tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post3273551212454739881..comments2024-03-19T05:57:42.282-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Dweller in Pristina / THU 11-11-10 / West coast brew for short / Antimicrobial bit in mouthwashes / Iranian city of 1.2+ million / Like wizards capsRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger118125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-6046554078825820032022-11-24T16:52:27.310-05:002022-11-24T16:52:27.310-05:00Still a great puzzle 22 years laterStill a great puzzle 22 years laterDramaWritComphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09929827655057994395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-18233697047575675062010-12-17T10:54:12.101-05:002010-12-17T10:54:12.101-05:00After 20 minutes of reading other comments, I fina...After 20 minutes of reading other comments, I finally began to get the idea. This was fun, but frustratingAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-14707813265365638712010-12-17T01:29:10.844-05:002010-12-17T01:29:10.844-05:00Agree with all who did the grid in pencil or pen. ...Agree with all who did the grid in pencil or pen. What stuck in my craw was sozzled. I have been three sheets to the wind and even in that condition would not describe it as being sozzled.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-3378772374628877752010-12-16T21:48:11.355-05:002010-12-16T21:48:11.355-05:00Done the puzzle Wed-Sun for years, read this blog ...Done the puzzle Wed-Sun for years, read this blog maybe five times. I'm slow; I do it in the newspaper with ink. You think a line in your z on a computer screen was a problem? Try making "no onion" out of my careless scrawl...but I did eventually. It's a workaround, and one that was well-worthwhile. The guy's first puzzle, and a smashing debut if you ask me. You snobs who harshly criticize it would probably boo a great singer onstage.rawcerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00948024756621712694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-88769998383259213022010-12-16T21:14:20.164-05:002010-12-16T21:14:20.164-05:00This one totally overwhelmed me - I solve on paper...This one totally overwhelmed me - I solve on paper, in lower case printing, so even though I kind of got the theme I never saw the H/I or C/U connections. I did see the Z/N relationship and that helped me get some of the theme answers, but even the ones I got I didn't understand why. Rotating the whole word never, ever occurred to me. Still had fun trying to figure it out and knew I could come here to have everything explained. The puzzle originally appeared on Veterans Day and it was nice to see all the SHOUTOUTs to the men and women - past and present - in our armed forces.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-19168927955721387762010-12-16T21:11:32.155-05:002010-12-16T21:11:32.155-05:00So many critics of such a cool puzzle. I loved it....So many critics of such a cool puzzle. I loved it. If some of the fill was a little weak, just think how hard it must've been for the constructor to work with such severe restrictions. Two thumbs up Mr. Zhou.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-64632996860551260332010-12-16T18:40:19.259-05:002010-12-16T18:40:19.259-05:00Waste of time. Do not take kindly to this genre of...Waste of time. Do not take kindly to this genre of tomfoolery.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-3580571599621310802010-12-16T17:19:20.274-05:002010-12-16T17:19:20.274-05:00Syndicated paper solver.
I wonder how many other ...Syndicated paper solver.<br /><br />I wonder how many other Chinese generals, along with Pao and TSOS, have chicken dishes named after them. What's the deal with that: was there a big cookoff where the most delicious entree won the war?<br /><br />Played plenty of marbles at recess as a kid, but know TAW only from xwords.<br /><br />Love the clue "Formal/informal . . ." for 31D ITSI, except for the apostrophe part.<br /><br />OK with OKD, ATYA, OMERS, even SOZZLED (though I've never heard it in real life), but I dislike TWOHR intensely for some reason.<br /><br />I usually put crosses through my 7's & Z's also, learned to in Europe; but, once this puzz's ruse was sniffed out, that didn't present a real problem. The H's for I's gave me a little stall for awhile, though. My first theme "get" was the "NOONION" one, which I at first interpreted as "NO ON[for onion], HON."<br /><br />Puzzle sucked until the trick was gleaned, then YOWSER!!!<br /><br />captcha: syche: how she could have spelled her name if she weren't so intent on playin' with yer head!NotalwaysrightBillnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-32206529081348803062010-12-16T11:20:31.736-05:002010-12-16T11:20:31.736-05:00a fun-less stupid puzzle today and a waste of time...a fun-less stupid puzzle today and a waste of time figuring out nonsenseAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-27723565530656925842010-11-15T22:27:07.773-05:002010-11-15T22:27:07.773-05:00Would've been a LOT easier if I didn't cro...Would've been a LOT easier if I didn't cross my Zs...darn junior high Algebra habits die hard.Heidihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06047448565179055542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-78882677506739345552010-11-12T17:00:24.919-05:002010-11-12T17:00:24.919-05:00I guess I was in the zone with this, and, as a mat...I guess I was in the zone with this, and, as a mathematician, I have good spacial sense. Anyway, it was one of my faster Thursdays, and it might be the first time I was fast enough to have been in the top 50 from SanFranMan's list.Badirnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67805902261333896422010-11-12T16:27:53.674-05:002010-11-12T16:27:53.674-05:00Where to start ? So much interaction on the blog t...Where to start ? So much interaction on the blog today. I'm an electrician, but we've already beat the RHEOSTAT thing to death. Likewise the SANDSTONE thing, and I know nothing about rocks unless you count diamonds but never thought of crack cocaine? <br /><br /> @H Hefner 12:28 A.M.--- I desperately wanted to plug that name in there. Having worked for Playboy between December of 71 and March of 73, I thought it was the perfect clue. After falling one letter short, I settled for DUSTMOP and then DUSTRAG, before accepting DUSTPAN. Boring !<br /><br />chefwen @ 1:32 A.M --- I too, wanted ASS at 39A, but soon remembered that I was at the NYT website, as opposed to B.E.Q.'s. Various SLINGS were popular circa 1940-50, but the " Singapore " is the only one that has maintained a modicum of popularity.<br /><br />Andrea WOTD Michaels @ 4:11 A.M.-- I'm impressed ! I too, though the clue was baseball related.<br /><br />These are the saddest of possible words:<br />“Tinker to Evers to Chance.”<br />Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,<br />Tinker and Evers and Chance.<br />Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble,<br />Making a Giant hit into a double –<br />Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:<br />“Tinker to Evers to Chance.”<br /><br />You never cease to amaze me Lady !<br /><br />Mr.Ed said @ 9:30 A.M.--- I read 29d quickly and thought it read "Top of Catherine the Great." So, am I to surmise that your fantasies include viewing her from that perspective ?<br /><br />Foodie @ 10:42 A.M.--- I'll cut you some slack on your new protocol, vis-a-vis trying to hone the parameters of what constitutes cheating. Checking a letter or a word is O.K. if you're 99% positive that you are correct. However, if the check corrects an error, you have to accept a total fail. That's only if you see things in total black and white as I do. Different people have different personal standards. Almost is very good, but almost is not perfect, and I think that's what everyone should strive for ?<br /><br />Shamik @ 11:22 A.M.--- Hang in there buddy. I have two plates and seven screws in my ankle. A by-product of my never ending passion for motorcycles. The main thing, is to follow your physical therapy rehab rigorously. 85% is not good enough ! You must work through the pain until you're 100%. Otherwise, you will pay for it down the road. It just depends on how old you are, and what you're willing to consider as acceptable.<br /><br />Martin @ 11:43 A.M.-- Early Butt Welding ? Do they perform that shortly after circumcision ? You crack me up ! Bad pun!Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09850261376542582358noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31870043242394364022010-11-12T16:26:29.306-05:002010-11-12T16:26:29.306-05:00Where to start ? So much interaction on the blog t...Where to start ? So much interaction on the blog today. I'm an electrician, but we've already beat the RHEOSTAT thing to death. Likewise the SANDSTONE thing, and I know nothing about rocks unless you count diamonds but never thought of crack cocaine? <br /><br /> @H Hefner 12:28 A.M.--- I desperately wanted to plug that name in there. Having worked for Playboy between December of 71 and March of 73, I thought it was the perfect clue. After falling one letter short, I settled for DUSTMOP and then DUSTRAG, before accepting DUSTPAN. Boring !<br /><br />chefwen @ 1:32 A.M --- I too, wanted ASS at 39A, but soon remembered that I was at the NYT website, as opposed to B.E.Q.'s. Various SLINGS were popular circa 1940-50, but the " Singapore " is the only one that has maintained a modicum of popularity.<br /><br />Andrea WOTD Michaels @ 4:11 A.M.-- I'm impressed ! I too, though the clue was baseball related.<br /><br />These are the saddest of possible words:<br />“Tinker to Evers to Chance.”<br />Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,<br />Tinker and Evers and Chance.<br />Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble,<br />Making a Giant hit into a double –<br />Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:<br />“Tinker to Evers to Chance.”<br /><br />You never cease to amaze me Lady !<br /><br />Mr.Ed said @ 9:30 A.M.--- I read 29d quickly and thought it read "Top of Catherine the Great." So, am I to surmise that your fantasies include viewing her from that perspective ?<br /><br />Foodie @ 10:42 A.M.--- I'll cut you some slack on your new protocol, vis-a-vis trying to hone the parameters of what constitutes cheating. Checking a letter or a word is O.K. if you're 99% positive that you are correct. However, if the check corrects an error, you have to accept a total fail. That's only if you see things in total black and white as I do. Different people have different personal standards. Almost is very good, but almost is not perfect, and I think that's what everyone should strive for ?<br /><br />Shamik @ 11:22 A.M.--- Hang in there buddy. I have two plates and seven screws in my ankle. A by-product of my never ending passion for motorcycles. The main thing, is to follow your physical therapy rehab rigorously. 85% is not good enough ! You must work through the pain until you're 100%. Otherwise, you will pay for it down the road. It just depends on how old you are, and what you're willing to consider as acceptable.<br /><br />Martin @ 11:43 A.M.-- Early Butt Welding ? Do they perform that shortly after circumcision ? You crack me up ! Bad pun!<br /><br />JaxinL.A. @ 11:43-- Very informative post. Thanx !Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09850261376542582358noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-87627753673493181142010-11-12T11:44:08.268-05:002010-11-12T11:44:08.268-05:00The answer grid in today's printed Times has t...The answer grid in today's printed Times has the theme answers in a different font from the rest of the grid. I suppose this is to make the rotated H's look more like I's. Sort of an odd admission that that was the greatest stretch?BTWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-37605421639543019012010-11-12T11:39:51.002-05:002010-11-12T11:39:51.002-05:00I didnt get the whole H into I thing until I saw y...I didnt get the whole H into I thing until I saw your blog. OF course turned its a capital I. What with computers we seldom see those anymore. That explains the no onions I thought I had. CArrie Nye married to Dick Cavett. Didnt love this puzzle.Aging is Weirdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14894486039321856584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-68429556209146422772010-11-12T11:22:18.160-05:002010-11-12T11:22:18.160-05:00This was fun!This was fun!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50209265805513390942010-11-12T09:52:06.967-05:002010-11-12T09:52:06.967-05:00@reniekk: Our cat's name is Polly!@reniekk: Our cat's name is Polly!miriam bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506593846362044050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-1031254795145443152010-11-12T09:17:01.782-05:002010-11-12T09:17:01.782-05:00@miriam b..I had a polydactyl cat once...24 toes.....@miriam b..I had a polydactyl cat once...24 toes..6 oveer regulation! We called her Yeti when she was on the ground, and Velcro when she was in your lap!! LOL..THX for jogging that memory loosereniekkhttp://(optional)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67826998301080387362010-11-11T23:47:57.170-05:002010-11-11T23:47:57.170-05:00The NYTimes blog confirms that ZHOU → COIN was the...The NYTimes blog confirms that ZHOU → COIN was the kernel of the puzzle (or should I write "əızznd"?). I enjoyed it, notwithstanding some of the lousy fill that the theme calls for. (Though the ridiculous cross of 7D:OLY with 18A:NYES was unnecessary, since OLA/NAES was available, and this grid is hardly lacking for Scrabbliness even with one fewer Y.)<br /><br />Can't believe some people are complaining about "math in the puzzle" because the clues tell you to rotate 90, 180, and 270 degrees. It's not like we have MODULO or COSINE in the grid (both of which have been seen there). An no, it wouldn't do to say 90 degrees the other way: 35A:TURN_TURN_TURN is consistent with making a quarter-TURN to get 20 and 22 Across, then another quarter-TURN for 43A, and a third one in the same direction for 59A and 61A.<br /><br />NDE<br /><br />P.S. 20A:ZINC_ION is indeed part of some antibiotic preparations that feature zinc bacitracin, though I thought it's the bacitracin that kills the germ, not the Zn counterion.Noam D. Elkiesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-76984540708184281262010-11-11T22:10:12.427-05:002010-11-11T22:10:12.427-05:00This 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 6:17, 6:55, 0.91, 15%, Easy<br />Tue 10:12, 8:58, 1.14, 85%, Challenging<br />Wed 9:16, 11:40, 0.79, 10%, Easy<br />Thu 21:07, 18:59, 1.11, 74%, Medium-Challenging<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:09, 3:41, 0.85, 3%, Easy<br />Tue 4:57, 4:36, 1.07, 75%, Medium-Challenging<br />Wed 4:35, 5:44, 0.80, 7%, Easy<br />Thu 10:31, 9:08, 1.15, 78%, Medium-Challenging<br /><br />Not surprisingly (at least to me), the number of solvers who completed this puzzle online was well below the average Thursday puzzle (424 vs. 546). Bring on Friday's puzzle ... please!sanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-5763052838769559162010-11-11T21:53:47.730-05:002010-11-11T21:53:47.730-05:00This was really brilliant, but DNF.
Nest time, I&...This was really brilliant, but DNF. <br />Nest time, I'll do better!<br /><br />Like @Alan, I make my "U" with a return line, so got discombobulated. Did get theme from NOONION - Hubster orders #10 NOONION for McD breakfast. <br /><br />New words - BRAZOS, OLY, Carrie NYE (interesting @Miriam), SOZZLED. Didn't get the sports, either.Sfingihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06903616949048940858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-2061956614929786982010-11-11T21:31:53.715-05:002010-11-11T21:31:53.715-05:00To jog your Olympics memory: Ian Thorpe had really...To jog your Olympics memory: Ian Thorpe had really big feet and his nickname was the Thorpedo (torpedo with an h)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-32702005348398159372010-11-11T21:26:44.704-05:002010-11-11T21:26:44.704-05:00GRANDE was my long Texas Rio, but that wasn't ...GRANDE was my long Texas Rio, but that wasn't the only area messed up with write-overs galore.fergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-64396865915119766192010-11-11T21:21:26.512-05:002010-11-11T21:21:26.512-05:00Dear Rex Parker,
It pains me to say this was a br...Dear Rex Parker,<br /><br />It pains me to say this was a brilliant puzzle, full of fun.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-59000278266576247092010-11-11T21:01:40.456-05:002010-11-11T21:01:40.456-05:00@ andrea more-than-okd,
I'm with you. It was a...@ andrea more-than-okd,<br />I'm with you. It was a brilliant puzzle. This sort of creativity keeps cosswords as a form of entertainment alive and vibrant. I love working the parts of my brain that lie sleeping most of the day.Two Ponieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06896743444873087885noreply@blogger.com