Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

Kudos to Adryel W. Robles Ojeda for getting their very first crossword published in the NYTimes. We found it both fun and fast. We liked all the clues in today's puzzle, but among those that we did not already cover in today's episode, three stood out: 49A, Sharp or flat location on a piano, usually, BLACKKEY (makes sense); 37D, 3 to 1 are good ones, ODDS (cute); and 42A, Most common word in English, THE (not, as we initially guessed, HEYIMWALKINHERE 😀 ). 
Show note imagery: Harry HOUDINI, about to do something extremely ill-advised.
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BATSIGNAL has appeared a total of 4 times in the NYTimes crossword — once in 2014, twice in 2020, and today. The real BATSIGNAL shows up much more frequently in DC Comics, and continues to this day to serve as a means of summoning the caped crusader, who we would argue really needs to slip a cellphone into the ol' utility belt.
A quick check reveals that, in one paragraph, we have covered exactly one clue, and at this rate these show notes would be approximately 25 pages long. We therefore propose to simply mention, en passant, that this was an excellent Monday crossword, as one would expect since it was written by John Ewbank. We've got more to say, on most of the grid, in today's episode.
We've also announced our latest JAMCOTWA™️ (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award) — check out today's episode to see if we picked your favorite.
Show note imagery: The BATSIGNAL, available wherever fine crime-fighting equipment is sold.
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This was Samuel A. Donaldson's 42nd NYTimes crossword, and it is joyous, with effervescent clues and answers that richly reward the diligent solver. The themed answers were particularly fabulous, but we were also fans of 86D, Manage moguls, say, SKI; 74A, Place to store magazines, ARMORY; and 104A, Monopolist's portion, ALL (brilliant!). There were more (of course), check out today's episode for all the deets.
Show note imagery: The gorgeous Manila skyline
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This was Royce Ferguson's third Saturday NYTimes crossword, and it was highly enjoyable. It was not a walk in the park, but neither was it the "scale El Capitan by one's teeth" type of puzzle that it could have been — and for which we are grateful.
There were terrific clues in the grid, such as 26D, Crystal and Rock, notably, OSCARHOSTS (😀); 42A, What isn't anyone's fault?, LET (😀 😀); and a gimme for the musically inclined, 53D, F or G, but not H, NOTE (😀 😀 😀)
Show note imagery: Artemis II, a most excellent example of a SPACESHOT
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We are always partial to crosswords with KAZOO in the grid, but that is not the only reason why we are so enamored with today's puzzle. No, they had us at the theme — perfect for a Thursday — and kept us engaged with such great clues as 63A, School with a larger-than-life bronze statue of Henry VI, ETON (um, ok); 46A, One side in a "Holy War" rivalry in college football, UTES (vs??? Sure, leave us hanging 😉); and the itch inducing 65A, Irritating "cloud", GNATS (natch!).
Show note imagery: Come to think of it, that does look like a backwards 3.
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