About this episode

Zhou Zhang and Mallory Montgomery discuss their latest collaborative crossword puzzle, highlighting its quirky theme and clever clues.

Zhou Zhang and Mallory Montgomery have teamed up, once again, to create their third Thursday crossword, and they keep getting better with age/practice. The theme was endearingly quirky, and the clues were definitely Thursday-worthy. As representative examples, regard 33A, Little dipper?, TOE 😀; 47D, Steamy occasion, SPADAY (ah, that kind of steam!); and 13D, Dub ... or rub, ANOINT (ah, we get the ANOINT, er, POINT 😀). Show note imagery: The old city of SANAA, Yemen's capital and a UNESCO Worl...

People in this episode

Hosts: Jean, Mike

Guests: Zhou Zhang, Mallory Montgomery

Topics covered

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

Keywords

• crossword
• Zhou Zhang
• Mallory Montgomery
• Thursday puzzle
• wordplay
• clues
• puzzle theme

Mentioned in this episode

Places: SANAA, Yemen

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

• Monday, July 20, 2026 — Gee, this Crossword's Got GLEE 🙄 · July 20, 2026 · 13 min
• Sunday, July 19, 2026 — This Crossword Was Capital, Simply Capital! 😀 🇬🇧 · July 19, 2026 · 19 min
• Saturday, July 18, 2026 — Alright, DIEGOLUNA is in the grid! · July 18, 2026 · 12 min
• Friday, July 17, 2026 — Hey, Where'd All the Black Squares Go? · July 17, 2026 · 17 min
• Wednesday, July 15, 2026 — Today's Crossword Was *Smokin!* 🔥 · July 15, 2026 · 15 min
• Tuesday, July 14, 2026 — A Collaborative Debut, Woo-hoo! 🙌 · July 14, 2026 · 17 min

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