tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post2572238693225224673..comments2024-03-28T06:24:16.730-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Mideast confections / MON 11-15-10 / Dispute region between Pakistan India / Romance writer Roberts / Hanukkah treat / Irregularly edgedRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger86125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-88889278644723604582010-12-20T17:39:52.189-05:002010-12-20T17:39:52.189-05:00Syndicated paper solver.
Harder to answer cross-r...Syndicated paper solver.<br /><br />Harder to answer cross-referenced clues until the theme is figured out; then a different kind of AHA may sometimes happen, but they sure can be annoying until.<br /><br />Otherwise a pretty clean puzzle (better check the OILPANS after all those BEANS and FRANKS though).<br /><br />Only wrong space-fill: had NOVAdO and LAdKE (pretty close to the right pronuciation of LATKE anyway). The Spanish-to-English translation of NOVATO is "novice" or "rookie." Sounds like a funny place name compared to the past participle of "novar" (STE trans.="to renew" or TO CREATE SOMETHING NOVEL), which is what I had, NOVAdO="renewed" or MADE SOMETHING NOVEL. Anyway, not knowing the town of NOVATO, CA itself, I like my guess.<br /><br />Interesting the commentary about what makes a "big city" and what doesn't. Lots of people in some of the non-Eastern big cities have what I call "Pinocchio syndrome": "we want to be a REAL city" (meaning to be like New York or Boston or Chicago or San Francisco I suppose), instead of letting the community define itself in its own terms. But populations are what they are, insofar as they're undisputed. How would "Easterners define" continue-to-lose-seats-in-the-House-of-Representatives-to-the-Sun-Belt? I grew up in Phoenix. Big cowtown, sure; but now it's a BIIIGGGG cowtown. And gettin' bigger. That fact just ain't goin' away no matter how you define things.NotalwaysrightBillnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-57079984023824879922010-12-20T10:42:19.564-05:002010-12-20T10:42:19.564-05:00From the syndicate - confidently entered AGGIES in...From the syndicate - confidently entered AGGIES instead of AGATES for 4D providing ASIGGO cheese for 17A and STEIS for my editors' marks at 20A. Hey - both sounded legit to me so am hereby declaring a personal Nattick in the NW.<br /><br />CAPTCHA today = cackoro which prefaced with "old" probably describes me well. The Old Cackoro - yeah, sorta like the sound of that.Waxy in Montrealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04395751487137805245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-70485138576586935132010-11-15T23:30:16.523-05:002010-11-15T23:30:16.523-05:00This week's relative difficulty ratings. See m...This week's relative difficulty ratings. See my 7/30/2009 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 8:19, 6:57, 1.20, 99%, Challenging<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 4:18, 3:42, 1.16, 95%, Challenging<br /><br />Definitely one of the tougher Monday puzzles. These median solve times rank 2nd and 5th out of 73 Mondays in my database. Only Allen Parrish's 7/29/2009 puzzle had a higher All Solvers median.sanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-2396731922857609092010-11-15T21:53:57.945-05:002010-11-15T21:53:57.945-05:00@FAQ, 5:23 PM - LOL, LOL!!! Imitation is the sinc...@FAQ, 5:23 PM - LOL, LOL!!! Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and direct copying is divine! (For the record, at 5:23 PM, I, The Original FAQ, was in a movie theater watching "Fair Game", the true story of Valerie Plame, very well made and very disturbing.)<br /><br />@Anonymous, 6:46 PM - So you're saying, like, we can bet that Sarah Palin will get the REALLY BIG city Presidential vote in 2012?The Original FAQnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-63588796322655231042010-11-15T21:50:56.730-05:002010-11-15T21:50:56.730-05:00@you dont want to know where I am right now, In a ...@you dont want to know where I am right now, In a bathroom I take it your counting the Cockroach population... That must be dense as hell!Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-34163881489059852652010-11-15T21:37:41.190-05:002010-11-15T21:37:41.190-05:00I didn't get the NW because - what the heck is...I didn't get the NW because - what the heck is ASIAGO? I had romAnO. Looked up ASIAGO - it's way North. No one had to escape the North to come to America. Spare me.<br /><br />@Jim - I'll bet it's a CA thing. They mix up ethnic things there and don't even know it. Ginsberg's Irish Pub, indeed.<br /><br />Now, LATKEs and HALVAS, and hamantashen, I know. <br /><br />Also, never heard of NOVATO. The rest was easy and obvious. <br /><br />These corner squares could be separated off the puzzle into little puzzles by themselves. Isn't that a weakness? They're connected by a thread.Sfingihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06903616949048940858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-38551350353016280272010-11-15T21:24:22.311-05:002010-11-15T21:24:22.311-05:00So my wife sees how much fun I’m giving doing the ...So my wife sees how much fun I’m giving doing the puzzles and decides she’ll start with the Mondays because I tell her they’re the easy ones. I always finish Mondays and usually they’re no more than a shot of Irish in a cup of black coffee. So today I did the damn thing thinking it’s just another Monday. And arf arf is easy because the f is a gimme, woof won’t fit and that’s always what Sandy said in Little Orphan Annie. Next come the first theme words and the clues are really cool, like something down with what’s it across and visa versa. Lots of help there. Right. Oh yes, I forgot about that Romano cheese that turned out to be some ugly sounding piece of crap. But it gets better and I practically whiz through the rest and figure out the theme and with that able to complete the NE corner. Except there’s that SW corner and some California city that begins with NO and has a T. Being the pathetic linguist I am I get none of the crosses and finally give up for the first time I can ever remember on a Monday and look at a California map. Thank goodness the clue says San Francisco cause I would still be sipping Napa Valley red looking for the obscure crossroad. So I’m done and not particularly pleased with myself when my beginner wife says she wants me to print her out today’s puzzle. Sure, dear, enjoy....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-68331471075451259082010-11-15T20:55:53.410-05:002010-11-15T20:55:53.410-05:00Where is @foodie to ring in about Halva and, um, f...Where is @foodie to ring in about Halva and, um, foodieness?!andrea no no novato michaelsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-55824310862861321612010-11-15T20:38:20.815-05:002010-11-15T20:38:20.815-05:00For Jim it seems it's all about the schmutz.
...For Jim it seems it's all about the schmutz.<br /><br />Houston barely makes the top 10 <a href="http://www.rd.com/your-america-inspiring-people-and-stories/50-cleanest-dirtiest-cities-in-america/article15115.html" rel="nofollow">dirtiest cities in the US</a>. Its water took it out of contention (only 11 cities of the biggest 50 had cleaner water) but third worst for toxics is worth an honorable mention.Martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-51057647053484636512010-11-15T20:10:05.071-05:002010-11-15T20:10:05.071-05:00Never heard of the "Auburn mall", what&#...Never heard of the "Auburn mall", what's its population density?<br /><br />P>G>Novato from Naticknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-64864045969316467752010-11-15T19:08:59.168-05:002010-11-15T19:08:59.168-05:00@Jim--
You are obviously a good Massachusetts boy...@Jim--<br /><br />You are obviously a good Massachusetts boy, like myself. But for the life of me I cannot quite follow your argument here. Is Houston not a city? Is it smaller than Worcester? (I don't think so.) Let's not try to compete with Texas, except on the playing field.Stanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02681342234536407419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-18240038692505701302010-11-15T18:46:02.697-05:002010-11-15T18:46:02.697-05:00I'd bet a lot that Bigfoot Wallace can't n...I'd bet a lot that Bigfoot Wallace can't name the biggest city in the US, by area.<br /><br />It's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakutat_City_and_Borough,_Alaska" rel="nofollow">this</a>.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-57085454263929044832010-11-15T18:40:15.833-05:002010-11-15T18:40:15.833-05:00After that rant by Anon yesterday I have nothing t...After that rant by Anon yesterday I have nothing to say and nothing to add to what I didn't say....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-23996962822859993462010-11-15T18:35:50.063-05:002010-11-15T18:35:50.063-05:00@ You don't want to know -
Ha ha.
a 10 ft X...@ You don't want to know - <br /><br />Ha ha.<br /><br />a 10 ft X 10 ft bathroom is about 1/250,000 of a square mile. Any 10X10 area with a person in it has a population density about 250,000 people per square mile. <br /><br />If Clark brings Roxie in then it has a pupulation density of the same number. Pix of Roxie please!<br /><br />It must be 5 o'clock somewhere.<br /><br />captcha - baker. Appropriate for such a food-oriented puzzle.retired_chemisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13181126754941899228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-76279770225177929212010-11-15T18:32:42.651-05:002010-11-15T18:32:42.651-05:00"Houston being 4th ranked is silly, given how..."Houston being 4th ranked is silly, given how big it is." <br /><br />Sorry, I just don't get it. "How Easterners define cities" isn't one of the criteria for population statistics, I'd wager.Bigfoot Wallacenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26471596055119271492010-11-15T18:25:04.366-05:002010-11-15T18:25:04.366-05:00@Jim, as of right now, my bathroom has a higher po...@Jim, as of right now, my bathroom has a higher population density that any of those cities you just listed.You don't want to know where I am right nownoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56173092219297435622010-11-15T18:13:51.081-05:002010-11-15T18:13:51.081-05:00sanfranman & bigfoot:
It's not hatred--no...sanfranman & bigfoot:<br /><br />It's not hatred--not really. Just snarkiness. My point was this: raw population numbers just aren't a reasonable statistic to use in the south, midwest and west (with obvious exceptions of BIG cities therein: Chicago, Miami, LA, SF, Seattle, etc.). So any comparisons to Natick (which, btw, has a larger population density than Novato) based on populations are intrinsically faulty.<br /><br />I know Houston got some schmutz on it, too, but again, my commentary speaks only to the fact that towns like these hardly qualify as 'cities' in the way Easterners would define it. Houston being 4th ranked is silly, given how big it is. <br /><br />For instance, see below some population density statistics of a handful of places around the country. I think they make my point. My home town, Worcester (it's in MA for those who don't know) has a larger population density than Houston or Phoenix. Ouch!<br /><br />Not that I have any love for Natick, those rich snobs. I always preferred the Auburn mall myself.<br /><br />City Population Area Pop Density<br />Houston 2,300,000 579 3,972<br />Cleveland 431,639 77.6 5,562<br />Novato 54,000 27.7 1,949<br />Natick 31,975 15.1 2,118<br />Worcester 182,882 37.6 4,864<br />Boston 645,169 48.43 13,322<br />New York 8,391,881 304.8 27,532<br />Phoenix 1,601,587 518.8 3,087Jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18391847471384798773noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-77998866785334693092010-11-15T17:23:13.141-05:002010-11-15T17:23:13.141-05:00@sparkydog77 - We love newcomers here, the more th...@sparkydog77 - We love newcomers here, the more the merrier. For Newcomer questions, please click on the FAQ button at the very top of Rex's blog, ("Just above the X" marks the spot.)FAQnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80153209749895149822010-11-15T17:19:54.972-05:002010-11-15T17:19:54.972-05:00My first part was cut off for some reason: I'...My first part was cut off for some reason: I'm not sure I'm understanding the difficulty classification system here, Rex. I've seen some Fridays and Saturdays in recent weeks that you've listed as "Easy," and have only been able to fill in about 15 boxes. LOL. Now, today I see Medium-Challenging and I have to scratch my head. I only had trouble in the upper left ARFARF box but I guess some of us have difficulties on certain days with certain kinds of puzzles.sparkydog77noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-37241075577238499752010-11-15T17:16:52.204-05:002010-11-15T17:16:52.204-05:00Challenging despite the fact that the upper left g...Challenging despite the fact that the upper left grid was my Achilles heel for the whole puzzle. There were some very odd things, as Rex stated, starting with "ARFARF" a stretch by any standards. I've also never heard of NOVATO and have never come across EROSE either before. But I did like the edible crossover words and felt like it was a great way to start the week.sparkydog77noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-37343054044245274432010-11-15T17:16:40.803-05:002010-11-15T17:16:40.803-05:00@Jim, what is the actual city that should be in Ho...@Jim, what is the actual city that should be in Houston's place on the list of most populous US cities (which is 4th, not 3rd, according to all the lists I've seen)? It shows to have a population of more than a half a million more than the next one on the list, Phoenix. What did Houston do to cheat Phoenix out of its rightful place on the list?Bigfoot Wallacenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9638687685685374032010-11-15T16:34:00.305-05:002010-11-15T16:34:00.305-05:00@artlvr What is the CS puzzle?@artlvr What is the CS puzzle?chefbeahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15195945085405126511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46958821640047543932010-11-15T15:53:21.089-05:002010-11-15T15:53:21.089-05:00Midday report of relative difficulty (see my 7/30/...Midday report of relative difficulty (see my 7/30/2009 post for an explanation of my method):<br /><br />All solvers (median solve time, average for day of week, ratio, percentile, rating)<br /><br />Tue 8:13, 6:56, 1.18, 89%, Challenging<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Tue 4:31, 3:42, 1.22, 91%, Challenging<br /><br />Since I regularly venture to NOVATO for my job and knew both of the troublesome crosswordese crosses (EROSE and HALVAS) in the SE, I didn't get Naticked on this one. While I can certainly sympathize with those who did, @Jim's hatred of everything California seems a bit harsh. Novato's a lovely little town and the area is rich in Native American (Coastal Miwok) and Mexican history that goes back much further than 300 years (also, I'm not sure what gerrymandering has to do with anything in this context). We're really not so hateful out here Jim.sanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-11415755358298022822010-11-15T15:44:15.935-05:002010-11-15T15:44:15.935-05:00Had to dash off to jury duty this a.m. (not select...Had to dash off to jury duty this a.m. (not selected today) so late commenting. Must be my age, except for NOVATO I knew lots of what puzzled others. EROSE is a good ole xword word, so useful. Also liked all the foods and theme. I, too, disliked halva after one bite. Ice cream and cake however....quilter1noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44432099501834072202010-11-15T15:39:15.240-05:002010-11-15T15:39:15.240-05:00@Nate - We love newcomers here, the more the merri...@Nate - We love newcomers here, the more the merrier. For Newcomer questions, please click on the FAQ button at the very top of Rex's blog, ("Just above the X" marks the spot.)FAQnoreply@blogger.com