Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword – Details, episodes & analysis

This was a delightful Thursday crossword by Mallory Montgomery and Zhou Zhang. Jean got through it at gazelle-like speeds, whereas Mike, who made the tyro's mistake of following his own advice, was less gazelle, more giraffe. Deets inside.

Show note imagery: Rochester, Jane EYRE, and Adele (well before her breakout album, 19).

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Our co-hosts had almost comically differing experiences solving today's crossword. Jean found it to be ... a breeze, whereas Mike found it to be a category 5 hurricane, which he will dub Hurricane Adrianne, after the creator of said hurricane, er, puzzle, Adrianne Baik. Apparently Adrianne was able to quickly and remotely rifle through Mike's memory palace (more like a memory shanty, but nvm), identify everything he didn't know, and then put it into a crossword. Well played, Adrianne!

For all the deets of what turned out to be a walk in the park  / EPIC cruciverbial battle, subscribe, download, listen up, and enjoy today's episode!

Show note imagery: HELLOKITTY!

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Today's crossword was (as you can deduce from the episode title) a fun, Christmas-themed puzzle by famed magician David Kwong. Jean & Co. solved it expeditiously, whereas David almost made Mike's streak disappear thanks to some cruciverbial magic in the top-center of the grid. All turned out well, though, for both cohosts and their streaks. Deets inside.

FYI, we will be taking a hiatus this week (starting up again on the 29th). For those of you who want your daily fix, fear not -- we're pretty sure you can find something in our burgeoning back catalog. In the meantime, have a great holiday, and may Santa (or whoever delivers the gifts in your neck of the woods) send a plethora of presents your way.

Show note video: David Kwong, about to make some magic

Show note imagery: Amanda Gorman, presidential inaugural poet and author of "The Hill We Climb"

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Adam Wagner has a reputation for making tough, high-quality crosswords, which explains ... today's, tough, high-quality crossword. Even after grokking the theme, the rest of the clues required no little effort to unravel. We have the whole story inside, so do have a listen and then let us know: how did you find today's puzzle?

Show note imagery: The Earl and Countess of Wessex

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A challenging Saturday crossword -- Jean had an epic struggle in the north central area of the grid, and Mike had an epic struggle ... everywhere! But along the way we were able to appreciate such fine vintage clues as 12D, Earring Magic ______ (1990s doll that developed a cult following), KEN; 52A, Web portal released the same day as Windows 95, MSN; and 20A, Transition effect famously used in "Star Wars" films, WIPE. All the deets -- plus the announcement of this week's JAMCOTWA (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award) winner are all here, just waiting for you to download, play, and enjoy!

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A fine Friday crossword by Robert S. Greenfield, not too difficult for a Friday, but still festooned with fun clues and answers (which we like to call cluans™️), such as 34A, Neologize, COINAPHRASE (for an example, c.f. cluans 😀); 29A, Organization with a strong track record?, NASCSAR (nice!); and 23D, Splashy display, ECLAT (sounds like a SAT word to us!)

And as a delicious end to today's episode, we have a Fun Fact segment on 18D, Penny candy morsel since 1907, TOOTSIEROLL. Num num!

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A deliciously devious Thursday crossword by Daniel Bodily, thanks to Friday and Saturday level cluing and a theme that may leave you AGASP (and if you solve today's puzzle, saying AAH). Definitely a full 5 squares on the JAMCR scale, and while it fills us with trepidation contemplating what lies ahead for the rest of the week, we will savor this puzzle until then.

Remember our Triplet Tuesday Contest is ongoing right now -- listen to Tuesday's episode  then send us your score to enter. [Not valid in any state, province or territory that bans Triplet Tuesday Contests (um, if there are any 😀 ))

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We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.com.

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A wonderful Wednesday crossword, and a debut for constructor Lindsay McBride (kudos and all that!). We especially enjoyed 67A, Like matryoshka dolls, NESTED (we just like to say matryoshka);  32D, Good, in Chinese HAO (now we know!); and 24D, "_________ Flux" (1990s animated sci-fi series), AEON  (because it was such a great show!).  There was (much) more, and deets are inside.

Just a reminder, if you haven't solved today's puzzle and want to see the finished grid so you can follow along as you listen, then just go to xwordinfo.com, where the entire filled-out grid awaits!

Finally, remember our Triplet Tuesday Contest is going strong! Just listen to yesterday's episode, and send us your submission. Operators are standing by, so to speak :-)

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We love listener mail! Drop us a line, crosswordpodcast@icloud.com.

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A fine Tuesday crossword, with a bilingual theme -- the best kind -- as well as some amusing clues (9D, Phrase sung 36 times in a 1970 Beatles hit, LETITBE; 6D, Bovine:cow::corvine:__________, CROW; and Mike's favorite word of the day, 26A, "Aw, rats", DAGNABBIT.

Also, it's Triplet Tuesday, and even better, our first ever Triplet Tuesday Contest! Get ready to participate -- listen for the rules -- and then email us (crosswordpodcast@icloud.com) how many guesses it took you, in total. Lowest score wins, or in the event of a tie, lowest score + serendipity. Good luck, and remember, no Googling!

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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 conversation!

A slightly more intense Monday crossword than usual, with several span-the-grid answers, but the cute theme (the constructor, Michael Paleos, definitely did not MAILITIN) made it all worthwhile. We've got all the deets inside, as well as the full set of rules for tomorrow's first ever Triplet Tuesday Contest, so you are cordially invited to -- in order -- subscribe, download, listen, laugh, and learn.

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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 conversation!