Podcast Episodes

Thursday, June 8, 2023 - Quickly, fetch the secret decoder ring!

Season 7 Episode 47

It's not clear that the phrase "come for the theme, stay for the clues" has ever been applied to a crossword before -- ChatGPT denied knowledge -- but it really does apply to this one. It has an atte…

Published on 2 years, 6 months ago

Wednesday, June 7, 2023 - BREAKINGSTORY - this crossword was fabulous!

Season 7 Episode 46

A very pleasing crossword by Jennifer Lee and Victor Galson, who managed to sneakily embed a chyron into the grid. They also seemed to have included a mini-French theme, with 36A, "Ta-da!", ETVOILA, …

Published on 2 years, 6 months ago

Tuesday, June 6, 2023 - Give the constructor a DAP for pulling out all the STOPS

Season 7 Episode 45

You might want to have a pillow handy while working on today's crossword, so when you figure out the theme and your jaw drops, no serious injury results. Yes, the crossword is that good. For all the …

Published on 2 years, 6 months ago

Monday, June 5, 2023 - OKEEFFE, often lauded, often misspelled 😀

Season 7 Episode 44

A fine Monday crossword by Eric Rollfing, with one of those memorable Monday themes that makes one ponder the incredible ingenuity of the many NYTimes Crossword constructors. There were a few sneakie…

Published on 2 years, 6 months ago

Sunday, June 4, 2023 - A crossword to be proud of!

Season 7 Episode 43

In honor of Pride month, the NYTimes Crossword editors have broken out the ol' color palette. They may have previously embedded color (other than gray) in the grid , but not very often - so if this i…

Published on 2 years, 7 months ago

Saturday, June 3, 2023 - This crossword was a PUZZLINGPROBLEM 😀

Season 7 Episode 42

A superb Saturday crossword by John Westwig, challenging -- as one would expect from the putatively hardest crossword of the week! -- but fair, with a merciful (from Mike's perspective) dearth of pop…

Published on 2 years, 7 months ago

Friday, June 2, 2023 - We'll have a SPACEOPERA, please, with a side order of TIMETRAVEL

A much easier crossword than Thursday's, both cohosts were able to get through it without too much difficulty - a fact which Jean attributes to a (for her) novel solving technique. To find out what t…

Published on 2 years, 7 months ago

Thursday, June 1, 2023 - This crossword was NOT1/2BAD

Season 7 Episode 40

A tricky Thursday crossword (as Thursday crosswords are wont to be), with the sort of highly ingenious theme that suggests the Steinberg CLAN might be involved, as, gasp(!), they were. And that theme…

Published on 2 years, 7 months ago

Wednesday, May 31, 2023 - Here's hoping this podcast will GOVIRAL 😀

Season 7 Episode 39

A fine Wednesday crossword by Brandon Koppy, who has been known to crank it up to 11, but here keeps the difficulty level mercifully moderate. The theme was fun, the crosses entertaining and educatio…

Published on 2 years, 7 months ago

Tuesday, May 30, 2023 - This crossword was *not* for the BIRDS 😉🐥

Season 7 Episode 38

If you've ever gone birding and had trouble actually spotting any birds, then today's crossword will seem familiar; eight of our winged friends, hiding in plain sight. Details within, as well as an e…

Published on 2 years, 7 months ago