tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post2457253494320301397..comments2024-03-28T04:40:27.172-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: FRIDAY, Jun 5 2009 — 1912 headline name / Billy the Kid used one for his nickname / Part of backwoods mix-upRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger77125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-90629114575854058702009-07-11T01:02:55.770-04:002009-07-11T01:02:55.770-04:00@retired_chemist: Thanks for clearing up 39D Post,...@retired_chemist: Thanks for clearing up 39D Post, for one = AVIATOR. Now I recall that Will (never met a man I didn't like) Rogers died while on an around the world trip in a small plane piloted by Post which crashed in the Alaska Territory.<br />@Greene: I learned about aviator Wiley Post from the musical "The Will Rogers Follies", one of my favorites. Very funny and great songs.<br />Well, this beast of a puzzle took me more than an hour with a few Googles. I liked CRONIES for gang members. EYEHOLE sounds weird to me; I've only used peephole (a very tiny nit). I think "got into a pickle" is the funniest clue ever for plain ol' ATE.shrub5https://www.blogger.com/profile/09466867716773759568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-32155307039921168422009-07-10T20:25:25.161-04:002009-07-10T20:25:25.161-04:00Connecting yesterday's baseball theme to today...Connecting yesterday's baseball theme to today's puzzle is that another 1912 headline name (54A) was Fenway, the Red Sox home park opening just a few days after the Titanic sank.Waxy in Montrealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04395751487137805245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-87195532054395747692009-06-08T00:23:12.601-04:002009-06-08T00:23:12.601-04:00Tough, but ultimately doable. my entries were Eyre...Tough, but ultimately doable. my entries were Eyre, Titanic and sardines and for some reason got "definite article" from fairly few letters which helped a lot. Love that clue for it.<br /><br />Minster? New to me.Willhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09382385095545716698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8478482578168230682009-06-06T10:19:50.904-04:002009-06-06T10:19:50.904-04:00Happy (and somewhat amazed) to have finished this ...Happy (and somewhat amazed) to have finished this one. Correctly, despite lots of ink on the page. My mind kept trying to find a connection between 'Lamb' and 'Kid' -- so DEFINITE ARTICLE was the revelatory moment...<br /><br />Hard but fun!Stanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02681342234536407419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91025200085861743872009-06-06T03:31:39.378-04:002009-06-06T03:31:39.378-04:00For those who liked this Martin Ashwood-Smith puzz...For those who liked this Martin Ashwood-Smith puzzle, he has a few books out. Just use your favorite search engine at your favorite bookseller, and enjoy.Ellenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09699703443886498884noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-84099920745046383482009-06-06T00:21:36.808-04:002009-06-06T00:21:36.808-04:00Alice Munro love is universal, but the beloved Gre...Alice Munro love is universal, but the beloved Green Mantis put the affection into print so well, some time about a year ago, so that all I could do was second her emotion, in a trite repetition. <br /><br />(There's a beautiful picture of her in the current Newsweek in connection with winning a major British literary prize.)fergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-68236378139903080702009-06-05T21:52:41.280-04:002009-06-05T21:52:41.280-04:00@humorlesstwit: If you like Alice Munro, you might...@humorlesstwit: If you like Alice Munro, you might also like Mavis Gallant. She's a Canadian writer living in France, and I heard about her just recently. I've read just a few of her short stories and I love them.<br /><br />P.S. I seem to read short stories more since I found Rex's blog and started spending more time on xword puzzles.....machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-62312627263563264982009-06-05T21:45:29.362-04:002009-06-05T21:45:29.362-04:00@Rex & Whoever else was involved.
I've bee...@Rex & Whoever else was involved.<br />I've been reading Alice Munro, totally enchanted, and trying to figure out where I first heard of her. I finally remembered it was here, and wanted to say thanks.humorlesstwitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-53693190015148443032009-06-05T21:30:51.999-04:002009-06-05T21:30:51.999-04:00I'm rethinking excluding times above 1 hour in...I'm rethinking excluding times above 1 hour in coming up with a median solve time. The idea was to try and restrict it to people who solve the puzzle in one sitting. But there were so many 1 hour+ solve times yesterday and especially today, that I now feel compelled to include them. I assume there will be even more for the Saturday puzzle. So here are this week's daily median solve times, with two values for today's puzzle: one including only solve times less than an hour and one including all solve times (with the number of solvers in parentheses).<br /><br />Mon 7:10 (800)<br />Tue 8:20 (807)<br />Wed 9:51 (754)<br />Thu 15:36 (489)<br />Fri (< 1 hr) 28:53 (334)<br />Fri (all) 33:08 (428)sanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-69011770795471682682009-06-05T20:38:18.492-04:002009-06-05T20:38:18.492-04:00Hey @Susan ... congratulations!
@edith b ... it&#...Hey @Susan ... congratulations!<br /><br />@edith b ... it's funny how differently we react to the puzzle. My favorite clue and answer was 36A "Totally benign" "ASGENTLEASALAMB." I think that's what makes us and these puzzles and constructors so interesting.<br /><br />Hate us or love us, we crossword people are not boring.<br /><br />3 and out. Happy Friday evening everybody.johohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12708487230515532492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-48334801634535187572009-06-05T20:22:05.148-04:002009-06-05T20:22:05.148-04:00While this puzzle was really pretty good, for the ...While this puzzle was really pretty good, for the well plotted solving confusion, Edith's comment about the emptiness of those referential Clues showed how the layout was slightly mistuned. <br /><br />I don't recall seeing this constructor's name before, but Mr. Martin A-S, there is a great deal to commend for your efforts here. And like many of us regulars at the method-one clinic, I hope to hear from you after you've Proceeded (from) all these observations.fergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-84973167887561649772009-06-05T19:42:22.098-04:002009-06-05T19:42:22.098-04:00Unlike most of the other commentators (and Rex), I...Unlike most of the other commentators (and Rex), I found this easy for a Friday. I also liked the puzzle, good clues and answer. The only problem I had came from my bad penmanship, when I kept wondering who "trasier" was until I saw that my supposed "t" was an "f."michaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-49594259816365714352009-06-05T18:34:09.755-04:002009-06-05T18:34:09.755-04:00To Susan: Congratulations (from one who googled).To Susan: Congratulations (from one who googled).slypetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05537129206516720012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-81635393058044826702009-06-05T18:32:28.815-04:002009-06-05T18:32:28.815-04:00I did it! I did a Friday without Googling!I did it! I did a Friday without Googling!Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06707253125941238251noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80851646514858856602009-06-05T16:30:59.394-04:002009-06-05T16:30:59.394-04:00Not flashy but a very solid Fri. which I liked a l...Not flashy but a very solid Fri. which I liked a lot. To me this is what a Fri. should be, on the tough side but very doable. I too had the TRAMP, RASSLIN, CHRIS, and ENROLED missteps (and I was pretty sure ENROLED was not a real word) but it was all fixable. Nice puzzle MAS.<br /><br />@chefbea -- I read RST as a line up of alphabet characters. I hesitated putting it in a first because it seemed to obvious.jaehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03385568014046336373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-62868060314548984712009-06-05T16:16:30.918-04:002009-06-05T16:16:30.918-04:00@R_C doh!!!!
thanx@R_C doh!!!!<br /><br />thanxchefbeahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15195945085405126511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-87302562165595476332009-06-05T16:11:02.143-04:002009-06-05T16:11:02.143-04:00@ chefbea - 3 consecutive (lined up) characters in...@ chefbea - 3 consecutive (lined up) characters in the alphabet.retired_chemisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13181126754941899228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-88645978037302946772009-06-05T16:05:04.459-04:002009-06-05T16:05:04.459-04:00Tough puzzle for me today. Had to come here to fi...Tough puzzle for me today. Had to come here to finally finnish. <br /><br />Can someone explain why character lineup= rst ???chefbeahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15195945085405126511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-68955496445859862372009-06-05T15:32:45.761-04:002009-06-05T15:32:45.761-04:00Some early daring guesses slowed me down.
WOULDN...Some early daring guesses slowed me down. <br /><br />WOULDNT HURT A FLY in place of GENTLE AS A LAMB felt so right that I discarded other right answers for a while to preserve it. It didn't help that once I realized my mistake I truly brainfarted and put in AS GENTLE AS A LEAF (I know, WFT?).<br /><br />Finally fixed that and put in ADVISOR for Post based on the A----OR. As in Emily, no idea who the aviator is.<br /><br />For Billy the Kid, D--IN-T--- had me putting in DIMINUTIVE as the start.<br /><br />I initially went for full redneck with RASSLIN' instead of RASSLER.<br /><br />But an eminently fair puzzle in that I was able to eventually (if slowly) get it all straightened out.Alex S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07543077687426776863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-3566446147822504292009-06-05T15:25:15.502-04:002009-06-05T15:25:15.502-04:00I was able to move down the West Coast in short or...I was able to move down the West Coast in short order thru the NEEDIER/THEOREM cross as I saw MOTHERS early on and was complete thru STRAWMATTRESSES but I made a big mess in the SE that turned this one into an overnighter.<br /><br />I had to blank out the entire corner, stare for a while until I was finally able to parse POST correctly and finish this one. I didn't like MISTUNE at all and found the puzzle to be unsatifying.<br /><br />I don't like to criticize the constructer but I found this one lacked something. No sizzle between the 2 referenced clues at 7D and 30D and a 15 letter clue just to indicate "the"? And I didn't like the clue at 36A. I may be wrong but this one did not sing to me.edith bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12048817959846956992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-55879573546405705252009-06-05T14:57:51.622-04:002009-06-05T14:57:51.622-04:00what is wrong with me? Huron River is practically ...what is wrong with me? Huron River is practically in my backyard, and I didn't know BAD AXE, Mi! It turns out it's in the thumb of Michigan, right near the crescent of the fingernail. Acme, I think the old Michiganders needed your help, between BAD AXE and HELL, Michigan... <br /><br />Another thing I should have known and didn't is that IN EXILE business about Hugo.. In general, I was inspired in the North (thank you ERICH Fromm for starting me up) and stumped in the south. CRESTED in lieu of CREPT UP, and ENSUE in lieu of ARISE held things back in the southeast, and by the time I got to the Southwest I had a headache AND needed to get some real work done. So, like Rex said, Medium-Challenging for Friday.foodiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13052189131129098616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-49734947425951829882009-06-05T14:49:07.542-04:002009-06-05T14:49:07.542-04:00solid, a difficult (for me) Friday puzzle. 'On...solid, a difficult (for me) Friday puzzle. 'One Love' and 'Theorem' helped me in the NW. I got "Strawmattresses' pretty quicky. The paired, "Erase" and "Remove all traces' helped quite a bit. Had 'Mistype' and 'Line up' in the SE. <br /><br />Loved the cluing on 'Northeast', 'Mothers' and 'eyehole'.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06300385702200589764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-3630420380391894462009-06-05T14:48:58.921-04:002009-06-05T14:48:58.921-04:00SONIA was the duck's name in the Disney versio...SONIA was the duck's name in the Disney version of <i>Peter and the Wolf</i>, not the original Prokofiev, where it was unnamed.william e embanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-4240222405537572982009-06-05T14:42:43.240-04:002009-06-05T14:42:43.240-04:00I had GO FOR IT, too, initially, but that would ha...I had GO FOR IT, too, initially, but that would have precluded the ? in the clue. "willing" had little to do with intent or desire, IMO, and everything to do with wordplay; hence, the ?fikinkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06324570637549775751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-28499754243882350632009-06-05T14:10:47.152-04:002009-06-05T14:10:47.152-04:00I too was thinking about a church in MUNSTER, with...I too was thinking about a church in MUNSTER, with the corresponding Down being UNHIRED for the willing participant. I also considered MONSTER from one one those Rick Warren style mega-churches, but figured that might be too much editorial content. SAGGY Mattresses was in the running for a bit, too.<br /><br />Friday makes me cautious, so TITANIC seemed a little too obvious, as did EERIE. I was on to the Sneaker wear, but first went for UPPER. Do sneakers have uppers? Back and forth on VAN, VON and even wondered about DEN, but that's a definite article, not a preposition.<br /><br />This was a very empty puzzle for about ten minutes, but then the switch from KEYHOLE set everything in motion, yielding that great satisfaction when the huge matrix of crossing possibilities gets sorted out in a single stroke. Kinda mathematical, but I forget what it's called when you get that magic vector to cross-multiply and the ungainly matrix is elegantly simplified. Math guys, feel free to revise my analogy.fergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.com