tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post2593972603893767607..comments2024-03-28T05:49:03.945-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: State capital ESE of Guadalajara / MON 2-12-18 / Onetime competitor of the WB / Tennis tournament since 1900 / High muckety-muck on Madison ave / Singer Kamoze with 1994 hit Here Comes Hotstepper / Actor John of Problem ChildRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger115125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-2943856561321184432018-03-19T21:46:07.691-04:002018-03-19T21:46:07.691-04:00one down and 6 to go for the week. Working on get...one down and 6 to go for the week. Working on getting 7 in a row of non-DNF. Saw Eric Burdon about 4 years ago with a new younger Animals backing him. Still sounded great after 50+ years of belting out the tunes.<br /><br />I'm thinking the next time UVA is clued it will be something like "first school to fall to a 16 seed."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-85725374040881382212018-03-19T16:46:03.101-04:002018-03-19T16:46:03.101-04:00Thanks, Rex, for the BEATLES/ERIC BURDON retrospec...Thanks, Rex, for the BEATLES/ERIC BURDON retrospective, bringing back warm, vintage memories.<br /><br />Saw Burdon in person in Fairbanks, Alaska, of all places. That was around 197O when he was still fronting the Animals, I think. <br /><br />As for the Beatles, a terrific cover band was later in Anchorage doing the Sgt. Pepper album.<br /><br />Both occasions were great treats for us in remote, sub-Arctic country. Had some of the air of USO visits to far-off Gl's otherwise bereft of celebrated entertainment at the time.<br />USO visits to far-off G.I.'s.leftcoastTAMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67552088406953936552018-03-19T15:28:47.005-04:002018-03-19T15:28:47.005-04:00Any member of Gladys Knight's backup group: P...Any member of Gladys Knight's backup group: Pip. So, O'JAY is OK by me.<br /><br />Lots of the so-called PPP in here, but that didn't bother me, for some reason, though SAW II (or any of the SAWs, or any horror movie, for that matter) is not my taste. Neither is Idi Amin, but he appears here from time to time. So does Trump.<br /><br />I like how the revealer had me look at the theme answers and find the embedded credit CARDs. <br /><br />Some good answers in here, maybe overwhelmed by the proper names, but this was a serviceable Monday.rainforestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-57663223513054791132018-03-19T15:21:09.182-04:002018-03-19T15:21:09.182-04:00A veritable PPP festival. Not a "normal Monda...A veritable PPP festival. Not a "normal Monday". Actually on the non-normal challenging side, and ITS OKAY by me.<br /><br />Revealer was helpful in the solve, particularly for DISCOVERSION and OAXACAMEXICO and their related crosses.<br /><br />RasH before ITCH. <br /><br />NILE as a "stream"? <br /><br />Overall, GETZ high marks from me.<br /><br /><br /><br />leftcoastTAMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-39188263400534442712018-03-19T14:44:00.325-04:002018-03-19T14:44:00.325-04:00Well, @spacey, it got lots better at TOGAED. That’...Well, @spacey, it got lots better at TOGAED. That’s AONE!<br />But I did it all anyway without a write-over. Hard to keep my nymphs separate, having oreads and naiads and DRYADS and the others. DRYAD ought to be the nymph of anti-perspirants or laundry appliances. Or ARID UTAH. HMM.<br /><br />LPGA Yeah baby Michelle WIE won a tournament recently after many folks RITTER off.<br /><br />It would be kinda FAINT praise if this was as good as it GETZ, so maybe ITSOKAY.rondonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-27510009699592092242018-03-19T12:34:22.311-04:002018-03-19T12:34:22.311-04:00But I gotta say - I do think it's silly to cal...But I gotta say - I do think it's silly to call the NILE a stream. Awww, isn't that cute? NO<br /><br />Lady DiDiana, LIWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-17363101108390624612018-03-19T12:32:23.662-04:002018-03-19T12:32:23.662-04:00Oh @Spacey - I'm so sad. 'Cause this coul...Oh @Spacey - I'm so sad. 'Cause this could be the last time I post...for a week. <br /><br />Why? Well, if you haven't been paying attention, I'm going to ACPT Fri-Sun. And a couple of days in Philly beforehand with @Teed from the Future. <br /><br />NPR just did a thing about "Love Train" this weekend, so the song was on my mind. <br /><br />Gotta finish packing and get some money. Good thing I'm a 59A.<br /><br />Diana, Lady-in-Waiting for CrosswordsDiana, LIWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-15696723278015282882018-03-19T10:58:48.434-04:002018-03-19T10:58:48.434-04:00Skipped it. When you hit me with SAWII right out o...Skipped it. When you hit me with SAWII right out of the starting block you've got me ready to drop the whole mess, and with impossibly obscure INI and the ridiculous OJAY you pried my dead fingers away from their thin grip. See me tomorrow when you have a real puzzle.spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-84412209899146018872018-03-19T09:51:26.254-04:002018-03-19T09:51:26.254-04:00FAINT DISCOVERSION
The ADEXEC SAWII a RULE,
AONE ...FAINT DISCOVERSION<br /><br />The ADEXEC SAWII a RULE,<br />AONE that’s CEASED to be:<br />IT’SOKAY that he GETZ to fool<br />with AUDIO of ELVISANDME.<br /><br />--- JONI SEDAKA<br />Burma Shavenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-47734707539171594162018-02-14T12:24:13.684-05:002018-02-14T12:24:13.684-05:00What, please, are UPN and WB? DNF because had to ...What, please, are UPN and WB? DNF because had to reveal that square (with apologies to my baseball fan son, who would’ve known Big Papi). GreenCarolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18238916867139611507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-12589260877925031832018-02-12T23:34:51.117-05:002018-02-12T23:34:51.117-05:00@Jim Cunningham, yes indeed.@Jim Cunningham, yes indeed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-55774268636635218022018-02-12T22:57:16.192-05:002018-02-12T22:57:16.192-05:00Thinking of tennis as mainly an individual sport a...Thinking of tennis as mainly an individual sport and a tournament as a single elimination event until one winner is the champion. I suppose could think of Davis Cup as a tournament among the countries jimchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16587554560288399475noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-19528634892140347532018-02-12T19:45:29.884-05:002018-02-12T19:45:29.884-05:00@puzzlehoarder (6:03) -- You and people like you h...@puzzlehoarder (6:03) -- You and people like you have not been the problem here. No one is going to "moderate" you, @puzzlehoarder. If this blog is moderated every day for the next ten years and you post three times a day for the next ten years, <i>not a single comma of yours will ever be changed by anyone.</i> I've been reading you for a long time now, and that's a dead certainty. I would bet every penny I have in the bank on it. So promise me that you won't worry your pretty little head about it :)Nancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16737377749030219974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-5606303184207900222018-02-12T19:18:50.470-05:002018-02-12T19:18:50.470-05:00@poggius
What about slimed, grimed, and the like? ...@poggius<br />What about slimed, grimed, and the like? They would have had (in the properest earlier version of English) a be- at the head due to the root being a noun rather than a verb, but they don't. Togaed has the added element of visual ugliness, as well demonstrated by the incomparable LMS above. But it seems to follow the same pattern.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46482766627604330932018-02-12T18:40:38.472-05:002018-02-12T18:40:38.472-05:00Hey moderators wanna step it up a little taking fo...Hey moderators wanna step it up a little taking forever ? Just kidding it’s very kind of you to volunteer your time. It’s a good idea but sadly I suspect it won’t last. As for the puzzle I guess I’m in the minority. Super easy under five minutes which is rare for me even on a Monday. Ginger Ladynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-90616124742118196532018-02-12T18:17:38.836-05:002018-02-12T18:17:38.836-05:00@Anon 3:49
I guess it's supposed to be funny.
...@Anon 3:49<br />I guess it's supposed to be funny.<br />I don't know if they've ever met but if they ever do I want to be a fly on the wall!<br /><br />Too many names for me today, at least we got to think about Joni M.Suzie Qnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-59566343731938993752018-02-12T18:03:36.288-05:002018-02-12T18:03:36.288-05:00It's hard to say how difficult this was for a ... It's hard to say how difficult this was for a Monday. I did it on my phone at home, just for convenience, and my time was somewhere between my average paper time for Tuesday and Wednesday.<br /><br /> I switched CRIER to CRYER because of DEION. Why I thought a Y in that name made more sense is beyond me. After putting in the P of UPN and getting the "almost there" prompt it wasn't hard to find the "Y" problem but technically it's a dnf. One of the many reasons I prefer paper.<br /><br /> I never finished reading yesterday's comments so the moderation notice escaped me until reading today's comments.<br /><br /> While the desire for censorship is understandable given bathroom wall nature of what was being posted I still resent the idea of someone " moderating" my comments to see if they're acceptable.<br /><br /> Let's hope this amped up difficulty level holds through Saturday.<br />puzzlehoardernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-53226920379463034762018-02-12T16:55:36.823-05:002018-02-12T16:55:36.823-05:00Ouch, this took me more than twice as long as a us...Ouch, this took me more than twice as long as a usual Monday. <br /><br />I would never have sussed out DISOVERSION except for the revealer. One of these days I'm going to remember its the Big PAPI.<br /><br />Thanks to the moderators!tea73https://www.blogger.com/profile/04949792626860120963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61634624962282260912018-02-12T16:51:59.874-05:002018-02-12T16:51:59.874-05:00This week's relative difficulty ratings. See m...This week's relative difficulty ratings. See my 1/2/2018 post for an explanation of my method. In a nutshell, the higher the ratio & percentage, the higher my solve time was relative to my norm for that day of the week.<br /><br />(Day, Solve time, 26-wk Median, Ratio, %, Rating)<br /><br />Mon 4:27 4:09 1.07 72.0% Medium-Challenging<br /><br />It felt like every other answer in this thing was a proper noun and with good reason. Then there was junk like OJAY, TOGAED, SAW [semi-random ROMAN numeral], INI, OPERA MAN and the "stream" NILE. Next please.sanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-43039362597791915072018-02-12T16:50:41.130-05:002018-02-12T16:50:41.130-05:00@Larry Gilstrap 12:26 -- Joni Mitchell sang the se...@Larry Gilstrap 12:26 -- Joni Mitchell sang the secondary melody on the choruses of "Long Ago And Far Away" on James Taylor's "Mud Slide Slim" album, and I think she sang backup on some other songs as well.<br /><br />I've never really thought of her as a folk singer, though I guess that's the milieu she came out of. I also noticed the large number of music-related answers. @Nancy, O'Jay was not actually the surname of anyone in the group, it was just a band name, like The Beatles.Joe Dipintohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07922691457886440325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8044676249060411262018-02-12T16:47:35.068-05:002018-02-12T16:47:35.068-05:00No matter how it’s spelled or pronounced “togaed” ...No matter how it’s spelled or pronounced “togaed” is an awful answer. Outside The Boxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07701774235535205077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-48158912172679687662018-02-12T15:49:44.379-05:002018-02-12T15:49:44.379-05:00Anybody else appalled by the magnet Sharp is trump...Anybody else appalled by the magnet Sharp is trumpeting? It makes Will Shortz out to be some kind of imbecile, while Sharp is the champion. This is horrible. Exactly the kind of bullying stuff Sharp decries. Am I missing something?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-6200531169036310222018-02-12T15:30:45.348-05:002018-02-12T15:30:45.348-05:00I, for one, will miss being attacked by thoughtful...I, for one, will miss being attacked by thoughtful anonymice. <br /><br />@Jim Cunningham and @Banana Daiquiri - I take your meaning to be “tournaments are contiguous in time and place” like the US Open, which takes place at the Billie King National Tennis Center over two weeks, and therefore the DAVIS CUP is not a tournament because it’s not at a single venue nor are individual portions played in close proximity on the calendar. I think, though, that <a href="https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/tournament" rel="nofollow">tournament</a> is a lot more flexible a term than that. For example, the NCAA basketball tournaments are more similar to the DAVIS CUP than the US OPEN. Or am I missing the reason you think “Cup” competitions aren’t tournaments?<br /><br />Well, it seems a little more in depth PPP analysis may be called for. Sorry, but unless I missed some, not a record. <br /><br /><b>PPP Analysis</b><br /><i>Pop Culture, Product names, and other Proper nouns as a percentage of the puzzle. Anything over 33% consistently causes solving issues for some subset of solvers</i><br /><br />31 of 78 for 40%. This does seem especially high for a Monday, but I do recall a puzzle getting pretty close to 50%. Unfortunately, I do not keep detailed stats on previous puzzles because I do have at least a bit of a life.<br /><br />The List<br /><br />SAW II<br />OBIE<br />ELVIS AND ME<br />WIE<br />OJAY<br />RITTER<br />SEDAKA<br />OAXACA MEXICO<br />TAZ<br />DEION<br />GETZ<br />UPN<br />CONEY Island<br />ERIC<br />UVA<br />UTAH<br /><br />ALLIE<br />INI<br />EDNA<br />CADY<br />OPERAMAN<br />NILE<br />AJAX (pop culture and product name but still only counts as one)<br />CATE<br />OZZY<br />PAPI<br />DAVIS CUP<br />COOK OFF (Iron Chef clue)<br />UCLA<br />JONI<br />LAOZhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-51847564715880113092018-02-12T15:28:02.572-05:002018-02-12T15:28:02.572-05:00@Slow motion I have to share “wung it” with my sis...@Slow motion I have to share “wung it” with my sister, niece and cousin who are teachers Aketihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07059835429995060000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-65853112145296602752018-02-12T15:12:55.667-05:002018-02-12T15:12:55.667-05:00What a pleasure it was to read the entire comment ...What a pleasure it was to read the entire comment section without wincing or frowning in disgust at the gutter language and vicious attacks. Thank you to the moderators.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com