tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post3130557131670442251..comments2024-03-29T08:00:02.522-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Director Mack of early slapstick / SUN 1-5-14 / George's mother on Seinfeld / Cartoony clubs / Sainted archbishop of Canterbury who founded scholasticism / Bloody Mary stirrerRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger106125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-15796767021109814952014-02-17T07:51:53.726-05:002014-02-17T07:51:53.726-05:00@Dictionaries: You made the same alleged usage err...@Dictionaries: You made the same alleged usage error as @LMS, unless the *enormousness* of the mistake led to some cataclysmic evil...<br /> <br /><br /> Or were you being ironical?Thesaurinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-20451566929778106372014-01-22T17:40:01.380-05:002014-01-22T17:40:01.380-05:00@Ann - May I direct your attention to the FAQ link...@Ann - May I direct your attention to the <a href="http://rexwordpuzzle.blogspot.com/p/frequently-asked-questions-i-get-lots.html" rel="nofollow">FAQ</a> link at the top of the blog. Your question, and many other frequently asked questions are answered there (though nothing about the rumored OOXTEPLERNON shirts).FAQhttp://rexwordpuzzle.blogspot.com/p/frequently-asked-questions-i-get-lots.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-81755283653115653542014-01-22T17:10:52.927-05:002014-01-22T17:10:52.927-05:00Why is there a red letter in the solved puzzle?Why is there a red letter in the solved puzzle?Annnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-85141641226164510682014-01-12T18:02:48.162-05:002014-01-12T18:02:48.162-05:00I enjoyed it but I certainly didn't think it w...I enjoyed it but I certainly didn't think it was easy. For reasons I don't understand I had the SE quadrant filled in before the others were complete so I avoided the trap that got @Spacey. Of course 14d was a total gimme for me because I see the Maine State seal practically every day.<br /><br />It would have been very cool if each of the "rooms" in the grid could have been connected by a "secret door" to the adjacent room, like in the board game but I guess that's asking too much of the constructor.<br /><br />@Rex says he seldom hears from syndi-solvers even though we make up more than half of his reader-ship. That's a shame on us, and I hope everyone here in Syn-city, commenters and lurkers alike, will consider rewarding our host for creating this on-line community and allowing us to take part in it.<br /><br />Four fives - read 'em and weep.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-14307026509220186432014-01-12T12:16:24.140-05:002014-01-12T12:16:24.140-05:00I cannot believe this. Is there NO ONE who, puttin...I cannot believe this. Is there NO ONE who, putting 1a together with the shaded clues, CONFIDENTLY wrote in SCARLET??? Come on, "The 'who' of a Clue accusation, whose identity is hinted at by the three shaded answers in this quadrant." I cannot BELIEVE that there weren't TONS of you who fell for that. I was expecting to say "Hand up for ScarleT" among a sea of hands.<br /><br />Anyway, the NW quad filled easily from the bottom up, till I could make no sense of the NW part of the NW. Confused? YESYES, me too. I finally got it straightened out, realizing at last they were going for the NONAME term SUSPECT.<br /><br />Thus I saw that I wasn't looking for a 4-LETTER room, but the word ROOM; nor for a 6-letter weapon, just WEAPON.<br /><br />Some intriguing long-word pairings: PRETZELS/DIETSODA, PTERODACTYL/ALIENATTACK, ABANDONSHIP/ROLLINGPINS (well, if you feel your legs [PINS] ROLLING it might well be time to, uh, OK, it was a stretch).<br /><br />@lms: you sound gruntled. Yet you "loved" SILENTB. I do not. Let me go ONATEAR: What in the h-e-double hockey sticks is ETSY?? Oh wait, I know: it's just my friend Betsy, with the GODDAMNED SILENTB!! Anyway, I had to leave in ETSY because the REST of it fit, and hope it made some kind of sense to somebody.<br /><br />So no, not exactly easy for me, but I kinda enjoyed it. It certainly was different. Had it not been for the horrendous 83a, I'd have gone two thumbs up.spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-15766974982380875572014-01-07T00:39:01.511-05:002014-01-07T00:39:01.511-05:00@Trevor Gatty:
The puzzles you refer to are calle...@Trevor Gatty:<br /><br />The puzzles you refer to are called cryptic. Conventionally, the clues are in two parts: a definition and directions for solving set up as a single sentence. The trick is to figure out which parts of the sentence represent which element of the solution. The clue for SILENTB does not live up to that standard. It is often the case that a solution <i>can</i> be inferred from crosses in cryptic crosswords. <br /><br />I've enjoyed the London Times puzzles, mostly the Sunday ones when they were published in paperback by Penguin. I've also done ones from The Telegraph, The Guardian, The Sydney Morning Herald and a Scottish paper, the Mail? <br /><br />Of the readily available puzzles in the U. S. The NYT puzzles tend to be the best, ranging in difficulty from easy Mondays to confounding Saturdays. Not at all the same as cryptics but still puzzling in their own right.<br /><br />There are some cryptics available online for free as well as subscriptions like The London Times.<br /><br />Welcome to Rexworld. I hope you'll come to appreciate all of the NYT puzzles and become a part of our cozy and diverse family here.Numinoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01263999193499725814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45023365460357520952014-01-06T23:16:43.067-05:002014-01-06T23:16:43.067-05:00I'm British, my wife is from New York. We both...I'm British, my wife is from New York. We both enjoy the Sunday NT crosswords but I am interested only in working out the answers, not all the fancy design features. Does anyone share my liking for the London Times puzzles, in which no clue can be completely answered by working out the clues around it The answers intersect but never adjoin each other. I thought that only "SilentB" came up to the London standard and of course it could be deduced if one solved the ones surrounding it.Trevor Gattynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-36409472786312169742014-01-06T19:48:58.635-05:002014-01-06T19:48:58.635-05:00Did this late Saturday using Crux on an iPad. This...Did this late Saturday using Crux on an iPad. This is not my favorite way to solve, and I was pretty worn-out from three days of skiing, so my reaction was fairly muted. Clue was not a big game in this family, but we did play it. Current fave game is <i>Ticket to Ride</i>. Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-83906821205833607442014-01-06T09:15:35.146-05:002014-01-06T09:15:35.146-05:00Not familiar with MNIGHTSHYAMALAN and TNUT was pre...Not familiar with MNIGHTSHYAMALAN and TNUT was pretty iffy, so their crossing almost produced a natick for me. Fortunately, no letter but T seemed to fit.<br /><br />The most enduring sports image in my mind is Kurt Gibson's game-winning homerun in the 1988 World Series. Vin Scully's call, "High fly ball into right field...she is GONE!" followed by not one word as the crippled Gibson limps around the bases remains one of the great feats of sportscasting ever, rivaled only perhaps by Al Michaels' "Do you believe in miracles?"lawprofnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-2961600474283951152014-01-06T00:26:58.127-05:002014-01-06T00:26:58.127-05:00@Jayhale: U and S are initials for United and Stat...@Jayhale: U and S are initials for United and States, respectively. Just like W in Ralph W Emerson is an initial for Waldo. <br /><br />Your confusion is precisely why I hate this style of clue. It's a cheap trick (one that's nowhere near as good as the band of the same name). Steve Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15185067739452052656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-62330149145132031132014-01-06T00:22:24.804-05:002014-01-06T00:22:24.804-05:00Still confused about 84d. What is initial?Still confused about 84d. What is initial?Jayhalenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67793098513453696932014-01-05T23:44:54.221-05:002014-01-05T23:44:54.221-05:00had not played Clue since I was a baby PTERODACTYL...had not played Clue since I was a baby PTERODACTYL wanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-23126896522224264212014-01-05T21:46:39.744-05:002014-01-05T21:46:39.744-05:00@Fearless Kim—
Yes, that address is still operati...@Fearless Kim—<br /><br />Yes, that address is still operative, but not for long. I'll check it this week. Thanks.Rex Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-43986130011225362862014-01-05T21:39:39.630-05:002014-01-05T21:39:39.630-05:00@Anonymous at 9:34pm:
Part of "U.S." (...@Anonymous at 9:34pm:<br /> Part of "U.S." (not part of "United States", but rather part of "U.S.") is an initial (eg. "U") and "INIT" is an abbreviation for "initial".paulsfohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07721639286466422944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31391040838338728192014-01-05T21:37:55.336-05:002014-01-05T21:37:55.336-05:0084. Part of U.S.: Abbr. : INIT
Initial (init.)84. Part of U.S.: Abbr. : INIT<br />Initial (init.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26464230907954303992014-01-05T21:34:23.074-05:002014-01-05T21:34:23.074-05:00Can someone explain 84 down?Can someone explain 84 down?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-28894797451633103962014-01-05T21:20:14.475-05:002014-01-05T21:20:14.475-05:00This week's relative difficulty ratings. See m...This week's relative difficulty ratings. See my 8/1/2009 post for an explanation and my 10/15/2012 post for an explanation of a tweak I've made to my method. 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 7:38, 6:18, 1.21, 97%, Challenging (7th highest ratio of 210 Mondays)<br />Tue 7:37, 8:12, 0.93, 26%, Easy-Medium<br />Wed 14:15, 10:26, 1.37, 97%, Challenging (8th highest ratio of 209 Wednesdays)<br />Thu 21:04, 18:24, 1.14, 74%, Medium-Challenging<br />Fri 21:26, 19:47, 1.08, 72%, Medium-Challenging<br />Sat 32:10, 28:35, 1.13, 82%, Challenging<br />Sun 30:07, 29:48, 1.01, 58%, Medium<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 4:42, 3:56, 1.19, 96%, Challenging (9th highest ratio of 210 Mondays)<br />Tue 4:45, 5:09, 0.92, 20%, Easy-Medium<br />Wed 9:00, 6:11, 1.46, 100%, Challenging (2nd highest ratio of 209 Wednesdays)<br />Thu 12:58, 10:36, 1.22, 80%, Medium-Challenging<br />Fri 12:14, 11:32, 1.06, 60%, Medium-Challenging<br />Sat 19:59, 17:37, 1.13, 77%, Medium-Challenging<br />Sun 19:35, 20:23, 0.96, 38%, Easy-Mediumsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-42214272855771275122014-01-05T20:50:05.162-05:002014-01-05T20:50:05.162-05:00Tita@8:23
?Tita@8:23<br /> ?ANON Bnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-90007388068379227692014-01-05T20:49:01.435-05:002014-01-05T20:49:01.435-05:00Tita@8:23
?Tita@8:23<br /> ?ANON Bnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-63358051428782679002014-01-05T20:23:06.370-05:002014-01-05T20:23:06.370-05:00Just had to come back here...
The anonymouse re: ...Just had to come back here...<br /><br />The anonymouse re: swastikas made me look at the grid and wonder how many crossword grids can look like swastikas.<br />Sorry, but that is appallingly absurd. <br /><br />Happily, it reminded me to remember the crossing of REPO Man with NONAME...a shoutout to the generic products labeled "Food", "Beer"...?<br /><br />(I'll deduct one post from tomorrow's count...)Titahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368251255494687496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46263318496486080932014-01-05T19:59:17.489-05:002014-01-05T19:59:17.489-05:00ANONYMOUS@6:45:
I don't see a swastika in
th...ANONYMOUS@6:45:<br /> I don't see a swastika in<br />the NW. I can vaguely see one in the NEANON Bnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-79117520595293269882014-01-05T19:42:32.641-05:002014-01-05T19:42:32.641-05:00The Agard/Kravis puzzle was fun. Took a long while...The Agard/Kravis puzzle was fun. Took a long while for the lightbulb to go on, but enjoyed it when it did. <br /><br />@Teresa in Detroit/Anon 7.05 and @chefbea (or anyone else who's stumped): I'm not going to offer an explanation in the open, in case others are interested in doing the puzzle, but click my name and send me an email at the address on my profile page, and I'll be happy to fill you in. Steve Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15185067739452052656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-58506442337562523412014-01-05T19:34:41.792-05:002014-01-05T19:34:41.792-05:00@anonymous 7:05 I don't get it either@anonymous 7:05 I don't get it eitherchefbeahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15195945085405126511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-75300978658133027762014-01-05T19:14:19.069-05:002014-01-05T19:14:19.069-05:00Anonymous 645:
I thought I was the only one who sa...Anonymous 645:<br />I thought I was the only one who saw that! Agreed.Benkonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-18964501968756969032014-01-05T19:14:17.890-05:002014-01-05T19:14:17.890-05:00I'm surprised at you, Rex. "Istle" i...I'm surprised at you, Rex. "Istle" is a pretty common exemplar of crosswordese.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com