Thursday, April 23, 2026 - A *brilliant* Thursday treat!

About this episode

This episode features a discussion of a collaborative crossword puzzle by Zhou Zhang and Kevin Curry, highlighting its clever themes and clues.

This is Zhou Zhang and Kevin Curry's second collaboration, and it is an uber-awesome bit of cruciverbal magic. They started with a chef's kiss of a theme, puzzling with a powerful payoff; they ended with a slew of equally awesome clues. Consider: 42A, What the "Music City Miracle" and the "Immaculate Reception" took place in, NFLAMES (😀); 44A. Alternative to bow ties, PENNE (😀 😀); and 48A, Test release?, TIMESUP (😀 😀 😀). We cannot wait for ZZ and KC's third collaboration, best on prior work i...

People in this episode

Hosts: Jean, Mike

Topics covered

• crossword puzzles
• collaboration
• clue analysis
• thematic puzzles
• wordplay

Keywords

• crossword
• puzzle
• Zhou Zhang
• Kevin Curry
• clues
• thematic
• wordplay

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: TIMESUP

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

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• 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