tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post3307645835206482614..comments2024-03-28T18:12:10.683-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Bygone Chryslers / WED 5-2-12 / Atlas go-with / Bygone US Postal Service mascot / Novy Russian literary magazine / Watson's creator / Upright swimmers / Q-U stringRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-28014727359177549352012-06-07T19:24:45.530-04:002012-06-07T19:24:45.530-04:00Appear as Tootsie??? Please enlighten me!Appear as Tootsie??? Please enlighten me!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-39070980062128037792012-06-06T22:43:51.610-04:002012-06-06T22:43:51.610-04:00My solve was perfect, except that Custeau frequent...My solve was perfect, except that Custeau frequented the SEAS, Watson was the result of someone's Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and GAZETTEEA was written in Aramaic on the walls of a cave guarded by a ferocious rabbit. <br /><br /> <br />@ anonymous 5:08 AM - You're upset abput Inter ALIA? That shows up like once a week. I still have no idea what it means but it's crossword gimme. Make a note of it and move on.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-83066218193167897862012-06-06T19:45:39.394-04:002012-06-06T19:45:39.394-04:00I am just commenting to see what every complains a...I am just commenting to see what every complains about..never commented so I had to see these challenging captchas.<br /><br />BarryAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-43626182694775692602012-06-06T16:25:45.766-04:002012-06-06T16:25:45.766-04:00Fun puzzle which I thoroughly enjoyed. @Karen and...Fun puzzle which I thoroughly enjoyed. @Karen and @jae: I agree re "mir". <br />I think Rex and jackj would be the type of restaurant patrons who send food back, think the servers are either overly or too little attentive, and whose wine is always 2 degrees too warm or cold, all in the name of appearing to have some.rain forestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-51096724528469308332012-06-06T15:31:17.512-04:002012-06-06T15:31:17.512-04:00I felt oh so smart for remembering a factoid that ...I felt oh so smart for remembering a factoid that I learned from a puzzle a while back, namely that Tokyo, the Capital of Japan (63a) was formerly known as Edo so I waited all too long for that to show up - oh wait, not THAT kind of capital. It gets me every time.<br /><br />I read an article recently whereby the author pronounced all of those "breeds" like Labradoodle, Cockerpoo, etc., to be nothing more that mutts, which of course is exactly what CROSSBREEDs are. He called the inventor of the "designer breed" concept a marketing genius.<br /><br />@DMGrandma, it is truly amazing that we can do those things and yes, life can be very good, indeed.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-85111607159999826892012-06-06T14:19:32.271-04:002012-06-06T14:19:32.271-04:00Found this one pretty smooth. Old enough to know ...Found this one pretty smooth. Old enough to know ILONA, (a name periodically resurrected in puzzles), and somehow got ESPOSITO even though my warped thought processses were looking to associate ICEMEN with someone like Auel???<br />Didn't mean to overlook someone in saying thanks for the Venus info, but in chasing down @Diri's lead I just Googled "Venus transit" to find info, and it led me to the Huff Post and on from there. Looking back I see Tita had offered a website, but I missed it first time around. Later found I could also tune in on the IPad, so I guess I also owe Mr. Jobs an apology. My error was that I was trying to watch before they started to broadcast. Some day I'll get ept or whatever the antonym of inept is!<br />All that said, isn't it amazing I can sit here at home, watching an event happening millions of miles away, brought to me for free by a public minded institution, and then discuss the whole thing with people all over the world in pretty much real time. Sometimes life is good!DMGrandmanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8949075593393569742012-06-06T13:57:22.562-04:002012-06-06T13:57:22.562-04:00Well, I got this, with no help and no errors--but ...Well, I got this, with no help and no errors--but I'm still wondering how. I mean, it's only Wedensday, and already the Hollywood Davis is OSSIE and not Bette?<br /><br />I filled in BEARCLAW on crosses and thought: that can't be right. But it is (???).<br /><br />In the first place, "what completes" to me meant what follows. So I'm there going "ROADS...what?" and "WORDS...what?" Finally, I get all the way down to the SE, trying to get a foothold, and find the gimmes ABE and ILONA. Could 64a be BONES? Well, CROSS--[flashbulb goes off!] From there it wasn't so bad.<br /><br />Oh, but please, that fill! RST: ban all alphabet strings! SSHAPE: yuck. And IDEATE. OFL mentioned his distatse for this word, and I know why. NO ONE EVER USES IT! It exists solely as a six (low Scrabble-count)-letter word for "think." Not even in a think tank do they use that word!<br /><br />Finally, I'd like to see ITIS clued as "Last two words of Charly's mystery punctuation problem sentence." Is that it?Spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-58259558381510191422012-06-06T13:34:15.918-04:002012-06-06T13:34:15.918-04:00@NM Robin Welcome to Syndiland. the capchas can b...@NM Robin Welcome to Syndiland. the capchas can be a real headache, but keep trying. Nice to have you here, even if your 'easy-medium' is my 'DNF Challange' LOLGingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-38232526192505780672012-06-06T13:29:26.550-04:002012-06-06T13:29:26.550-04:00I enjoyed solving (well, almost) this puzzle, howe...I enjoyed solving (well, almost) this puzzle, however challenging it was for me. At first I just could not gain a toe hold and actually checked if 5/2 really was a Wed. Slowly, very slowly, I was able to work through it. What finally skunked me was my deternmination to keep crEATE at 6D. So, I ended with roe (baby fish??) at 15A. Yeah, I know that doesn't fly, but that's what messed up the upper midwest.<br /><br />Being a Pug fan, I looked for puggle instead of labradoodle at 62A. As has been said, lots of interesting clues and fills. <br /><br />Thanks @orangeblossomspecial for 'Dry Bones', which brought back a lot of memories. It was popular when I was a little (very little) kid.<br /><br />I'm surprised at all the posters who didn't know ILONA. She seems to appear regularly in THIRDCLASS puzzles.<br /><br />@Bob M, also looking for a Fred Couples connection at 66A. <br /><br />Thanks PaulaGingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-413662899678700352012-06-06T13:24:09.116-04:002012-06-06T13:24:09.116-04:00I have loved all the puzzle so far this week. Foun...I have loved all the puzzle so far this week. Found all of them easy to easy-medium. <br /><br />I have tried to comment before but can't seem to get it to work.NM Robinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14920756034993068695noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-85840550095506832602012-06-06T09:18:19.106-04:002012-06-06T09:18:19.106-04:00Hey Fen- Watson is a super computer built by IBM. ...Hey Fen- Watson is a super computer built by IBM. It competed against Jenkins on Jeopardy and kicked his butt!<br />I loved how it would wager $2375 or some obscure amount if it got a daily double.<br />Speaking of Watson,I thought "Couple's place" clue was PGA for Fred Couples.Bob Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-48111888384579693292012-06-06T09:09:51.810-04:002012-06-06T09:09:51.810-04:00NW and SE had me a bit baffled. I got the theme pr...NW and SE had me a bit baffled. I got the theme pretty quickly . Had no idea who the two Mr's were.<br />Overall an OK puzzleBob Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-32511021975821066922012-05-03T08:08:21.854-04:002012-05-03T08:08:21.854-04:00@JCGal: Watson@JCGal: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watson_(computer)" rel="nofollow"> Watson </a>JenCThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18290169184354765840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44961589132306566692012-05-03T07:51:22.520-04:002012-05-03T07:51:22.520-04:00Feeling rather dense-ish today. Watson (6A) as in...Feeling rather dense-ish today. Watson (6A) as in Tom? IBM created him? Help!<br />JCGalAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-77650791458943946212012-05-03T00:23:24.207-04:002012-05-03T00:23:24.207-04:00This week's relative difficulty ratings. See m...This week's relative difficulty ratings. See my 8/1/2009 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 6:33, 6:50, 0.96, 33%, Easy-Medium<br />Tue 8:09, 8:53, 0.92, 29%, Easy-Medium<br />Wed 13:16, 11:50, 1.12, 80%, Challenging<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:38, 3:40, 0.99, 48%, Medium<br />Tue 4:22, 4:35, 0.95, 41%, Medium<br />Wed 6:54, 5:53, 1.17, 88%, Challengingsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-3544910682096962392012-05-03T00:09:05.156-04:002012-05-03T00:09:05.156-04:00Loved meta mir mir.
Very, very clever,.
Thank...Loved meta mir mir. <br /><br />Very, very clever,. <br /><br />Thanks!Rookienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67786943842789541552012-05-02T20:23:16.772-04:002012-05-02T20:23:16.772-04:00@ACM - it IS Artest.@ACM - it IS Artest.retired_chemisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13181126754941899228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-33893463109390172492012-05-02T19:48:58.640-04:002012-05-02T19:48:58.640-04:00Love the comments...esp @Ron Artess ( thank god he...Love the comments...esp @Ron Artess ( thank god he wasn't a clue, i thought his name was ARTEST.<br /><br />And thank you @AnoaBob for elevating the appreciation of this construction at least 9 fold for me too!!!<br />(I never saw that the *words crossed!)<br /><br />And @NDE<br />I was gonna comment on MIR MIR, so how great to get thelinguistic cource there, compleat with cool looking Russian type face.<br /><br />@Howard<br />All the gang members had colors as aliases, Mr White, Mr Brown, Mr Green...so Steve Buscemi had a fit when he was MR PINK, which made that scene so hilarious.<br />Loved "Reservoir Dogs" but someone told me to see "The Killing", directed by STanley Kubrick and then Tarantino's film seemed wildly less original, homage-borderline- ripoff.<br /><br />So MR ZIP, MR PINK, MR I.... i feel a puzzle coming on!<br /><br />Anyway, SEAHORSES lovely...perfect example of a cool word with nonScrabbly, "easy" fill letters, yet so evocative and visual.<br /><br />And that someone here not only know who ILONA Massey, but lives around the corner from her!!! @rexworld is indeed five degrees of separation!<br /><br />So BUENO all around!<br />(Shall I note that all the puzzles this week are by women again, or would that jinx it?!)Austerity Chorus Missasnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-63328573818894375422012-05-02T19:10:03.444-04:002012-05-02T19:10:03.444-04:00Quickie thUmbsUp. One of Paula's best, IMO. ...Quickie thUmbsUp. One of Paula's best, IMO. Hall-of-FAMER.Masked and Anonymo6Usnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61306068853497452562012-05-02T16:33:59.566-04:002012-05-02T16:33:59.566-04:00Kind of challenging for me..I started very fast, a...Kind of challenging for me..I started very fast, and proceeded to fill quite nicely. Then got stuck. For a while. Took me forever to get ARMOR, but now love the clue.<br /><br />@Rex: sacrebleu! What's wrong with getting "Frenchie" once in a while, it's more gimmes for me (and I need all that I can get, let's face it).<br /><br />Loved the FREE GIFT! The redundancy almost annoyed me.<br /><br />Thank You Madame Paula.<br /><br />Pierre.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14722370190640237803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91163142798909877872012-05-02T16:28:36.272-04:002012-05-02T16:28:36.272-04:00Had aCreS for 9A and wanted DRag at 12D. Hand up ...Had aCreS for 9A and wanted DRag at 12D. Hand up for Xs in margins when I caught on. Auto repair answer before RESEND. Good misdirect. Comments today added to appreciation. Well said Karen at 12:18 a.m. BONES could have had another Yale clue. ACD (ACDoyle) before IBM and I stay glued to Jeopardy!<br /><br />ILONA Massey could sing, too.Sparkyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11149915526159432838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-87199042328603548932012-05-02T15:42:52.389-04:002012-05-02T15:42:52.389-04:00Midday report of relative difficulty (see my 8/1/2...Midday report of relative difficulty (see my 8/1/2009 post for an explanation of my method):<br /><br />All solvers (median solve time, average for day of week, ratio, percentile, rating)<br /><br />Wed 13:20, 11:50, 1.13, 80%, Challenging<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Wed 7:24, 5:53, 1.26, 93%, Challenging<br /><br />I posted my 2nd slowest Wednesday in the 3 years I've been recording my solve times. I blame my sub-par performance in part on my brain not firing on all cylinders last evening and and in part on not finding the constructor's wavelength (as sometimes happens to me with Ms. Gamache's puzzles). But given the online solve times, I feel at least somewhat vindicated.sanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-23170568432329046412012-05-02T14:18:54.870-04:002012-05-02T14:18:54.870-04:00Felt easy and breezy for a Wednesday for me. Them...Felt easy and breezy for a Wednesday for me. Theme fell quickly at CROSSROADS, what I didn't know came from the crosses. Someone called this puzzle a little gem, and I concur.Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09709142959535977331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-88128075242706110782012-05-02T14:17:36.573-04:002012-05-02T14:17:36.573-04:00Irregular. Some clues clever, some dense occasiona...Irregular. Some clues clever, some dense occasionally a poor one. Theme meh. Challenging just to be so.xyzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08287781952915413013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-2627932706343334142012-05-02T13:59:11.260-04:002012-05-02T13:59:11.260-04:00I thought this was a great CROSS WORD puzzle. Lots...I thought this was a great CROSS WORD puzzle. Lots of theme (9 answers + connector) and not a lot of “bad” fill. Thank you Paula for this gem. And never mind what Rex said about the cluing – I think he has to complain about something otherwise he’s not happy – I think it’s fine (well, maybe 29D should have been clued differently). In fact I liked some of the cluing as it added to the difficulty. One last thought (someone posted some clues could be Will's) - take credit for the good clues and blame Will for the others;)<br /><br />ERRORS that needed fixing: LOADS for 9A, thought the racing family spelled their name UNCER, REGENT (can that be a singular form) for 26A and DO IT for 37A.<br /><br />I miss OSSIE Davis; thought he was great in <b>Joe Versus the Volcano</b> with Tom Hanks.<br /><br />@chefwen (re yesterday’s facelifts) – I stand corrected. Joan Rivers is who I was thinking of. Thank you.Birdnoreply@blogger.com