tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post182372571674774261..comments2024-03-29T10:56:03.104-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Whale constellation / FRI 5-9-14 / Big player in Suez Crisis / Longtime Tab competitor / 1971-97 nation name / Horror film antagonist surnamed Thorn / Dickens protagonist surnamed Trent / Toast often given with Manischewitz / Nobel-winning economist who wrote Fuzzy Math / Rex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger89125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-3567797989434500432014-06-13T19:19:02.426-04:002014-06-13T19:19:02.426-04:00Probably enough discussion about nautical ropes, l...Probably enough discussion about nautical ropes, lines, painters, etc., however, I doubt there is a tug boat anywhere that pulls other floating things using a TOWROPE. They use cable, anywhere from 1.5" to 3" thick.<br /><br />I think this fripuz had its share of misleading clues, but overall, NOHARMDONE.<br /><br />Cringe to see HACK and SPAY so close to each other and ADZES nearby.<br /><br />My capcha: 1637. Ah, the year Cardinal Richelieu of France created the table knife. See, he did do something good.Solving in Seattlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04249420848844874936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-60617409825404716412014-06-13T18:10:50.505-04:002014-06-13T18:10:50.505-04:00Not easy for me: I feel dumb!Not easy for me: I feel dumb!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-90893293353855429672014-06-13T18:00:57.503-04:002014-06-13T18:00:57.503-04:00Am I the only one to cross the early Teutonic vers...Am I the only one to cross the early Teutonic version of Hades, shaeragony with the first name of Damean Thorne?Longbeachleenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46807949861288561632014-06-13T17:52:18.621-04:002014-06-13T17:52:18.621-04:00Ropes on boats is OK. If they are running rig, th...Ropes on boats is OK. If they are running rig, they are sheets. otherwise ropes or lines works unless there's a specific name, I.e. Painter, which on large ships are usually called docking lines. Confused?<br />Longbeachleenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45223178719078392792014-06-13T15:18:05.450-04:002014-06-13T15:18:05.450-04:00It took almost no time at all (in syndi-time terms...It took almost no time at all (in syndi-time terms, of course, and relative to my own usually agonizingly slow pace)to reduce the grid to one blank square - CAREENS or CAREErS, I wonder and the cross was no help at all. In the end I chose correctly, but I hate having to guess between two plausible answers.<br /><br />@spacy - if I remember the earlier comments correctly, a "Jackass" is the male and a "Jennie" is the female of the species, so HES is pretty literal.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-36603504658415062242014-06-13T14:41:27.194-04:002014-06-13T14:41:27.194-04:00"It was all over so fast"......wait for ..."It was all over so fast"......wait for it....thats what she said.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-107950567699464562014-06-13T14:26:18.755-04:002014-06-13T14:26:18.755-04:00"It was over too quickly".....wait for i..."It was over too quickly".....wait for it....thats what she said.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-66375071095814787562014-06-13T13:37:24.096-04:002014-06-13T13:37:24.096-04:00Struggled through most of this, so many names I on...Struggled through most of this, so many names I only vaguely knew, and had to accept MOTJUSTE as something that "sounded right", but in the end could not finish the SW. Got the actor and the musician, but HES and KEYTAGS defeated me. My "opener" was someplace one would wear a nameTAG, and I just blanked on any other meaning. Some days are like that!<br />DMGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-42143527627036764322014-06-13T11:40:19.217-04:002014-06-13T11:40:19.217-04:00Not easy by any means. And will someone kindly exp...Not easy by any means. And will someone kindly explain 48a?<br /><br />It took a helluva long time trying to figure out what ENL meant, vis-a-vis the USMC; then it hit: ENListed. The Marines do not draft.<br /><br />And speaking of hell, what a clue for SHEERAGONY! A description of what goes on there, I guess, but hardly a definition. No flag, but a warning; you are right on the edge, clue-wise. Watch it.<br /><br />No problem with the clue for 3d, but I wish it had been "'Over the Hedge's' carefree squirrel."<br /><br />Agreed that there are no "ropes" on boats, ropes though they be. They're lines.<br /><br />This took me just over an hour, thanks in part to my take on "Fix, as a pointer:" SPot. Oh. THAT kind of "fix." THAT kind of pointer. Named, perhaps, Spot.<br /><br />And what in the world are KEYTAGS? I don't buy OFL's attempt at an explanation. I've never heard of a "KEYTAG," so here comes the laundry. FLAG, for a non-thing!<br /><br />Say hello to MY little friend!spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-82961448803062962862014-05-11T13:20:50.166-04:002014-05-11T13:20:50.166-04:00This was a well-made Monday puzzle. Nice job to t...This was a well-made Monday puzzle. Nice job to the constructor (and thanks for keeping out proper nouns!!!), but hideous job to the editor who assigned this to Friday. I did it on the subway, blew right through it without any challenges at all. There were some likeable twists in the definitions, but the problem is that even with the twists the answers were still immediately obvious once you got a letter or two. No thinking required! At most this was a Tuesday puzzle, but Friday? Who's idea was that????Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-64784516758449056142014-05-09T22:07:36.358-04:002014-05-09T22:07:36.358-04:00DNF, and Googling didn't help, and, yes we who...DNF, and Googling didn't help, and, yes we who foolishly bought the NYT on Fri are still out there. For the bottom 100 solvers - very hard.<br /><br />Many repeat commenters here, so not as many perfect players as first thought, but a certain person needs enough rope to hang 'em. Sfingihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06903616949048940858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9270630977993962232014-05-09T21:30:04.145-04:002014-05-09T21:30:04.145-04:00I object to the cluing of 7A. I myself knew that ...I object to the cluing of 7A. I myself knew that my name might fit and reading 7D made me even more nervous. 11D sealed it.<br /><br />For those who aren't in the know (ie, those who don't read my column), I ceased being an economist years ago, so this should have read "former economist". Today's column is proof of that. Every practicing economist still believes in consumer surplus, but I focus only on producer surplus these days. <br /><br />My current profession is more accurately described as "Knowledge Czar". LLAMAs who don't understand economics as well as they think they do flock to me and my speaking fees are higher than any economist could hope for. No one listens to economists, but (and here's the thing...) I am now the Donald Trump of the left - and I sound alot smarter than he does.Paul R Krugmannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31933180930469871762014-05-09T20:39:58.691-04:002014-05-09T20:39:58.691-04:00Man, the 4.30 shift is hell. Have a cup of tea, b...Man, the 4.30 shift is hell. Have a cup of tea, be busy, then go back to sleep!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-71057270975800884922014-05-09T19:33:53.318-04:002014-05-09T19:33:53.318-04:00@Benko, BobK., and r.alph: Thanx to U, M&A has...@Benko, BobK., and r.alph: Thanx to U, M&A has a small but loyal runtpuz fan base. (Spousal remark: "they're only unwittingly encouragin you"). Sorry I misspelt "abrreviatedly", unintentionally usin the flatulent Italian version. As always, no refunds.<br /><br />But I digress. Back to today's professional, nonruntpuz event: this FriPuz had some real admirable fillins: KIBBLE crossin UTILIZE and SHEERAGONY. SIZEUP crossin LEPER.<br /> And appreciated both LLAMA and CETUS, as they were outright gimmes, which really helped M&A reconstruct a near correct rendition of LCHAIM.<br />MUMBOJUMBO was killer good, too.<br />My runty hat is ergo atip, and off, to the grid builder. Thanx for the fun workout. Come on back, any old time. Primo U-count, btw.<br /><br />***<br /><br />M&A News Desk headline: California legislature to enact law requiring a "kill switch" on smartphones, to deter mushrooming theft problems.<br />Dem. plan: Mashin the kill switch will disable phone, turnin it into a useless brick. So thief must now first kill phone owner, so that there switch can't ever get mashed.<br />Rep. version: Mashin kill switch will detonate small thermo-nuclear device imbedded in phone, killin thief and nearby friends and relatives. One block radius. Teaparty version: same, but favors the 3-block radius option, just to make sure.<br /><br />M&A<br />"Digression in a Jugular Vein"Last Silver Bull Wootnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-21180780584925765602014-05-09T17:44:59.152-04:002014-05-09T17:44:59.152-04:00yep- MIRA Sorvinoyep- MIRA SorvinoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-73570586954251611142014-05-09T17:06:32.304-04:002014-05-09T17:06:32.304-04:00@questinia, Did Daedalus construct the labyrinths ...@questinia, Did Daedalus construct the labyrinths of your mind? I laughed for ten minutes visualizing one of those mega restaurants in Beijing with a bottle of Manischewitz on the 'lazy susan' of those 20-people, round tables with everyone toasting L'Chaim.JTHurstnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-54017037751147099912014-05-09T16:53:52.144-04:002014-05-09T16:53:52.144-04:00@Lewis
Knew MIRA as a star- a movie star- as in ...@Lewis<br /><br />Knew MIRA as a star- a movie star- as in Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite.<br /><br />Never saw it used as part of the Whale constellation.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-2055270373039784582014-05-09T16:17:02.916-04:002014-05-09T16:17:02.916-04:00Midday report of relative difficulty (see my 8/1/2...Midday report of relative difficulty (see my 8/1/2009 post for an explanation of my method and my 10/15/2012 post for an explanation of a tweak to my method):<br /><br />All solvers (median solve time, average for day of week, ratio, percentile, rating)<br /><br />Fri 15:57, 21:06, 0.76, 13%, Easy<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Fri 9:59, 12:18, 0.82, 21%, Easy-Mediumsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-90962449384650893342014-05-09T14:50:44.317-04:002014-05-09T14:50:44.317-04:00@ Lewis - didn't know MIRA as a star, although...@ Lewis - didn't know MIRA as a star, although we have a golden retriever by that name. She is the niece of my avatar. The crosses for MIRA were easy, so no prob.retired_chemisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13181126754941899228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31861488282126580412014-05-09T14:40:29.569-04:002014-05-09T14:40:29.569-04:00We're on vacation in Maui and saw on the news ...We're on vacation in Maui and saw on the news that today is the 150th anniversary of Saint Damien of Molokai coming to Hawaii. St. Damien was the Catholic missionary who ministered to the people suffering from leprosy who were quarantined on the island of Molokai. He served there for fifteen years or so until he contracted the disease and died. Today's puzzle had the words LEPER and DAMIEN. Also SHEERAGONY.<br /><br />Like yesterday's, pretty easy but enjoyable.mathguynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-54642657815413731062014-05-09T14:28:59.139-04:002014-05-09T14:28:59.139-04:00@M&A - 9:44 for me, no surprise. Agree with B...@M&A - 9:44 for me, no surprise. Agree with Benko in a way, really wanted 10 A to be WALLABY.Bob Kerfufflehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02615811802419025933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-52069671538072453352014-05-09T14:28:47.342-04:002014-05-09T14:28:47.342-04:00I wouldn't swear by it but the wine our minis...I wouldn't swear by it but the wine our minister pours during communion tastes a whole lot like Manischewitz.<br />No 1 son is a Devil dog. I like that better than "jarhead"<br />Good, easy, puzzle - no complaints. I always have to pause at UTILIZ(s)E. My husband spells it with an S - well he's a NON U so I guess that splains it.<br />Had Carter before NASSER but the awful looking ADZES took care of that.<br />Buen dia to all.GILL I.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05605766053820226324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-86530173632794974912014-05-09T14:14:25.764-04:002014-05-09T14:14:25.764-04:00@M&A: Tricky one! Had ESSENE for 5 across, t...@M&A: Tricky one! Had ESSENE for 5 across, that hurt. Fell for the misdirect on 10 across and put OPOSSUM, but figured out that was wrong quick. Like the clues for 7 down and 13 across, chuckle-worthy. Also symmetry of .4 down and 12 across.<br />About 3 and a half minutes, about 3 minutes of staring with only 8 across really to show for it, then it all fell at once.Benkonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-81713952752604278042014-05-09T13:47:28.083-04:002014-05-09T13:47:28.083-04:00@Evil: I sense a naggin unfullfillment. A lingeri...@Evil: I sense a naggin unfullfillment. A lingerin need for completion. A can't get no satisfaction. A this week was weak feelin of weejection, difficulty-wise, if U will.<br /><br />Not shure if thisll help ease yer pain any, but I tried hard to ratchet up the clue voltage on this sucker, with U in mind...<br /><br />www.xwordinfo.com/Solve?id=3345&id2=48<br /><br />M&A<br />"Caring For Power Solvers Since 2014"M and Alsonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-42544787122928447402014-05-09T13:47:08.586-04:002014-05-09T13:47:08.586-04:00Hey, @Popeye. No need to be nasty!! @Wreck is so...Hey, @Popeye. No need to be nasty!! @Wreck is someone who gives those of us who are not speed, or normally end of week, solvers a nice balance to those who blog everyday to exhibit their expertise.<br /><br />For me, this was a rare Friday finish so, obviously, EASY for most who come here.ArtOnoreply@blogger.com