tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post2759598459156220542..comments2024-03-29T08:06:57.251-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: SUNDAY, Nov. 30, 2008 - Richard Silvestri ("Also Sprach Zarathustra" hitmaker, 1973 / Herringlike fish / Darius the Scamp? / Endor inhabitants)Rex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger92125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-40482993970479568172009-01-09T07:43:00.000-05:002009-01-09T07:43:00.000-05:00Horrid. Same comments as others, had NO JOKE fore...Horrid. Same comments as others, had NO JOKE forever, couldn't believe NO JIVE could be right. Also had ATONAL which was messing me up in the NW. <BR/><BR/>The good thing is finding out that, Rex, you went to grad school at UM. It elucidates your comment about the UCLA clue, which had me thinking along the same lines. Hey, at least the clue wasn't for OSU for once (blech)! As a Michigander, I was happy to see the Tigers represented.<BR/><BR/>-Michigal in IowaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-33660239134298641912008-12-07T17:34:00.000-05:002008-12-07T17:34:00.000-05:00I agree -- lots of words I'd never heard of -- cou...I agree -- lots of words I'd never heard of -- couldn't even google them.kashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01261217811960817000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-35744552633376143972008-12-06T02:07:00.000-05:002008-12-06T02:07:00.000-05:00@anonymous 11:09am: The paper is now known as &qu...@anonymous 11:09am: The paper is now known as "Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin." <BR/><BR/>Also, thee were two "celeb" clues this week: 12D and 112D, which was just "celeb."<BR/><BR/>The Oceania flight question got me, too. I like this blog, and shall continue reading!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-75907618573754136612008-12-02T07:45:00.000-05:002008-12-02T07:45:00.000-05:00UGH!UGH!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-54606629954785802672008-12-01T01:48:00.000-05:002008-12-01T01:48:00.000-05:00Agreed, horrible, HORRIBLE puzzle.Agreed, horrible, HORRIBLE puzzle.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-1105931042594727602008-12-01T00:13:00.000-05:002008-12-01T00:13:00.000-05:00In college in North Carolina I spent a semester at...In college in North Carolina I spent a semester at a Marine Lab downwind from a menhaden processing plant. Some days you were convinced the smell would kill you. <BR/><BR/>Am I the only one with a vague memory of menhaden popping up in a Shortz puzzle not that long ago? Or was it an airline mag puzzle? Anyone?<BR/><BR/>@Edith B, I agree that it's a big tent. I'm often torn between the Maleska-pole and the Shortz-pole. <BR/>When the word play is devious and subterranean, there's nothing better. When it's precious it bothers me. I also don't like slapstick. One man's ceiling. In my (often incorrect) memory Maleska was not devoid of wordplay. Just extremely dry. <BR/><BR/>Part of my nostalgia may be explained by the fact that my dad, my first Scrabble partner, insisted that you couldn't use a word if you could not define it. For years I actually believed that was in the Scrabble rules.<BR/><BR/>So, I was raised dry.Hungry Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08101748048713015724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-66663975442102185892008-11-30T23:34:00.000-05:002008-11-30T23:34:00.000-05:00Thanks Orange. My debate was also between RUT and...Thanks Orange. My debate was also between RUT and RUN. I went with RUN (drat!). I'm still having problems with the clue, I can see a RUT as a line in a track but, at a track???<BR/><BR/>I got Lum and Abner from at least one previous puzzle after it was explained to me by a friend over 80 (I'm over 60). I've also run across ANENT previously.jaehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03385568014046336373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-14124938116523611932008-11-30T22:38:00.001-05:002008-11-30T22:38:00.001-05:00MENHADEN! I knew that one. DEODATO came strictly t...MENHADEN! I knew that one. DEODATO came strictly through the crossings (and I wasn't sure that 30D would be RUT and not, say, RUN), as did LANARK. I was surprised to see the combination of ABBACY (crossing IMARETS, which I know from crosswords—the singular isn't that rare in puzzles—but many others did not), old-crosswordese ANENT (jeeze, that one crossed both LANARK and SHAVUOT?), and DECEM crossing ATONIC and NO JIVE. And TEN A.M. is definitely on the early side for brunch; it could fly as a Sunday breakfast time.Orangehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12433254398377357737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-20870809207840712722008-11-30T22:38:00.000-05:002008-11-30T22:38:00.000-05:00Sancho, was the last one STOT?ps Rex, since you ga...Sancho, was the last one STOT?<BR/>ps Rex, since you gave a shout-out to Canadians for LOI: LANARK is also a county in Ontario.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-40411962715142378012008-11-30T22:07:00.000-05:002008-11-30T22:07:00.000-05:00@Scotus Addict-Old Eugene T. represented the Gold ...@Scotus Addict-<BR/><BR/>Old Eugene T. represented the Gold Standard of Puzzledom and when you reached the point of being able to figure out the crossing of Hawaiian food fish with Burmese monetary unit (as Shamik so aptly put it) Boy, you had arrived.<BR/><BR/>The puzzle in TV Guide resembles the Maleskan Ideal in its aspect of demanding rote memory over wordplay.<BR/><BR/>Both had their devotees, I guess, but I prefer what we have today.edith bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12048817959846956992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61361773213680538192008-11-30T21:44:00.000-05:002008-11-30T21:44:00.000-05:00Sometimes, when I can't complete a puzzle, I call ...Sometimes, when I can't complete a puzzle, I call my Dad only to find that there is a generational divide in the cluing, and he has had no trouble at all. NOT TODAY! <BR/><BR/>Although he had heard of Lum and Abner, which I hadn't, and didn't know HTML, which I did, we blanked on all the same sections, most discussed above. <BR/><BR/>My Dad and I are 45 years apart, so, I don't know who this puzzle was made for. Not for us, thats for sure.sillygoosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03483946342170291849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-21518814723599084962008-11-30T21:29:00.000-05:002008-11-30T21:29:00.000-05:00I want to see more of the word 'crosswordease' fro...I want to see more of the word 'crosswordease' from Rex's article. Maybe that can be the new term for etui, olio, epee, et al. Hah, my spellchecker doesn't like either etui or olio.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-20471136139526960692008-11-30T21:25:00.000-05:002008-11-30T21:25:00.000-05:0041 D Tropical drink embellishment81 D Kind of stor...41 D Tropical drink embellishment<BR/>81 D Kind of storm (TROPICAL)<BR/>isn't this out of bounds?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-40832809509450923212008-11-30T21:02:00.000-05:002008-11-30T21:02:00.000-05:00I've got a horse right here.I did not like the puz...I've got a horse right here.<BR/><BR/>I did not like the puzzle today.<BR/>I did not like it in any way.<BR/>I did not like it across and down.<BR/>I did not like it, it made me frown.<BR/><BR/>@ Edith B: That's what I loved about Maleska. Sort of like reading old Penguin paperbacks from your parents bookshelf that contain a world now gone.Hungry Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08101748048713015724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-23168820292220994922008-11-30T20:46:00.000-05:002008-11-30T20:46:00.000-05:00@greene, (Beware the cole slaw on the shark's back...@greene, <BR/>(Beware the cole slaw on the shark's back!)<BR/><BR/>...an imitation Hitler,<BR/> but with littler charm...<BR/>But, oh,... Can that boy fox trot!fikinkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06324570637549775751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-77545636718628584202008-11-30T20:36:00.000-05:002008-11-30T20:36:00.000-05:00ATTENTION ALL MUSICAL THEATRE CULTISTS: Subject h...ATTENTION ALL MUSICAL THEATRE CULTISTS: Subject has unraveled nefarious conversion plot. Blog coup foiled. Abort, abort!Greenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10412634072650228847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-17804679479748246352008-11-30T20:11:00.000-05:002008-11-30T20:11:00.000-05:00I'm with the crowd on this one -- especially irked...I'm with the crowd on this one -- especially irked with menhaden/deodato (my one mistake was the d crossing) and decem (yes x = 10, but really obscure, I think).<BR/><BR/>Just to add one more complaint -- as a long time chess player, I've hardly ever seen knight abbreviated knt. Nowadays N is almost always used; Kt was common in the days of descriptive notation.Michael Chibnikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04700426644898924644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-84471742447067362372008-11-30T19:36:00.000-05:002008-11-30T19:36:00.000-05:00Yes -- not difficult but really irritating. I di...Yes -- not difficult but really irritating. I did like FRIARTOKE, though. DEODATO was just gratuitous -- for the first time in a while I had to google: "zarathustra 1973 disco" yielded the answer, but usually when I'm resorting to googling at least I have the satisfaction of feeling like a bit of an idiot for not knowing this. I thought knowing that there was a disco version was already pretty good. <BR/><BR/>MENHADEN wasn't a challenge -- it's actually one of the most common fish, eaten both by people and by other fish. Don't know if I'd compare it to mackerel, though. <BR/><BR/>Don't get me started on GNAR.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-42450252593554519382008-11-30T18:54:00.000-05:002008-11-30T18:54:00.000-05:00I'm a little upset that everyone disliked this puz...I'm a little upset that everyone disliked this puzzle since I for once solved it in less than a day, despite the near-impossible NW corner and the reference to 'Lum and Abner' which I'm quite sure I've never heard of in my life (and I'm *not* under 60). Also, my wife had to help me with 'Menhaden' and 'Lanark' -- both requiring actual knowledge as opposed to pun-guessing.<BR/><BR/>To confess, I had even a harder time on SE, because I wanted 'Pamela' for the Fielding novel (yes, I know it was by... Richardson?) and 'wiper' instead of 'decal' -- as usual, a little knowledge is dangerous.<BR/><BR/>But I am a happy camper to have done it before Thursday, and post on this excellent blog!Stanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02681342234536407419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45266539924680464152008-11-30T18:29:00.000-05:002008-11-30T18:29:00.000-05:00@Azim . . yes, Mr. Shortz, and every puzzle editor...@Azim . . <BR/><BR/>yes, Mr. Shortz, and every puzzle editor, has complete control over the finalised version of the puzzle. here's an interesting story about the editor<BR/><BR/>http://www.crosswordtournament.com/articles/sp062206.htmAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-28958636582139482762008-11-30T18:05:00.000-05:002008-11-30T18:05:00.000-05:00I just misread the the "Leave your comment" as "Le...I just misread the the "Leave your comment" as "Leave your complaint." My finished grid was an ugly mess, too. The SE corner offered some interesting possibilities in CAJOLE, DECANTS, but ultimately proved unsatisfying.fergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-58063177262106474652008-11-30T18:01:00.000-05:002008-11-30T18:01:00.000-05:00Thanks, Doris, for your response on Beth. I, too,...Thanks, Doris, for your response on Beth. I, too, kept trying to make "little" work.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-33327288358695412752008-11-30T17:54:00.000-05:002008-11-30T17:54:00.000-05:00Rex,I don't think they are attempting a *conversio...Rex,<BR/><BR/>I don't think they are attempting a *conversion*, I believe it might be more of an *intervention* --- to rescue you from the clutches of a certain TV cartoon cult ;-)Glitchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14940000404613329056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-18804980371304148712008-11-30T17:26:00.000-05:002008-11-30T17:26:00.000-05:00@Rex: what does "Ponca" stand for again, I forgot....@Rex: what does "Ponca" stand for again, I forgot.machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-47693526879438715812008-11-30T17:14:00.000-05:002008-11-30T17:14:00.000-05:00Probably the corniest Sunday NYT's puzzle I've 'so...Probably the corniest Sunday NYT's puzzle I've 'solved' in a long while! Surely Will Shortz has some control on the final product, or is 24 across ("Will's opposite") in play here?pauloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06714373363967603025noreply@blogger.com