tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post3079211151252393751..comments2024-03-28T09:29:17.902-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: SATURDAY, Jul. 21, 2007 - Raymond YoungRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80182605633790514802007-09-05T16:17:00.000-04:002007-09-05T16:17:00.000-04:00Gang - I caught a LOT of flak for recently posting...Gang - I caught a LOT of flak for recently posting a negative comment in the Cruciverbalist forum about HANDCAMERA. I, too, felt it was rather weak - HAND seemed almost redundant - and included to save that portion of the fill, much like OPERA in the answer above it.<BR/><BR/>I was informed (scolded?!?) by "experienced" NYT constructors (no names please) that it was NOT a stretch, that a hand camera was a device developed in the Victorian era, and that 21,000 Google hits validated it as a answer. Whatever - based solely on the clue, this history seems irrelevant & I would never have investigated it to learn its background. I did learn that constructors apparently defend their own, at the expense of being condescending to their target audience, i.e., solvers...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-25591927851355478052007-09-02T19:26:00.000-04:002007-09-02T19:26:00.000-04:00I had missingans for faux pa originally....I had missingans for faux pa originally....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-87691868169131558922007-09-02T17:07:00.000-04:002007-09-02T17:07:00.000-04:00This puzzle was a very pleasant slog for me over t...This puzzle was a very pleasant slog for me over three or four sessions. I didn't keep track of the many cups of tea and coffee I consumed while doing it. <BR/><BR/>The N/W was the last corner completed because at the very start, like Wade, I blithly entered SNOW PEA for 1d and then, thinking how clever I was, SEMINARIAN for the 1a "false father" clue. Of course this locked out the whole sector, and it wasn't until I reluctantly checked Google to see if d'Urfe was yclept LENORE that I was able to complete.<BR/><BR/>I am a "faux pa" myself, but I wasn't a bit offended by the clever clue. I have referred to my wife Hanne's oldest son Jens as my "stepson" for the last 30 years, but I admit that of late I have been dropping the "step" modifier as it is pretty irrelevent.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-82431097305032167332007-09-01T22:42:00.000-04:002007-09-01T22:42:00.000-04:00I was kind of startled by the 1-across clue, too, ...I was kind of startled by the 1-across clue, too, but Mrs.5000 thought it was a gimme and entered it without comment. I didn't mention that I thought it was kind of a jaundiced clue, and probably won't bring it up now as she is still seething from the way I laughed and laughed as I corrected her "macaronii" to "manicotti."Michael5000https://www.blogger.com/profile/10148584819327475239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-18785301555837612632007-09-01T13:02:00.000-04:002007-09-01T13:02:00.000-04:00I just began doing NYT Crosswords recently. While...I just began doing NYT Crosswords recently. While cheating, I came across your blog. I was so happy when I read the comments about orientated. When I saw this clue I was just about to quit doing these puzzles. As far as I am concerned - there is no such word. When I see it in print I find I just can't cope. I am British and have never seen the word.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26932598199686774692007-07-22T23:47:00.000-04:002007-07-22T23:47:00.000-04:00Faut (same pronunciation as faux) is French which ...Faut (same pronunciation as faux) is French which basically translates as "must" (it almost always comes as "Il faut...", which means "it/one must"). Pas usually means "not" (usually ne...pas). Many people confuse "faux pas" ("false step") with "faut pas" (not really a term, but it would logically translate to "must not") because they both sound the same and would have pretty much the same meaning, if "faut pas" were a term, which it isn't. That, I think, is where the other talk about the meaning of "faux pas" comes from.sonofdadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07177442874914826830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-1382138797586454392007-07-22T08:13:00.000-04:002007-07-22T08:13:00.000-04:00Let's be clear. PAS in FAUX PAS means STEP, not NO...Let's be clear. PAS in FAUX PAS means STEP, not NOT.<BR/><BR/>FAUX= false<BR/>PAS= step <BR/><BR/>I have no idea what all this other talk about the meaning of FAUX PAS is about. From Wiki:<BR/><BR/>"The term comes from French and literally means "false step". However, it is a formal rather than everyday expression in French and does not generally have the figurative meaning used in English. It is occasionally employed to describe a physical loss of balance or general mistakes (for instance: mes faux pas dans la vie, the mistakes I made in my life). If one uses faux pas with the English meaning in France, people might think it was a slight grammatical mistake with faut pas, the colloquial pronunciation of il ne faut pas, meaning must not in English. For faux pas with the English meaning, the French would usually say gaffe or erreur."Rex Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-59346618943164586732007-07-22T04:30:00.000-04:002007-07-22T04:30:00.000-04:00Oh yeah, that font. Anticlimactic. How 'bout..."...Oh yeah, that font. Anticlimactic. How 'bout..."typical sort?" for font? Punchy? No? Nevermind.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-55910041086812548362007-07-22T00:40:00.000-04:002007-07-22T00:40:00.000-04:00Ironic, isn't it, that in English we tend to take ...Ironic, isn't it, that in English we tend to take the faux part of faux pas to mean fake when, as Hobbyist indicated above it is the "pas" that we should use. It is a translation "pas" not a faux translation.<BR/><BR/>The clue more rightly should have been "pa pas" although just as insensitive. Then faux fur should be fur pas. What then the poor sherpas? Are they not sure?<BR/><BR/>But I will let it pass or the fur will fly and the furrow follow free.<BR/><BR/>Literary . . . pas. But then I spent the day in the hot sun at the Champ Car races. A bit addled fur sher.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-90671584038713242762007-07-21T22:41:00.000-04:002007-07-21T22:41:00.000-04:00Got STEPFATHER quickly, loved the pun, but thought...Got STEPFATHER quickly, loved the pun, but thought it was not right on. If I WERE one, I'd probably also be as annoyed as some of you. Also hate ORIENTATED, although I got it fairly quickly. There's another, similar, word which people use which bothered me throughout my working life (I'm now retired), and I CAN'T THINK OF IT! right now. I also thought "DC figure" a great clue, but I was on the right track from the beginning, and got it after the "O" in "TOORDER". Actually, I found this puzzle quite easy, which is strange since I'm always amazed at how many people quickly solve those that take me a long time.Genehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17061491158278453862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9072995155578204382007-07-21T18:54:00.000-04:002007-07-21T18:54:00.000-04:00This one went pretty fast for me. Things go quickl...This one went pretty fast for me. Things go quickly when you guess right e.g. ANTWERP off the RP, SNAPPEA off the P in PINS. While I didn't think about it at the time, STEPFATHER for faux pa is a bit ugly. All my initial guesses for that involved something negative e.g. FAKE.., BAD...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61170799081950426902007-07-21T18:45:00.000-04:002007-07-21T18:45:00.000-04:00green mantis, I love your posts. To ORIENTATE you...green mantis, I love your posts. <BR/><BR/>To ORIENTATE you, a font is also a basin used in baptisms, and perhaps even other rituals. <BR/><BR/>I meant to mention earlier that Orientate frosts my butt, just as Administrate does. But the dictionary allows it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-4108843593310319692007-07-21T18:44:00.000-04:002007-07-21T18:44:00.000-04:00A FONT can also hold water, which may be used in a...A FONT can also hold water, which may be used in any number of "rites" (baptismal, for instance).<BR/><BR/>rpRex Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-92148962997871351412007-07-21T18:33:00.000-04:002007-07-21T18:33:00.000-04:00This puzzle beat me up for a while. I thought of ...This puzzle beat me up for a while. I thought of stepfather right away, and although the implication of fakeness felt wrong, I also inferred a bit of sheepishness into the question mark in the clue, thereby releasing the author from liability and allowing me to fill it in. I didn't, though, because I really thought "calling" was destiny and really really wanted it to be destiny, so spent about a half hour trying to make "faux pa" adopted dad or something. Brutal.<BR/><BR/>I have long been anti-orientate, but I've been watching a lot of Man vs. Wild lately, and my new hero, a Brit, says it quite a bit, so I've softened. He also shows me how to suck sturgeon spinal cord fluid for nutrients when stranded at sea.<BR/><BR/>Finally, how is a font a "rite aid"? I wanted idol, then fast once stepfather insisted upon itself. Fonts are type styles, right? Rites are rituals, right? Rite?<BR/><BR/>Orientate me, please.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-58603880496640591312007-07-21T17:14:00.000-04:002007-07-21T17:14:00.000-04:00re: quaint name for the smashing head -- that simp...re: quaint name for the smashing head -- that simply appears to be "face":<BR/><BR/> 15. a. In implements, tools, etc.: The acting, striking, or working surface. (oed)<BR/><BR/>try the hex acrostic for yet another take on this topic -- from an entirely different world.<BR/><BR/>;-)<BR/><BR/>janieAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-30485951651964664822007-07-21T16:32:00.000-04:002007-07-21T16:32:00.000-04:00ORIENTATED -- Yeah, that's used just like Oriented...ORIENTATED -- Yeah, that's used just like Oriented is used in the US. However, my very petty gripe about the match between clue and answer is that Orientate assumes a direct object and is therefore a transitive verb. The way the clue is used, at least the way I interpret it, makes Adjust an intransitive verb. That inconsistency is what left some of us a bit DISORIENTED, if not a bit squeamish about the answer/clue connection.<BR/><BR/>Oh, and I have a lovely old ball-PEEN hammer, which clearly puts the peen opposite to the smashing head, which must have a similarly quaint name.<BR/><BR/>Ditto on STEPFATHER having poor or NO TASTE, but it did set me up to go nicely round in counterclockwise blocks. You suppose 13D was an explicit admission of same?fergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-78463609542759094772007-07-21T16:06:00.000-04:002007-07-21T16:06:00.000-04:00Hi RexSumac, when not poisonous, makes a great spi...Hi Rex<BR/><BR/>Sumac, when not poisonous, makes a great spice (middle eastern). It's a little tart and gives zing to many salads. A good recipe is to heat some olive oil and toast some pinenuts, add some chopped onions and then a bunch of sumac powder (which turns the onions a cool purple color). You can put that on baked chicken, etc... Try it! I would not add another faux hint to your day.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-30315276180556517432007-07-21T15:27:00.000-04:002007-07-21T15:27:00.000-04:00I got STEPFATHER right away. Now I realize that t...I got STEPFATHER right away. Now I realize that that makes me a bad person. The puzzle went pretty smoothly for me throughout, though I got hung up in the NW because I had SNOWPEAS instead of SNAPPEAS.<BR/><BR/>SUMAC, by the way, is pronounced "shoe-make," at least in Texas. I was in college before I realized that the word I was reading (and pronouncing) as "sue mac" was the shoemake I'd grown up with. Had a similiar experience with bois d'arc. The bodark trees in our front yard (also called horseapple trees) turned out to be the same thing as those "boys de ark" trees I was reading about for years.<BR/><BR/>While I'm in confessional mode, it was a college girlfriend's smug older brother who pointed out to me that "superfluous" wasn't pronounced in such a way to indicate that something was very, very fluous. (Look at my dumb country ass now, Tom. Bet you can't finish the Saturday NYTimes crossword.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-41234524440540984162007-07-21T14:45:00.000-04:002007-07-21T14:45:00.000-04:00I never knew that orientate was a real word. I alw...I never knew that orientate was a real word. I always thought it came about from people throwing in the extra "ate" because of the noun form. It still sounds wrong to me, though.sonofdadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07177442874914826830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-17011569105752849272007-07-21T14:38:00.000-04:002007-07-21T14:38:00.000-04:00Rex,Excellent blog, today, as are many of the comm...Rex,<BR/><BR/>Excellent blog, today, as are many of the comments. <BR/><BR/>I've been my kids' father, though not bioligically their whole lives (well over 30 yearrs) and could be considered a FAUX PA, but don't find the term demeaning or insulting. I can understand why you've reacted as you have, but maybe when Sahra s my kids' age, you'll have a different perspective. Or maybe it's just the meaning one puts on FAUX PA.JC66https://www.blogger.com/profile/05324615675333287919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-34690436892066359552007-07-21T14:36:00.000-04:002007-07-21T14:36:00.000-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.JC66https://www.blogger.com/profile/05324615675333287919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-14090390896665145672007-07-21T14:22:00.000-04:002007-07-21T14:22:00.000-04:00Thinking in the same vein as Michael ... another w...Thinking in the same vein as Michael ... another way to have clued STEPFATHER:<BR/><BR/>"You remind me of a girlfriend in Detroit ... but you look more like her _________" - Curly Howard in Three Little Twirps <BR/><BR/>Yeah, I know that clue's too long, but it is a whole lot funnier than faux pa. ;)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-85977406411215021482007-07-21T13:33:00.000-04:002007-07-21T13:33:00.000-04:00Actually, the first choice in Italian for "sleeve"...Actually, the first choice in Italian for "sleeve" is "manica." "Maniche" in the plural. "Manicotto" actually means "muff." It is also another word for "sleeve," but not a first choice. However, opera lovers will recognize "manicotto" from the last act of La bohème when Mimì asks for one to warm those same hands that were cold in Act I. The literal translation of "manicotti" is "baked" or "warmed hands." So there.<BR/><BR/>Opera Pedant (and loving it)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-83419289401065454692007-07-21T13:30:00.000-04:002007-07-21T13:30:00.000-04:00Ha. You're right about HONERE.At one point I was ...Ha. You're right about HONERE.<BR/><BR/>At one point I was serioiusly considering GODSFATHER for the "Faux pa" position. It made sense at the time.crossnerdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09186341753139439993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61001919777826141412007-07-21T13:11:00.000-04:002007-07-21T13:11:00.000-04:00Given how yesterday's puzzle ate me for lunch, I w...Given how yesterday's puzzle ate me for lunch, I was happy to be able to finish this one - in between breask of grading test papers.<BR/><BR/>I think this is the first time in a while where I was able to get all the clues I did not know (e.g., manicotti) by finding some of the crosses and then having the "aha" moment.<BR/><BR/>I join the rest of you in agreeing the first clue is clunky (even though it took me awhile to figure it out).<BR/><BR/>And, Rex, even though I've been doing NYT's puzzles on-line for quite a few years, I only discovered your Blog a couple weeks ago. I honestly think your comments (along with those who post here) have actually helped me get better with the Friday and Saturday puzzles. Thanks.<BR/><BR/>liebAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com