Friday, April 24, 2026 — Look out, Andrew Spooner is back with yet another killer crossword!!!

About this episode

The episode discusses a challenging crossword by Andrew Spooner, highlighting its clever traps and the hosts' enjoyment of the solving process.

This was an unexpectedly crunchy Friday crossword, with lots of brilliantly concealed traps for the unwary solver. We loved every "there goes the ol' streak, it was good knowin' ya" moment, as we toiled, and toiled, and toiled away. We give it a full 5 squares on the JAMCR scale, and if we could, we'd give it more! Deets inside. Show note imagery: A very young John Travolta, playing VINNIE Barbarino on "Welcome Back, Kotter" We love feedback! Send us a text... Contact Info: We love listener m...

People in this episode

Hosts: Jean, Mike

Topics covered

• crossword puzzles
• solving strategies
• tricky clues
• podcast feedback
• entertainment

Keywords

• crossword
• puzzle
• traps
• solving
• JAMCR scale

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Welcome Back, Kotter

More episodes of Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

• Friday, June 12, 2026 —A Quality Friday Crossword! · June 12, 2026 · 18 min
• Thursday, June 11, 2026 — Alas, Poor ARAL Sea, We Barely Knew Ya! · June 12, 2026 · 12 min
• Wednesday, June 10, 2026 — 🎶 NARITA, we just met an airport named ... NARITA 🙄🎶 · June 11, 2026 · 15 min
• Tuesday, June 9, 2026 — Rebecca Goldstein Is at the Helm, Brace for Extreme Wit and Whimsy 😀 · June 10, 2026 · 11 min
• Monday, June 8, 2026 —Now, Where's That BELETE Key Gotten To? 😀 · June 9, 2026 · 15 min
• Sunday, June 7, 2026 — A Rorschach Test of a Crossword 🤔 · June 8, 2026 · 22 min