tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post1874634540570164927..comments2024-03-28T09:22:03.720-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: 1983 Woody Allen mockumentary / TUE 2-11-14 / Autonomous part of Ukraine / Two-time loser to Dwight Rex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger71125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56981985223339647642014-03-19T19:43:05.673-04:002014-03-19T19:43:05.673-04:00Thanks. The trick is, figuring out the date is a p...Thanks. The trick is, figuring out the date is a puzzle in itself. I'm not really complaining anyway - I've got so used to hunting down the syndi-page that I almost enjoy it.straylinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13536180563789923012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-64497079104250525212014-03-18T21:22:20.653-04:002014-03-18T21:22:20.653-04:00@strayling - when the syndi-button fails you can u...@strayling - when the syndi-button fails you can use the archives (on the right side of the page) to click on the date of the puzzle you want (which is the puzzle number for synilanders) or google "rex parker mm/dd/yy" to go directly to the puzzle, Easy-peasy.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45751717953106557892014-03-18T20:14:44.688-04:002014-03-18T20:14:44.688-04:00CRIMEA is certainly relevant to today's headli...CRIMEA is certainly relevant to today's headlines, but the clue went out of date between original publication and syndication. "Autonomous part of Ukraine" no longer seems to apply. Either it's not part of Ukraine anymore ... or it's not really autonomous anymore.Joshuanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-25447790078524662922014-03-18T19:38:37.424-04:002014-03-18T19:38:37.424-04:00Hot spot this week, CRIMEA, and Putin doing his be...Hot spot this week, CRIMEA, and Putin doing his best to push the West's buttons, brought this cute puzzle into sharp focus. With so much relevance, I jumped right to Syndiland to comment. Doubt that Matt and Jeff had any idea that their PRESS date, plus 5 weeks, would be so timely.<br /><br />That said, I got a kick out of the puzzle. Though my LAUNDRY LIST rarely includes any PRESSing. If it needs ironing, I don't buy it.<br /><br />@DMG, The Men's final at Indian Wells was a great match, except that I was pulling for Fed. He almost pulled it off. IMHO he's a real class act. Did you see his twin girls watching their Daddy? So cute! Unfortunately, the Women's final match was not well contested by an injured Radwanska. Makes you wonder how she got as far as she did. <br /><br />2 little pairs, I FOLD, Gingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07156872089175084024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-47601211624690985002014-03-18T19:05:35.064-04:002014-03-18T19:05:35.064-04:00The captchas are easy compared to finding the page...The captchas are easy compared to finding the page. That often takes me longer than doing the puzzle.straylinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13536180563789923012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-20960109992930381582014-03-18T19:02:16.561-04:002014-03-18T19:02:16.561-04:00CRIMEA?! If only we could figure out which crosswo...CRIMEA?! If only we could figure out which crossword answers are the ones predicting the future.<br /><br />Or used to pass on secret messages in the past, like the British did in WW2. Good thing they didn't have syndi-land back then or the Allies might not have won.<br /><br />Coincidences aside, I loved this theme and the difficulty was spot on for a Tuesday.straylinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13536180563789923012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45021459529140599072014-03-18T15:05:31.539-04:002014-03-18T15:05:31.539-04:00Eschewing my usual laundry list of complaints abou...Eschewing my usual laundry list of complaints about this blog, including the extremely tedious task of trying to find the puzzle for we syndifolk, I liked this puzzle, old-timey or not. Hey it had ABE Simpson in it, and HOARDER, which is au courant in terms of modern disabilities/neuroses.<br /><br />Nehemiah is a fine book of the Bible, I think. Never read it, though. Would it be better to have the full name of various books of the Bible? <br /><br />@Spacey - thanks for leading off the syndi comments so reliably.<br /><br />Indecipherable capcha looming...<br /><br />I was right. Next try...rain forestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61534341159223958412014-03-18T14:49:03.453-04:002014-03-18T14:49:03.453-04:00The fill may have seemed "stale" to Rex ...The fill may have seemed "stale" to Rex but for syndi-solvers CRIMEA could be taken directly from the headlines so it seemed fresh enough to me. <br /><br />ADLAI had to wait a while because I mis-remembered his name as something like Adelaide, which obviously wouldn't fit - it turns out I was recalling the name of the mother of a friend from a very long time ago.<br /><br />As I look around my house I wonder if I am becoming a HOARDER OF SORTS. I think it's time for a yard sale (after the snow is gone, which doesn't look like it's going to be any time soon around these parts).<br /><br />I fine offering from a constructor making his debut appearance - I liked it.<br /><br />444/33 - good for nothing.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-5795872491907497202014-03-18T13:46:21.238-04:002014-03-18T13:46:21.238-04:00A cute puzzle. Did have to change lovEABLE to DATE...A cute puzzle. Did have to change lovEABLE to DATEABLE, which I find hard to believe is a real word, But, the change was forced when I realized nobody ever mentions their old MODELo!<br /><br />Four 6's.DMGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-7278806777751457772014-03-18T11:27:50.835-04:002014-03-18T11:27:50.835-04:00@anon 9:27pm: Hand up for changing sq. 62 to "...@anon 9:27pm: Hand up for changing sq. 62 to "M." Then 62a would describe my reaction to this puzzle. The theme just didn't do anything for me. The final words pretty much mean what they mean in a literal "laundry list." Well, maybe excepting FOLD.<br /><br />The fill is certainly not Chen-worthy; I'm a bit surprised he'd settle for so many awkward abbrs.--including the leadoff: ITD SWED USAFB NEH and the ugly partial ASKA. C'mon, Jeffy, you're better than that. Two THEs didn't help. The whole thing left me high and dry. How could you go to press with that stuff?<br /><br />Okay, there were some flashes of brilliance: GLAZED/ZELIG is great, and the 7-stacks are nothing to sneeze at. I guess overall I'd CALLITAWASH.<br /><br />And now, Mr. Syndicated coordinator...HEY! YOU! Yeah, I'm talkin' to you! WAKE UP! You're still stuck on Sunday! You keep falling asleep on the job, you soon won't have one. Capish?<br /><br />Boat, 5's over 3's.spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-25385287005624819392014-02-12T01:28:56.782-05:002014-02-12T01:28:56.782-05:00This week's relative difficulty ratings. See m...This week's relative difficulty ratings. See my 8/1/2009 post for an explanation and my 10/15/2012 post for an explanation of a tweak I've made to my method. In a nutshell, the higher the ratio, the higher this week's median solve time is relative to the average for the corresponding day of the week.<br /><br />All solvers (this week's median solve time, average for day of week, ratio, percentile, rating)<br /><br />Mon 6:00, 6:20, 0.95, 24%, Easy-Medium<br />Tue 8:01, 8:15, 0.97, 40%, Easy-Medium<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:44, 3:59, 0.94, 17%, Easy<br />Tue 4:47, 5:12, 0.92, 18%, Easysanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31362127130208932372014-02-11T19:54:36.711-05:002014-02-11T19:54:36.711-05:00@Ellen S:
"And aroint thee, witch, aroint the...@Ellen S:<br />"And aroint thee, witch, aroint thee!" -- King Lear, III.iv<br />Similar quote, in Macbeth, I.iii, methinks.<br />(Did a dash of research.)<br /><br />Aroint is the grandpappy of skeedaddle, I reckon. Witches got about as much respect, back then, as U's.<br /><br />M&A<br /><br /><br />Masked and ArointomoUsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-88269335390614745872014-02-11T19:41:45.891-05:002014-02-11T19:41:45.891-05:00Deucedly dificult to get a clear definition of &qu...Deucedly dificult to get a clear definition of "roint" in Shakespeare, so this will have to do:<br /><br />aroint W(fe.':avaunt, begone Mac. i. iii. 6, Lr. iii. iv, <br />127. ^ Cf. the north-counti-y ' roint ' or ' rynt <br />tliee' = get out of the way. <br /><br />and BTW, it would be fair to think of an IRA (Individual Retirement Account) as an envelope, and the CD (Certificate of Deposit) or whatever other investments one has, as the document that goes in the envelope. There really is a difference, but it is often overlooked.<br />Googlenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91492483610079082462014-02-11T19:21:50.211-05:002014-02-11T19:21:50.211-05:00@Loren, it's kind of late in the day for our S...@Loren, it's kind of late in the day for our Shakespeare scholar to dig up the reference to "rOINT, but I think there was one. It was a curse. Something about "roint [or roynt?] and runyon [or runion?]" A Merry Wife of Windsor, maybe. And, FWIW, I never SORT, either. White socks in with levis all the time. Once every 10 years I do a load of white and add some bleach. Or actually, not that often More accurately, "once." <br /><br />My mother voted for ADLAI both times. I was moritifed because she never picked the winner. I can't really remember if I had figured it out by the second time (I was only 9 in 1952), but some people never do. "Oh, you're going to vote for him? He can't possibly win." Well, if nobody votes for him, sure. <br /><br />And -- @anon and @seano -- I have several IRA CDs, with fixed interest rates, from banks. Fraction of a pct. would be more like it, though. But they're insured and everything. Ellen Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00473445503706985149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45385934913629659042014-02-11T17:44:30.873-05:002014-02-11T17:44:30.873-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Loren Muse Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05308030011870397977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-30742397901922308662014-02-11T17:44:19.715-05:002014-02-11T17:44:19.715-05:00@M&A - you know what's worse than having R...@M&A - you know what's worse than having ROINT in your "finished" grid is not even questioning it and thinking maybe it would be the word of the day. It's growing on me, though. It's like Scoobyspeak.Loren Muse Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05308030011870397977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-88066332887685931752014-02-11T16:31:31.163-05:002014-02-11T16:31:31.163-05:00For whatever reason, I was thinking 31A was the el...For whatever reason, I was thinking 31A was the electric company ("UTIL") and was temporarily stumped by "UOINT" and "TPP" for 31 and 32 down. <br /><br />Pretty straightforward once I got the them and realized 17A wasn't "call i a draw".Davenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24430996177671924512014-02-11T16:11:57.699-05:002014-02-11T16:11:57.699-05:00Midday 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 />Tue 7:57, 8:15, 0.96, 37%, Easy-Medium<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Tue 5:04, 5:12, 0.97, 38%, Easy-Mediumsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-39665350699910791372014-02-11T15:31:53.639-05:002014-02-11T15:31:53.639-05:00@muse -- I am always suspicious of visitors bearin...@muse -- I am always suspicious of visitors bearin odd socks. I have cousins whose levis I swear could probably stand up in the corner on their own, tho.<br /><br />ROINT is one tough dnf. U had RAIL as a Monopoly square? ooftah.<br /><br />@Bob K. Got 'er done. May need to publish another puz along with it, so other folks won't hurt themselves tryin to do yers.<br /><br />M&AM and Alsonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-88861342627254270862014-02-11T15:06:36.214-05:002014-02-11T15:06:36.214-05:00@pmdm - I would never take sides unless I was &quo...@pmdm - I would never take sides unless I was "in the know". I was merely mentioning that he gets more than his share of bad press. chefwenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03999206352243329280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-82187901250778711522014-02-11T14:40:52.561-05:002014-02-11T14:40:52.561-05:00@Loren love picturing your statue. LOL@Loren love picturing your statue. LOLchefbeahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15195945085405126511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24973648187513437022014-02-11T14:22:07.597-05:002014-02-11T14:22:07.597-05:00First, congrats to Matthew and kudos to Professor ...First, congrats to Matthew and kudos to Professor Chen. Nice work!<br />I thought “piano” meant to play sweetly? Or was that a taco sandwich that was sweet maybe?<br /><br />@M&A – I blew your first best favorite cross and thus had a dnf. I had RAIL/ROINT. I really did. I never take trains anywhere, so I just vaguely thought, “Who knew?” @seano – that was after I erased “util.” I never play Monopoly.<br /><br />My “pull on” was “don” before TUG.<br /><br />Yeah – those pesky “flies” (doing the backstroke) were in my soup before HAIRS. Finding a HAIR in your soup is one thing, but HAIRS? Think they were TEASED UP first? Ick.<br /><br />@chefbea and @Carola – I had the same thought immediately for the SORT. I, personally, never SORT, and I’m alive to talk about it. I mean the jeans go in with the white socks. HERESY.<br /><br />Speaking of socks, @M&A – I know, right? (I love saying that.) Every single load I take out of my dryer has at least one odd sock. Every. Single. Load. So I’m struck dumb when one of my son’s friends comes over with this lone sock and says, “My mom says this is yours.” Seriously? She’s such an accomplished laundress that she not only never has odd socks but can spot an interloper sock? Wow.<br /><br />OSSIFY. When I went to Paris for a summer study abroad, I lived in a hall and had my own room with a small sink. I had just bought a pair of Levis - <b>not</b> pre-washed – those really dark, really stiff new ones. After a while, I decided to wash them, and being afraid of the French washers and not understanding them, I tried to wash these jeans in my little sink. Har. And then rinse them. Right. Two and a half weeks later, they had dried, and, I kid you not, I stood them in a corner like a Levi Statue. Talk about becoming inflexible. Sheesh.<br /><br />Matthew – I’ll look forward to more from you! Jeff – see you in Brooklyn!Loren Muse Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05308030011870397977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-25896780781613524942014-02-11T14:00:40.786-05:002014-02-11T14:00:40.786-05:00I briefly gave flies serious consideration but hav...I briefly gave flies serious consideration but having IMPALE and DARKAGE in the NW and LOATHE and ADLAI in the Rockies made LEAVE HIGH AND DRY imperative. So, HAIRS it was. <br /><br />RAIL first but rOINT made no sense. Had a hard time remembering what's on the Monopoly board. <br /><br />I thought this was a fine puzzle. I don't mind the three letter weirdnesses. In fact, I think it's usually clever that people can come up with plausible ones to tie stacks together. The often elicit groans but I really enjoy "stupid jokes". My step-daughter and I used to collect and trade them.<br /><br />Matthew, Jeff, terrific job.Numinoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01263999193499725814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-89002506782544101112014-02-11T13:44:31.328-05:002014-02-11T13:44:31.328-05:00Agree with Anonymous above, IRAs do not "have...Agree with Anonymous above, IRAs do not "have" a (especially guaranteed) percentage yield. You can put IRA money in things that guarantee percentage yields, like CODs. That's what I had first. <br /><br />Also, was I the only one who had UTIL in 31D? First RAIL, then UTIL... Thrown off because the IL fit so nice.seanonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-28452279238931683972014-02-11T12:51:24.464-05:002014-02-11T12:51:24.464-05:00The Mrs. and I are taking spring break in her land...The Mrs. and I are taking spring break in her land of fractional ethnic origin EIRE and (at a similar fraction) mine CYMRU. Which leads me to ask constructors, could I get a little CYMRU, please? <br />Diolch, as the Cymry might say.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07107804787389636647noreply@blogger.com