tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post1575207607406197449..comments2024-03-28T10:47:09.173-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Site of Herculean feat / THU 9-19-19 / Stats for eggheads / Track that hosted Seabiscuit's final race / Futuristic assistants / Isolates in business speakRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger91125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-69679198875237412019-10-24T16:46:20.994-04:002019-10-24T16:46:20.994-04:00@Anonymous 1:28 PM outdid Rex at his best or worst...@Anonymous 1:28 PM outdid Rex at his best or worst or both.leftcoastnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-62612995624561182102019-10-24T16:14:34.316-04:002019-10-24T16:14:34.316-04:00I agree with @Rondo who agrees with Anon 1:28. Th...I agree with @Rondo who agrees with Anon 1:28. That's all this is worth.<br /><br />Diana, You-know-Who of Crosswords (ME, in other words)Diana, LIWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-83844365221397746462019-10-24T15:48:23.014-04:002019-10-24T15:48:23.014-04:00Started out pretty easy, getting the rebus ME gimm...Started out pretty easy, getting the rebus ME gimmick, but soon ran into resistance. So just kept plugging along.<br /><br />The PRIME TIME EMMY themers did begin to show up, including the most obscure, PANTOMIME QUIZ. But came to a dead stop in the NE corner. Where to put the two remaining MEs, and what were their award winning shows? Got AMERICAN and STORY but not CRIME. Then embarrassed myself to not get MADMEN, my favorite and the only one I regularly watched. Boo-boo! Owie!<br /><br />Still, liked the theme and glad to get what I got except for that @#% corner.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />leftcoastnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-76223248896315922682019-10-24T12:51:27.922-04:002019-10-24T12:51:27.922-04:00Silos? Nahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Maybe used in one isolat...Silos? Nahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Maybe used in one isolated business, but never a general business term. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-76386180853536189042019-10-24T10:55:23.668-04:002019-10-24T10:55:23.668-04:00I echo @rondo and @anon above. Noting that even OF...I echo @rondo and @anon above. Noting that even OFC writes "S&M" instead of the ampersandwich, that's a double whammy. People who somehow think there's not already enough pain in the world. And I add 44-across, which I have said before is the name of one of the 9/11 villains, and so a name I do NOT want to read in a crossword grid.<br /><br />The theme is very clever, and I don't mind including the very first winner; why not? It's just the short fill that ruins things. I hate to put a score on this. It was tough to start, and the clues were very late-week, so some triumph points accrue. I'd never call it "easy." I guess I'll abstain.spacecrafthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09125304293611865503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91104333713974769242019-10-24T09:06:29.577-04:002019-10-24T09:06:29.577-04:00Mostly what @anon 1:28 just above said, so thoroug...Mostly what @anon 1:28 just above said, so thoroughly. And OLE agrees. And rebi AINT our things. Pick your favorite ANNA or SOFIA as today's yeah baby. 'Nuff said.<br />SIA.rondonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-72177129902153194382019-10-24T08:44:32.249-04:002019-10-24T08:44:32.249-04:00ANTI-TIRO STORY
A TRIO of SLOE, MADMEN
ASPIRE to...ANTI-TIRO STORY<br /><br />A TRIO of SLOE, MADMEN <br />ASPIRE to a FRAUDULENT CRIME - <br />to GOPRO ATTA time when <br />they AIN'T ready for PRIMETIME.<br /><br />--- ANNA SOFIA PAELLABurma Shavenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-5236695181870383322019-09-22T23:28:12.765-04:002019-09-22T23:28:12.765-04:00I thought this puzzle was about horses for most of...I thought this puzzle was about horses for most of the time. Phew!!!! Made it way harder.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44879560944769185502019-09-20T13:28:45.168-04:002019-09-20T13:28:45.168-04:00I feel like I'm in some kind of parallel unive...I feel like I'm in some kind of parallel universe. This was one of the worst puzzles I've done in a while, and when I came to the site to see how much Rex would flay this, I was *shocked* to see how much he liked it.<br /><br />Let's start with the theme. I am not the biggest fan of rebus puzzles. They're mildly cute at best, but it always feels like the constructor cheating a bit and taking the easy way out. Until I realize it's a rebus, I always have a tougher time of the puzzle, then when I finally get it, it's never an a-ha moment that makes me appreciate the constructor's cleverness. It's always disappointing, like "Really? That's just lame" and I'm robbed of my delightful a-ha moment. <br /><br />Second, with the theme itself...I don't get it. OK, PRIMETIME EMMY has two ME's in it and it's supposed to be pronounced by spelling it out – M-E = Emmy. Fine. But how does that relate to the theme answers other they, "Look! I found shows that have this two-letter combination in them." Is there some reason this had to be a rebus puzzle to work? Do the shows somehow contain Emmy's? Is there some condition by which the M-E being in one square matters? Are they inside some kind of programming block? Does the Emmy come in a box when you win it? Maybe there's some deeper meaning in this that I'm missing, but it's a mystery to ME.<br /><br />OK, let's talk fill. It's atrocious. 23 3-letter words is a little high, though not egregious. But the fill itself is such a combination of yucky crossword mess, crosswordese and abbreviations: LAH, ONO, NTWT, ACA, ATTA, UAE, AFT, ENS, TDS, AGA, APR, SLO, OLE, NORI, DROME, ALP, ANTI, IQS, MFA, MIR. <br /><br />Then there is the freshness of the fill. XWord Info says it has a freshness score of 18.1, which puts it in the 11.2 percentile overall. For Thursdays? 7.1 percentile. And it's how i felt solving this. Answers like OLE, ANT, NET, TSAR/S, ONO, and others did induce a yawn or seven.<br /><br />And then the problematic answers. I'll skip "PANTOMIME QUIZ" as it's been litigated many times. I've never called Arabian horses ARABS. Arabians, yes, but not ARABS. Not that Google is the final arbiter of these issues, but if you search for "arab horse", Google asks me, "Did you mean: arabian horse?" Yes, yes I did. <br /><br />There's answer-clue incongruity with RATE and "A mile a minute". It's either ARATE or "Mile a minute". Pick a side, we're at war here.<br /><br />I like the "Sunday breakfast" test, but I don't think ASS and SANDM pass. Unless it's Christmas time, and you're talking about the Biblical story of Jesus' birth, 99% of the time ASS is used is not a way I want my children using it. If my 10-year-old was watching TV and saw someone doing something inane, I would be fine with him saying, "What a buffoon!" but if "What an ass!" came out, we'd have to have a talk. "Dad, I got 37-Down but I don't know what SANDM is." "Well son, it's when people wear things like assless chaps and use whips and chains with their sexual partners to inflict harm on each other, which paradoxically produces sexual pleasure." *crickets* "Sorry, I meant buffoon-less chaps."<br /><br />ZESTS. I have never in my life heard someone say to a bartender, "Can you put some zests on that drink?" No, a normal person would say, "Can you put some zest on that drink." The only time i've ever used ZESTS is as a verb.<br /><br />I've gone on too long. I like David Kwong, I think what he does with speed constructing puzzles is nothing short of absolute genius. But this puzzle was a big disappointment, and hopefully I'll see another one of his that will cleanse my palate of this dead FISH of a puzzle.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-68284718708991421122019-09-20T00:03:39.257-04:002019-09-20T00:03:39.257-04:00Found this super hard, and super good. Found this super hard, and super good. a.cornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03235810940721348751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-89920581423626243042019-09-19T23:43:18.786-04:002019-09-19T23:43:18.786-04:00@Anon12:00 paragraph 2 - Yes. A thousand times yes...@Anon12:00 paragraph 2 - Yes. A thousand times yes. Reading is decoding symbols to create meaning. And what is math? The mathy parts are most especially pure reading tests. <br /><br />@JC66 - Wikipedia is a good place to start. “Playing the float” is a new one to me but, according to Wikipedia, is what I was describing. But fraud? <i>A false representation of a matter of fact—whether by words or by conduct, by false or misleading allegations, or by concealment of what should have been disclosed—that deceives and is intended to deceive another so that the individual will act upon it to her or his legal injury.</i> Banks may not like it (hence their not making large deposits immediately available and huge fees for bouncing a check), but hardly fraud. <br /><br />@jae - Probably still a reading test (see above) but that people on the autism spectrum do so well raises lots of questions (about the test, about autism, about how we think about “intelligence”). I had to do a little refresher search and was amused to see what looked to be study guides. Anyway, like any tool, these assessments are fine when used properly by someone who understands what they tell us and, more importantly, what the <i>don’t </i>tell us. But when the only tool you have is a hammer you start to think everything is a nail. Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-71284123657297346972019-09-19T21:28:27.974-04:002019-09-19T21:28:27.974-04:00@BobL-what I said to GILL I., y gracias.@BobL-what I said to GILL I., y gracias.pabloinnhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04967477079504866917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-83679763215410491782019-09-19T21:23:12.379-04:002019-09-19T21:23:12.379-04:00@GILL I.-
El gusto seria mio....@GILL I.-<br /><br />El gusto seria mio....pabloinnhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04967477079504866917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-74988074134207374262019-09-19T19:51:51.952-04:002019-09-19T19:51:51.952-04:00@pablo - what Gill I said@pablo - what Gill I saidBobLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02614228671316214824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-49900000757884549482019-09-19T19:18:36.318-04:002019-09-19T19:18:36.318-04:00@pablo...Oye me, amiguete...vente para ACA y te in...@pablo...Oye me, amiguete...vente para ACA y te invito a una copita. :-)GILL I.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05605766053820226324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-54948560527413880672019-09-19T19:08:27.644-04:002019-09-19T19:08:27.644-04:00Rex, you are such a pompous, self righteous ass. N...Rex, you are such a pompous, self righteous ass. Not everything has to be hip and current and on your liberal agenda. Some of us don't want to dissect every puzzle and read something onto it. I feel sorry for every kid you come in contact with. You have an opportunity to teach them how to think. Instead you teach them what to think. I'm so glad my kids are safe from you.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08194440750756825979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-25287745605545308572019-09-19T18:26:34.383-04:002019-09-19T18:26:34.383-04:00Medium-tough. I got hung up in the center. SILOS...Medium-tough. I got hung up in the center. SILOS as clued was a WOE and it took a while to grok S AND M. PANTOMIME QUIZ was also a WOE.<br /><br />Cute and fun, liked it. <br /><br />I’ve watched two of the four. We passed on GoT as part of our no zombies/ no dragons policy. <br /><br />@Z & Anon 12:07 - The article you link never mentions the non-verbal Raven’s Progressive Matrices which are used in CA schools to place students in advanced classrooms. jaehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03385568014046336373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26210927407129032812019-09-19T18:10:32.466-04:002019-09-19T18:10:32.466-04:00I'm not much of a TV viewer. The only one of t...I'm not much of a TV viewer. The only one of the shows I ever watched was Pantomine Quiz.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-41599145902684006792019-09-19T18:08:15.013-04:002019-09-19T18:08:15.013-04:00@Rob-
Aqui/aca=here. Alli/alla=there. I think y...@Rob-<br /><br />Aqui/aca=here. Alli/alla=there. I think you're confusing este (this) ese (that) and aquel (that one over there). Of course this and that have feminine and plural forms too.<br /><br />Pardon my lack of accent marks.pabloinnhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04967477079504866917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-57348767201922376092019-09-19T18:01:24.951-04:002019-09-19T18:01:24.951-04:00@Rob...if I may. Aqui and ACA are the same. See ...@Rob...if I may. Aqui and ACA are the same. See my little Cuban reference upstairs at 8:31. ALLA is waaaaay over there so yes, you' re corectamundo. We need some accents but I don't know how to put them in. <br />I'll be the first to say - or maybe the second because @pablo would probably agree, that sometimes @Will doesn't quite get the nuances correct. I just wish to Dios, that they'd requite the enye. No one likes to say "Feliz Ano." <br />You're welcome.... GILL I.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05605766053820226324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31304427087900433382019-09-19T17:09:21.430-04:002019-09-19T17:09:21.430-04:00Looks like we found the Mensa member...Looks like we found the Mensa member...Seth Romerohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08381370894478482168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46196985170517881182019-09-19T16:53:16.478-04:002019-09-19T16:53:16.478-04:00If 9 gettable crosses will get you PAROXYSMAL (a w...If 9 gettable crosses will get you PAROXYSMAL (a word you will never use or perhaps have never heard of... but are nonetheless glad to SUSS OUT), who TF cares if some other string of crosses gives you PANTOMIMEQUIZ, a show you never saw or even heard of? You're not obliged to add either one to your vocabulary.Fred Wollamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09079333036178727961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-72532961265267401382019-09-19T16:23:31.012-04:002019-09-19T16:23:31.012-04:00It's been a while, but I was taught AQUI as he...It's been a while, but I was taught AQUI as here, ACA as there, and ALLA as, like, waaaaay over there. Was I taught wrong? Am I misremembering? Is this a Cuban dialect thing? Is the puzzle wrong?Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-53071806061501194512019-09-19T16:13:55.193-04:002019-09-19T16:13:55.193-04:00In the SW, I'd've tried to sneak AFb (Air ...In the SW, I'd've tried to sneak AFb (Air Force base) -crosses- bIRO (Nice/Orange/French ball point pen) past Shortz, but then, I've yet to get anything past him.Fred Wollamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09079333036178727961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-52841277798584183512019-09-19T15:43:52.174-04:002019-09-19T15:43:52.174-04:00Looks weird to not have a rebus intersecting one o...Looks weird to not have a rebus intersecting one of the long downs on the right. Otherwise, this was a pretty good gimmick. Because, you know, it's all about ME. <br /><br /><i>♪ I like flying,<br />Flying kites –<br />Kites are fun! ♪ </i><br />Joe Dipintohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07922691457886440325noreply@blogger.com