2025 - The "toughest crossword of the week" lives up to its name!

Season 13 Episode 2

This was an excellent Saturday crossword -- with some Ginzu-knife-sharp cluing, and just a light dusting of pop culture references -- which is precisely the reason why it is now the latest winner of …

Published on 7 months, 2 weeks ago

Friday, May 16, 2025 - MEGASTORE - when you're running low on MEGAs 🙄

Season 13 Episode 1

Today's puzzle was a trifle easier than your typical Friday, which means -- by the Law of Conservation of Crossword Difficulty™️ -- you can expect tomorrow's crossword to be a morsel harder (on avera…

Published on 7 months, 2 weeks ago