Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

The difficulty level's been dialed up to 11, so if you did not get through today's puzzle ... it's not you, it's Kunal Nagar (abetted in this criminally awesome crossword by Will Shortz). Every singl…

This was an awesome debut by Bryan Cheong, who is, astonishingly, only 14 years old. You would not know it from the crossword, though: the clues are sharp and the fill as crisp as can be. Definitely …

This was a delightfully intriguing and decidedly crunchy Thursday crossword, penned by Colin Ernst and adroitly edited by Will Shortz. It took both cohosts, working independently as is their wont, no…

This was a fun crossword by Michael B. Berg, his second for the NYTimes. The theme was terrific, revolving around a word that neither cohost had heard before, ZHUZH. Fortunately, the crosses were fai…

In keeping with the nursery rhyme, we would argue that today's crossword was full of grace ... or at least some very cool clues. Mike's favorite was 10D,
Certain parent overseeing a child's career, i…

Today's crossword marks Lynn Lempel's 103rd for the NYTimes, and was a great way to usher in September. While there were no debut answers, quite a few of the clues caught our fancy, including 64A, Fl…

Michael Lieberman was definitely playing against type when he dreamed up this crossword, because he spends his days at his law firm fighting corporate mergers, but his nights -- apparently -- trying …

The fifth NYTimes crossword by Ryan Judge made for a very nice Saturday; not a walk in the park, by any stretch, but more straightforward than last Saturday's "let's scale Mt Everest barefoot" uber-c…

Our cohosts were surprised and delighted to learn, thanks to today's crossword, that there are four countries whose national anthems have no lyrics, and so people instead hum, or sing something along…

Once again, the NYTimes crossword has delivered the perfect blend of joy and education in one neat bundle. The joy comes from, primarily, the theme -- which we will say no more about here, but we hav…

One of our favorite foods is SEITAN - healthy, delicious, and, up until now, never mentioned in the NYTimes crossword. Ah, but the times they are a changin', as evidenced by today's 50D, Wheat-based …

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,…

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…

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…

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 …

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…

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…

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…

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 …

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 …