tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post2273736624794507500..comments2024-03-28T17:24:22.634-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Player of TV's Caine / THU 2-16-12 / Lined as furnace hearth / Market town that's suburb of London / Film planner / 1960s title sitcom characterRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger129125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-70464573973037107642017-06-17T20:38:25.347-04:002017-06-17T20:38:25.347-04:00Turning a semantically saturated phrase into a ver...Turning a semantically saturated phrase into a verb is not comparable to reducing a person to an object. The latter is something only a shit would do.Tyler James Younghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03024488370553690685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-72534322538917818922012-03-23T17:06:24.919-04:002012-03-23T17:06:24.919-04:00Late to the party. Well, as a syndi denizen, I...Late to the party. Well, as a syndi denizen, I'm always late, but I was away for this one, and so couldn't get to it until today.<br />Comments;<br />tough sledding, though Reigate, respecter, fluff, howler and fettled were known to me. <br /><br />so tired of adolescent comments in this blog. I know you're not supposed to get personal, but @dk, every single day, enough. Don't need slobber here. Figure it out.rain forestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-34882115100704680342012-03-23T14:35:28.533-04:002012-03-23T14:35:28.533-04:00When I look up a crossword clue and find a Rex Par...When I look up a crossword clue and find a Rex Parker site, I know I'm in good hands.<br /><br />Thank you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-78975911177407457422012-03-23T01:49:53.539-04:002012-03-23T01:49:53.539-04:00Didn't anyone else have LAZYBONES for 2DSlugab...Didn't anyone else have LAZYBONES for 2DSlugabed? I was really sory to haave to give it up. Much more fun than "late riser" <br />I would far rather eat a chocolate mousse than a mudpie.<br />Could not get on the wave length for most of this puzzle but "agentry" was the only word I thought questionable.Sharon AKnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-29995564842355023422012-03-22T21:42:07.033-04:002012-03-22T21:42:07.033-04:00An almost-DNF, thanks to a murky NE that featured ...An almost-DNF, thanks to a murky NE that featured MUDPIE (really? There's an edible dessert called that?) right under AGENTRY. I was astounded when, after AGENCY left me a letter short and I looked in my Scrabble dictionary for similar words, to find that one staring out at me. I saw it and still couldn't believe it. AGENTRY. Who knew what depths English wordsmiths could sink to? And all this leading to FLUFF for "boo-boo?" (Hey mommy, I have a fluff. --What do you want me to do about that??)<br /><br />I actually finished with a single-letter ERROR, at 16d. FUMBLE never occurred to me; I wish it had, because I'd have put it in. I guessed MUMBLE. The across word? No idea.<br /><br />One note about RESPECTER: on all these pharmaceutical ads that mention RISK FACTORS, I kept hearing today's word instead. I wondered for the longest time what RESPECTERS had to do with health.<br /><br />The cluing is very Saturday, which didn't hel-p matters.Spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-2439218113989388052012-03-22T19:44:58.397-04:002012-03-22T19:44:58.397-04:00@DMGrandma - I found this at Define.com: "Hem...@DMGrandma - I found this at Define.com: "Hem \Hem\, verb (used without an object) [[root]15. See {Hem}, interj.] To make the sound expressed by the word hem; hence, tohesitate in speaking. ''Hem, and stroke thy beard.'' --Shak." <br /><br />And The Word Detective adds this: "So, put together, “hem and haw” vividly describes that moment when our mouth stalls for time while our mind attempts to assess the ramifications of our possible answers, the mental “looking” before the verbal “leaping.” And while it’s annoying to ask a question and be answered with “hemming and hawing,” there’s an argument to be made that the world could do with a little less instant certainty."<br /><br />So I think I am willing to accept "Stumble, in a way" as a legitimate Thursday clue for HEM.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-1811235822376636612012-03-22T19:12:29.100-04:002012-03-22T19:12:29.100-04:00Thanks @Dirigonzo. That occurred to me, but to ...Thanks @Dirigonzo. That occurred to me, but to hem and haw is to be evasive, and that isn't the same as to stumble.DMGrandmanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-5017568813602210812012-03-22T18:38:46.476-04:002012-03-22T18:38:46.476-04:00Well, I'm with @fergus wishing a little more l...Well, I'm with @fergus wishing a little more love had been bestowed on the puz. Jim Page gave us plenty of opportunities to screw up and it seems we found every one of them, and then had to name them! It seems like most folk finished (if the comments are to believed) so the cluing must not have been all that bad. Myself, I bUMBLE(d) my way through and found it satisfyingly challenging.<br /><br />@DMGrandma - as in "HEM and haw", I think.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-57546880661188424182012-03-22T17:36:47.689-04:002012-03-22T17:36:47.689-04:00Whassup with this? Agree with all the critical com...Whassup with this? Agree with all the critical comments above. Puzzle was indeed Challenging but only because it was so poorly constructed. IMHO the true revealer was 14D - CRUD. Nuff said.Waxy in Montrealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04395751487137805245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-18750797048447174862012-03-22T16:58:40.417-04:002012-03-22T16:58:40.417-04:00I know better but can't resist. A person who ...I know better but can't resist. A person who enters a country illegally is illegal as long as he remains there. Under the circumstances I do believe many "illegals" should be legalized, but nevertheless I still believe in calling a spade a spade. Playing card that is.LongBeachLeenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-33084001665672980282012-03-22T16:43:50.995-04:002012-03-22T16:43:50.995-04:00Agree with all the comments about the "robot ...Agree with all the comments about the "robot words". This is the third time I've tried to post this as my iPad keeps trying to make sense out of them. Think I've turned that off??? But. I'm here because I don't understand how 36A is "hem". Must be my own blind spot as nobody else mentioned it. Now to see ifI, areal person, can post this.DMGrandmanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10214905004293233502012-03-22T16:03:33.504-04:002012-03-22T16:03:33.504-04:00When I finished this puzzle on paper, I wanted to ...When I finished this puzzle on paper, I wanted to plicate it.<br />Then it would have had some use.connie in seattlenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-70636520607270716572012-03-22T13:31:22.246-04:002012-03-22T13:31:22.246-04:00The ILLEGAL FULMINATion again! One of the first Re...The ILLEGAL FULMINATion again! One of the first Rex blogs that I read had the PC and grammatical discussion of this reference to illegal border crossers. <br /><br />In my next friendly Texas Hold'em game I'm going to announce that I PLICATE. New word for me.<br /><br />In four years of night law school I never once heard the term AGENTRY. Mr. Page, you should be ashamed. But in your defense, President Dub legitimized RESPECTER.Solving in Seattlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04249420848844874936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-82960094572890679382012-03-22T13:23:29.956-04:002012-03-22T13:23:29.956-04:00Not happy with this Thursday puzzle. There was no...Not happy with this Thursday puzzle. There was nothing intellectual here, just slang and a theme of error references. <br /><br />There were however a couple of new-to-me words, 16A -- Fettled and 57A Plicate.<br /><br />I prefer a challenging Thursday puzzle, or at least a clever gimmick.Lola505https://www.blogger.com/profile/09249427833942985450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24833035508515771332012-02-19T23:54:50.283-05:002012-02-19T23:54:50.283-05:00Kind of a gnarly one that took me much longer than...Kind of a gnarly one that took me much longer than usual for a Thursday. Some pretty strange word usage, although I did get a chuckle out of "ILLEGAL" mostly from anticipating the kind of commentary it would generate.<br /><br />If you steal from a grocery store, that's illegal. If you run a red light, that's illegal. If you run the border, that's ... oh, wait ... undocumented.Bungerting Balonerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16946750778371089176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-14208627086186199862012-02-17T17:34:46.463-05:002012-02-17T17:34:46.463-05:00Did the puzzle a day late, but got a charge readin...Did the puzzle a day late, but got a charge reading the blog.<br /><br />My my we do get fluffed up when we DNF.<br /><br />Chill man chill.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56747570623491425662012-02-17T16:29:14.900-05:002012-02-17T16:29:14.900-05:00@Evil - It's really not specious. I accept you...@Evil - It's really not specious. I accept your intent. Please accept that the effect is the same as "wetback."Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-72545187458252930932012-02-17T12:13:19.067-05:002012-02-17T12:13:19.067-05:00This was a theme with good potential, in search of...This was a theme with good potential, in search of better grid and fill.<br /><br />The Knicks should sign it to sit on the bench for a few games, then perhaps someday we'll get to see its full abilities.Howard Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00766792795622192271noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-39789514190018667372012-02-17T10:30:05.710-05:002012-02-17T10:30:05.710-05:00Fenster refers to a short-lived comedy starring Jo...Fenster refers to a short-lived comedy starring John Astin and Marty Ingles called "I'm Dickens, He's Fenster"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24636484236311133012012-02-17T08:33:11.095-05:002012-02-17T08:33:11.095-05:00I knew REIGATE, figured out FETTLED from the ordin...I knew REIGATE, figured out FETTLED from the ordinary expression "in fine fettle," do object to ILLEGAL in that sense - I mean, if we use it to mean someone who once broke a law, we are problably all illegals -- but the lack of symmetry did bother me. Also, it seemed like any of the theme clues could be used for any of the answers. And what I've been seeing lately is WHADDUP - so that held me up.jberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02169065390875378077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10759966085654680842012-02-17T04:12:45.593-05:002012-02-17T04:12:45.593-05:00@BIRD - Had the same idea. The puzzle is one big s...@BIRD - Had the same idea. The puzzle is one big self-reference. <br /><br />ILLEGAL !?!? Are Tom Tancredo and Lou Dobbs guest editing? Did a double-take as I was filling. <br /><br />ILLEGAL as a noun is in the language, but it's dehumanizing. "You can't have any ILLEGALS working on our property. I'm running for office for Pete's sake, I can't have ILLEGALS." Mitt Romney October 2011Don Byasnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-5370467563910557952012-02-17T02:51:59.348-05:002012-02-17T02:51:59.348-05:00To try to compare "illegal" to those oth...To try to compare "illegal" to those other pejorative terms is specious, Z. <br /><br />My point: After trying for the better part of my 60 years to accede to the (generally unknown) language preferences of others, it dawned on me that it was a futile exercise. <br /><br />As we've seen in this discussion, the single word 'illegal' affects everyone a little differently. Some say it's okay if used as an adjective with 'alien', some say it shouldn't be used at all in this context, some have no problem with it.<br /><br />So I'm sincere when I say that my only judgment must be: Do I myself intend to offend? Because many---even common---words like 'illegal' will offend someone. Some people, in my opinion, actually like to act offended because it affords a certain power over the speaker/writer---the ability to change someone's behavior/language is indeed intoxicating....<br /><br />I don't use the 'n' word, or the 'c' word, or a few others similar to those you mention because I don't see any way to use them without an intent to be offensive.<br /><br />Dougevil doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17593231055589228837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50947887424017708562012-02-16T22:05:47.785-05:002012-02-16T22:05:47.785-05:00@Ulrich - beat me to it. I used to tell my inmates...@Ulrich - beat me to it. I used to tell my inmates to open the Fenster, and being Latins, they knew what I meant, and probably thought it was English. <br /><br />Though I mostly hated it, I did learn two real words: PLICATE, and FETTLE, both of which I will use in talking to my antiques.<br /><br />Had mousse before MUDPIE, director before SCENARIST. And many blanks.<br />And BONER means something entirely different in my world. <br /><br />Mr Page, too clever by half, MUDPIES are for throwing.Sfingihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06903616949048940858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45116293404560929372012-02-16T22:04:05.787-05:002012-02-16T22:04:05.787-05:00This week's relative difficulty ratings. See m...This week's relative difficulty ratings. See my 8/1/2009 post for an explanation. 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 5:49, 6:49, 0.85, 4%, Easy (5th lowest median solve time of 138 Mondays)<br />Tue 8:50, 8:52, 1.00, 55%, Medium<br />Wed 10:52, 11:49, 0.92, 36%, Easy-Medium<br />Thu 23:27, 18:59, 1.24, 88%, Challenging<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:18, 3:40, 0.90, 9%, Easy<br />Tue 4:53, 4:35, 1.07, 72%, Medium-Challenging<br />Wed 5:30, 5:52, 0.94, 37%, Easy-Medium<br />Thu 11:46, 9:17, 1.27, 87%, Challengingsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-79031921112667007652012-02-16T21:57:02.074-05:002012-02-16T21:57:02.074-05:00"Wetback," "beaner," "ill..."Wetback," "beaner," "illegal." Yep, all "in the language." "Nigger" is in the language, too. The effect of words like "wetback" and "illegal" is to insure that we think not of the essential humanity of the people being named, but some characteristic of the person that will scare us.<br /><br />ILLEGAL is just the most egregious HOWLER (according to the Urban Dictionary: A sporting term used to describe a particularly terrible piece of play, usually due to the stupidity of a single player. A howler is not incurred through bad luck or even poor play, but rather through absolute amateurish hopelessness). I think Rex was too kind.<br /><br />On the other hand, if you want a more humorous take on our national obsession with illegal immigration you might want to try playing <a href="http://smuggletruck.com//" rel="nofollow">Smuggle Truck.</a>Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.com