tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post2180956598963732581..comments2024-03-28T07:24:00.582-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Title trio of a 1980 Pulitzer winner, Home of Sanssouci Palace, Limoncello ingredient, Lab growth need, Saturday, August 10, 2013Rex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61189108073394450182013-09-14T18:57:24.070-04:002013-09-14T18:57:24.070-04:00@Cary in Boulder - my thoughts are with you and al...@Cary in Boulder - my thoughts are with you and all of those affected by the flooding in your area. I hope the forthcoming additional rain doesn't make an already tragic situation even worse - stay safe.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-62290554138279574552013-09-14T16:23:18.473-04:002013-09-14T16:23:18.473-04:001A was a gimme, so I had a great start to the puzz...1A was a gimme, so I had a great start to the puzzle. Much of this was baffling at first, especially in the East where I had 9 write-vers. Putting ZWEI in 42A instead of 41A didn't help. The bottom was simply a case of get a few downs, change APPLE to ATARI, intuit a few letters for the 15 stacks, and voila, complete but messy looking puzzle. Didn't understand ZEROES for a long time after I finished, but I now get it. Never heard of AHN.rain forestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-72726451750233553752013-09-14T14:51:22.431-04:002013-09-14T14:51:22.431-04:00Haven't gotten to today's puzzle, or yeste...Haven't gotten to today's puzzle, or yesterday's for that matter. Been a little bit, er, distracted. In fact yesterday's paper wasn't delivered until today. Supposed to be more rain tonight and tomorrow after getting a respite yesterday. We have been luckier than most people; only lots of muck from a drain outside our garage that keeps backing up. Our garage flooded early on, but we got that fixed. So many people with flooded basements ... or worse. National Guard choppers periodically going overhead, evacuating people from nearby areas that are totally cut off due to washed out roads, lack of power and potable water. It's been surreal.Cary in Bouldernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-30080272902896311052013-09-14T11:05:48.199-04:002013-09-14T11:05:48.199-04:00@spacecraft - You raise an interesting point. If ...@spacecraft - You raise an interesting point. If you drive IN a lane, that is, within the lines designating the lane, you may be a bit unsteady but I doubt that you would be charged with WEAVING. However, if your line of travel crosses from one lane to another and back again quickly, you might be considered to be WEAVING -- ON the lanes.Joseph Marie Charles dit Jacquardnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-66585005880980975382013-09-14T10:40:28.572-04:002013-09-14T10:40:28.572-04:00Strange...GODELESCHERBACH was just recently mentio...Strange...GODELESCHERBACH was just recently mentioned in a clue; now here today it's the leadoff hitter. Do constructors get their ideas from doing other puzzles? Hey, why not. BTW, its recent mention was the ONLY way I could get it. Worked from the bottom up.<br /><br />One reason the top was so hard was a single-letter mistake in a clue: "Dangerous things to weave on." I resisted LANES for a long time, because you drive ON the highway--but you drive IN lanes. You do NOT drive ON them. That's gonna be a five-yarder for using a bad preposition to end a clue with.<br /><br />This has to be a milestone for me: I out-solved our lead blogger! OK, he's a sub, but still. Yes, I was somehow able to get it all sans benefit of lookups. I think I was just lucky. Threw down some of those entries on a wing and a prayer, and they worked out.<br /><br />Don't try this at home.spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-22782219717146662013-08-14T11:54:09.154-04:002013-08-14T11:54:09.154-04:00Wow, I was off the grid, so to speak, on Saturday,...Wow, I was off the grid, so to speak, on Saturday, and so I just got to this yesterday.<br /><br />What a struggle -- almost 90 minutes, but I finally slew it. Ares and Eros were the very last ones.<br /><br />A great challenge. "Bits of 100" really had me as did most of the long ones.<br /><br />gpo Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-3539148150822792042013-08-13T06:31:23.894-04:002013-08-13T06:31:23.894-04:00@Stephen - "Bits" as used here means &qu...@Stephen - "Bits" as used here means "pieces", so the pieces of the number 100 are its digits, 2 of which are "0".Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-29835125294716244522013-08-12T21:55:20.560-04:002013-08-12T21:55:20.560-04:00BTW, I know full well what bits and bytes are, but...BTW, I know full well what bits and bytes are, but the clue and the answer simply do not compute.Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16911901473993027184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-41802469710447458302013-08-12T21:52:57.575-04:002013-08-12T21:52:57.575-04:00Gotta ask again, because the explanation from Susa...Gotta ask again, because the explanation from Susan did not filter through my puzzled brain: Why is "100 bits" a clue for ZEROES?Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16911901473993027184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-76484230578298184742013-08-11T15:13:27.045-04:002013-08-11T15:13:27.045-04:00A fresh look on Sunday, together with a few short ...A fresh look on Sunday, together with a few short answers penned in by WPP overnight, enabled me to reduce the grid to two blank squares in 1a (my French is rusty and know nothing about romance novelist's awards) and a couple of wrong squares elsewhere. I'm willing to declare victory and move on to the Sunday puzzle.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-35098190174568664102013-08-10T22:29:00.923-04:002013-08-10T22:29:00.923-04:00Hey, wait a minute. I think I mixed up my SNL alum...Hey, wait a minute. I think I mixed up my SNL alums. Sorry for any confusion. Congrats to all lollapuzzoola expats, and thanks to those who enjoyed the write up.treedwellerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12634227778469664442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-57094734263827539612013-08-10T21:21:32.276-04:002013-08-10T21:21:32.276-04:00My head is still spinning from the puzzles at LP6,...My head is still spinning from the puzzles at LP6, but I came home to my paper NY Times and did this puzzle, enjoying the challenge. Finished with just one write-over, 30 A, Happening, had EVENT before AFOOT.<br /><br />(PS - Rex won a trophy!)Bob Kerfufflehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02615811802419025933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-62669256380327734882013-08-10T20:50:03.109-04:002013-08-10T20:50:03.109-04:00That's Don Novello (Father Guido Sarducci on S...That's Don Novello (Father Guido Sarducci on SNL).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-66232012503880196892013-08-10T20:20:21.059-04:002013-08-10T20:20:21.059-04:00I am duly and truly humbled - I'll take anothe...I am duly and truly humbled - I'll take another crack at it tomorrow when WPP can offer some assistance.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-81701157785288375892013-08-10T20:19:14.940-04:002013-08-10T20:19:14.940-04:00Ridiculously hard for me, personally. I usually on...Ridiculously hard for me, personally. I usually only do crosswords on weekdays because I pick up a paper on the way to work, but decided to actually subscribe today. Are all Saturday puzzles this tough?<br /><br />Anyway, there were some good clues here and some really, really bad ones. <br /><br />-Loved the clues for DOGFOOD and ONESECONDPLEASE. Could not wrap my head around the "Vehicular bomb?" clue until I had --SEL. That's a pretty clever way to clue such a commonly used crossword answer.<br /><br />-Hated the clue for OPS. Short for opportunities, I'm guessing? That's pretty awful. I was sure it was IFS and refused to erase it, so that immediately threw me off on the two 15-letters at 49-A and 56-A. Also had to CRINGE at the clue for SOA, it was simply too OFF THE CUFF.<br /><br />-Crossing TAK with NOKOMIS was just plain cruel, especially when using such an obscure (to me, anyway) clue for POTSDAM.<br /><br />Well that's it for me.Erasures Inevitablenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-14947383984789323292013-08-10T19:30:11.437-04:002013-08-10T19:30:11.437-04:00A pisser,but doable.A pisser,but doable.Caseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13399314307590534022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-69094766495136310852013-08-10T18:18:11.448-04:002013-08-10T18:18:11.448-04:00Yay! Finished a Saturday after Googling the 1980 ...Yay! Finished a Saturday after Googling the 1980 Pulitzer Prize winner. Anybody know that one off the top? Well, congratulations if you did. Ther rest I got without having to resort to ASSISTANCE, STATE or otherwise. However, other than being able to fit seven 15-letter answers into the grid, I can't see how the puzzle got published what with answers such as CCC, HEE, ETD, OPS, SOA [so a wise guy?], PERF, SES [a female french pronoun?], and INDS so predominant. PANES and BOOK and perhaps PHIL and PERF did suggest a theme but little else supported it. I certainly admire anybody who gets a puzzle accepted, but this one was a bit of a stretch even though I'm pleased to have completed it. Maybe I shouldn't complain, but I'm a bit hacked off on behalf of those who have received rejections referring the the NYT "rules".LaneBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-3336824162897177662013-08-10T18:04:54.310-04:002013-08-10T18:04:54.310-04:00This 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 6:50, 6:09, 1.11, 87%, Challenging<br />Tue 7:23, 8:13, 0.90, 19%, Easy<br />Wed 8:57, 9:43, 0.92, 32%, Easy-Medium<br />Thu 20:27, 16:30, 1.27, 86%, Challenging<br />Fri 15:55, 18:52, 0.84, 24%, Easy-Medium<br />Sat 30:42, 25:40, 1.20, 89%, Challenging<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 4:15, 3:47, 1.13, 89%, Challenging<br />Tue 4:42, 4:57, 0.95, 30%, Easy-Medium<br />Wed 5:24, 5:35, 0.97, 42%, Medium<br />Thu 11:42, 9:30, 1.41, 90%, Challenging<br />Fri 8:48, 11:04, 0.80, 19%, Easy<br />Sat 20:02, 15:51, 1.26, 89%, Challengingsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-85487644664980437122013-08-10T17:31:54.104-04:002013-08-10T17:31:54.104-04:00Gahhhhh! I had 17-Across down as SAPANDSUBSTANCE, ...Gahhhhh! I had 17-Across down as SAPANDSUBSTANCE, which makes 2-Down (Sch. founded by a Pentacostal preacher) as ORA (which, Google tells me, happens to be a religious school!), and 3-Down (Turn down) as DIP. This made for some frantic head-scratching at puzzle's end. Sheesh.Drewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11165477504571175899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-30499846930128418622013-08-10T16:32:24.119-04:002013-08-10T16:32:24.119-04:00I didn't find this hard except for NOKOMIS, wh...I didn't find this hard except for NOKOMIS, who I had never heard of, crossing PANES which could just as easily have been PAGES (in a stamp album, for instance). Otherwise, not a bad piece of work.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06485410374923842372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-22776403727667620252013-08-10T15:25:55.688-04:002013-08-10T15:25:55.688-04:00Hard. Middle resulted in DNF. Others may have note...Hard. Middle resulted in DNF. Others may have noted already, but that is Don Novello, Father Guido Sarduci, in the picture. <br /><br />Hard. Ran up the flag after two hours. John Vhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10557037910799243636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-79796902323112695282013-08-10T14:32:35.571-04:002013-08-10T14:32:35.571-04:00@m&a -- great post!
This was tough for me; fi...@m&a -- great post!<br /><br />This was tough for me; finally had to Google. But I loved the challenge and the question marked clues (as well as the DOGFOOD clue -- classic!) Impressed that the 15s crossing at the middle. Lots of grid gruel, surely the only way to make this puzzle work.Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09709142959535977331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-41824696143473245762013-08-10T14:32:16.259-04:002013-08-10T14:32:16.259-04:00Hi Mr. Rex and thank you for your riveting entries...Hi Mr. Rex and thank you for your riveting entries and comments on the crosswords that I look forward to each day upon awakening. I do my puzzles with a black BIC ballpoint mostly because I like the feeling of the pen on the newspaper as I etch the letters in the squares. Today (Saturday) I had to "write over" ten squares, not bad, huh? P.S.: I'll be 74 in a few months, God willing (and if he exists).TOMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-2287733722629410072013-08-10T13:40:49.846-04:002013-08-10T13:40:49.846-04:00p.s.
@Melodious: Have U wurked the M&A Two Bit...p.s.<br />@Melodious: Have U wurked the M&A Two Bits puz? Sounds like U'd be a fit for it. See comments section, two or three months ago.<br /><br />Things we know about today's constructor, based on puz entries and partial DNA evidence...<br />* collects stamps<br />* speaks French<br />* partial to abbrs.<br />* is actually James Coburn in disguise (really... check out his xwordinfo pic)<br />* lives in a tree (whoops nope, that's the excellent write-up sub-dude)<br />* his mere byline causes 4-Oh to leave town<br />* has no more idea what SUMANDSUBSTANCE and Liang dynasty means than M&A does<br />* will pull wings off flies, if pushed<br />* will use SOA in a puz, if pushed<br />* spends too much time in airports<br /><br />yep. Off to check out the weekend parties at UNC-W...M and A part deuxnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-36147708772138192772013-08-10T13:36:34.857-04:002013-08-10T13:36:34.857-04:00Very embarrassing! I'm even listed in acknowle...Very embarrassing! I'm even listed in acknowledgements of GEB, but struggled a long time w/ top three lines. Glad in a way that I managed almost to forget Ann Romney's name so soon, but it would have helped. <br /><br />But did finish finally, google-free. Was stupidly snookered by Snicker clue, would say heh was more like right answer than hee once finally saw it.<br /><br />Do love a challenging Sat, so thanks Mr. McGI skip M-Wnoreply@blogger.com