tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post3489188627373383661..comments2024-03-29T11:24:03.304-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Cornice Support — TUESDAY, Dec 29 2009 — "__ on parle francais" / Mythical lecher Songwriter Novello / Parker productsRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger105125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-78194437807366627762010-02-02T18:49:03.989-05:002010-02-02T18:49:03.989-05:00Those folk not familiar with pre-WWII Welsh compos...Those folk not familiar with pre-WWII Welsh composer and singer IVOR NOVELLO might like to see the great 2001 Robert Altman film Gosford Park (2001) in which a somewhat fictionalized Novello is played by Jeremy Northam.Waxy in Montrealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04395751487137805245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-25477600962971461752010-01-02T12:15:05.451-05:002010-01-02T12:15:05.451-05:00Great minds think alike! This Tuesday puzzle resem...Great minds think alike! This Tuesday puzzle resembles the classic "Nestlings" published in the Sunday NYTimes, Sun 8/21/1994 <br />which was constructed by Ted. Fulton. The title was a double entendre since the names of the bids were "nested" in longer words as in this recent puzzle.<br />It was republished in The New York Times Sunday Crossword Omnibus Volume 7: 200 World-Famous Sunday Puzzles from the Pages of The New York Times (Paperback) ~ The New York Times (Author), Will Shortz (Editor) <br />and in The New York Times Supersized Book of Sunday Crosswords: 500 Puzzles (New York Times Crossword Puzzles) (Paperback)<br />by Will Shortz and Eugene T. Makeska<br />As a Sunday puzzle, Nestlings was bigger with more birds, and IMHO more fun! If you wish to try it, it can be found by Googling the words Nestlings and Fulton.<br /> From the constructor's wife, R. Fulton.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-30518335184897882482009-12-30T10:19:01.209-05:002009-12-30T10:19:01.209-05:00@r_c & @Ulrich
In my under grad years (mid &#...@r_c & @Ulrich<br /><br />In my under grad years (mid '60s)at an "Engineering Institute", I took (the recommended) several semesters of German, one of which was "Scientific German".<br /><br />Same explaination as r_c's, English alone was "not sufficent" in the scientific "community".<br /><br />.../GlitchGlitchnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80649120297865592462009-12-30T08:42:10.220-05:002009-12-30T08:42:10.220-05:00Yeah! Go Hawkeyes!Yeah! Go Hawkeyes!Megygelthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11494440930154465380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10420460899894271432009-12-30T01:53:25.239-05:002009-12-30T01:53:25.239-05:00@Joe Green 3pm
Your American name!
Ha! I just got...@Joe Green 3pm<br />Your American name! <br />Ha! I just got that!andrea lol(l) michaelsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46849857962017341622009-12-30T00:19:56.094-05:002009-12-30T00:19:56.094-05:00@ Ulrich, Elaine, et al. -
When an undergraduat...@ Ulrich, Elaine, et al. - <br /><br />When an undergraduate, I took a course in German because it was recommended for chemistry majors. As a grad student in the early sixties, I had to pass reading comprehension tests in French and German (could have done Russian instead of one, but didn't). At that time one could not say one knew the literature of any field of chemistry by reading only that published in English.retired_chemisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13181126754941899228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-15011786414680208002009-12-30T00:13:15.686-05:002009-12-30T00:13:15.686-05:00@sfingi: Yes again. BTW The most concrete whiff, h...@sfingi: Yes again. BTW The most concrete whiff, here in the US, of what Vienna was like can be had on the 2nd floor of the Neue Galerie, kitty-corner from the Met in NYC (the Sachertorte in the cafe below sucks, tho, if compared with the real thing).<br /><br />where am I, binary-wise---111111?Ulrichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02086202853174403008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-75975746423924661062009-12-29T23:04:49.352-05:002009-12-29T23:04:49.352-05:00@archaeoprof - look up Masked Ball Verdi in Wiki a...@archaeoprof - look up Masked Ball Verdi in Wiki and it will tell you what you need. This one is an unrequited love triangle ending in unnecessary murder - very soapy.<br /><br />In the old days everyone had a copy of Milton Cross, Stories of the Great Operas. If you go to the best appointed opera houses, they'll have the words in English on a little screen on the back of the seat in front of you. <br /><br />@Mac thanx for the info. Around here people check out the Dutch on the old church records, usually for genealogical info.<br /><br />@Ulrich - just kidding - many other reasons besides the grammar. My favorite Germans are the most fascinating and world-changing triumvirate of non-practicing, even atheist Jews - Marx, Freud and Einstein. In particular, I think Wien/Vienna must have been a marvelous place a century ago. If I ever get to visit that time and place...the philosophers, artists - I would just love to float around.Sfinginoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-62606975388413718292009-12-29T23:02:09.560-05:002009-12-29T23:02:09.560-05:00This week's relative difficulty ratings. See m...This week's relative difficulty ratings. See my <a href="https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=35115061&postID=3588389571383499624&isPopup=true" rel="nofollow">7/30/2009 post</a> 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 6:40, 6:55, 0.96, 46%, Medium<br />Tue 8:51, 8:45, 1.01, 57%, Medium<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:39, 3:41, 0.99, 53%, Medium<br />Tue 4:34, 4:29, 1.02, 62%, Medium-Challenging<br /><br />As Foodie predicted, pretty much a Medium Tuesday puzzle. As I've said before, with Monday and Tuesday puzzles, the median solve time for the top 100 is doubtless skewed by a floor/ceiling effect (i.e. a human being can only read clues and type in the answers so fast).sanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-76023797824870366762009-12-29T20:53:58.814-05:002009-12-29T20:53:58.814-05:00@Joe Green: Thanks! Now I can say that I have he...@Joe Green: Thanks! Now I can say that I have heard Eri Tu. <br /><br />It sounded pretty good. Wonder what he was singing about.archaeoprofhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17956231727789223463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-5668428147846759312009-12-29T20:16:46.783-05:002009-12-29T20:16:46.783-05:00@foodie ... your post just brought back memories I...@foodie ... your post just brought back memories I had suppressed of my mom serving me and my brother brains and eggs for breakfast! <br /><br />He thought them delicious, I did not!johohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12708487230515532492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-58646937411316840882009-12-29T20:05:23.478-05:002009-12-29T20:05:23.478-05:00@Ulrich, even in the history of psychology, the Ge...@Ulrich, even in the history of psychology, the Germans had a huge influence... and several great neuroscientists I know are either German or Austrian born and left because of the Nazis. The loss to Germany was great, no question.<br /><br /> Nevertheless, the Max Planck Institute has many wonderful scientists. And a look at the Nobel prizes shows that Germany continues to produce great leaders in the natural sciences (Physics, Chemistry and Biology)-- including a woman, Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard in 1995. <br /><br />@mac, I agree that once you get the egg system, you realize that these nuances make a difference in the taste and it's good to have the terms-- the sunny part being the cutest. <br /><br />@RC, yeah, rognon is not for everyone! I'll try almost any organ, but I can no longer manage to eat cervelles (brains) even though I had them as a child. A case of too much info. <br /><br />@Andrea and other puzzlers, a propos of nothing except the love of words-- my niece got a game of Bananagrams in her stocking-- a sort of free form Scrabble. Lots of fun, especially for speeders. I got to use TUN which they questioned and then were impressed to find out it was legit!<br /><br />@Philly, this is amazing, I was just about to write that you and I met when I saw your post! It was really fun to meet you in person!foodiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13052189131129098616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-70307400198860377092009-12-29T19:54:50.134-05:002009-12-29T19:54:50.134-05:00I have been away and reading this blog tonight rem...I have been away and reading this blog tonight reminds me why I missed doing puzzles and why I have my reservation at the Brooklyn Marriott for the ACPT. Thanks guys, you are great.<br /><br />I didn't get too far away from puzzle people though. I had coffee and a wonderful chat with Foodie when I traveled up to Ann Arbor.PhillySolverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06896753042626337920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-38714841342677560522009-12-29T19:47:15.372-05:002009-12-29T19:47:15.372-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.edith bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12048817959846956992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50703491330182346032009-12-29T19:47:13.982-05:002009-12-29T19:47:13.982-05:00It sure seems like more than one person used the e...It sure seems like more than one person used the expression "a mere bagga shells" to express a trivial amount. I DO remember Ralph Kramden using that expression in "The Honeymooners" as well as W C Fields using it in "The Bank Dick".<br /><br />It wouldn't be an unusual occurence for more than one comedian to use the same material as Jack Benny was involved in a mock feud with Fred Allen over "stealing" material and constantly was accusing Milton Berle of the same thing.edith bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12048817959846956992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-66951872920582827162009-12-29T19:43:26.318-05:002009-12-29T19:43:26.318-05:00@sfingi: Not to worry -- all is AOK with me now. A...@sfingi: Not to worry -- all is AOK with me now. Also, I like the idea of Corinne Bailey Martha Rae Dawn Chong. Hope she appears more in the puzzle.<br /><br />@Ulrich: I would have like to have made those grammatical points, but I think it was @Steve.Stanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02681342234536407419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8923807437536599922009-12-29T19:40:01.829-05:002009-12-29T19:40:01.829-05:00@Jim
My children and hubby still refer to the even...@Jim<br />My children and hubby still refer to the event in which they arrived home (I had the new pasta extruder) and I had done a DOUBLE batch of noodle dough.... there were noodles hanging from the rafters, and we didn't have rafters. Hilarious!Elainehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13195458656221202202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-41664155815470169862009-12-29T19:37:50.672-05:002009-12-29T19:37:50.672-05:00@Ulrich
You left out Medicine--esp research medici...@Ulrich<br />You left out Medicine--esp research medicine!<br />Book recommendation: ARROWSMITH. It's been on this blog....Elainehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13195458656221202202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-89629561963064272702009-12-29T19:13:11.678-05:002009-12-29T19:13:11.678-05:00@PIX: Amen
@Stan: You made my grammatical points ...@PIX: Amen<br /><br />@Stan: You made my grammatical points before me--forgot to mention this.<br /><br />@Sfingi: Yes. But don't forget the fact that the Nazis practically killed the great German academic tradition in math and physics--to this day, in my opinion, the German universities have not recovered from the blood-letting. It used to be that a mathematician or physicist had to be able to at least read German--no more (people more knowledgeable than me in this regard may correct me here). These days, German scientists not only have to be able to read English papers, they have to be able to <b>write</b> them. (Speaking for myself, I couldn't even explain what I did in my research in German!)Ulrichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02086202853174403008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-27650323262972561412009-12-29T18:23:42.043-05:002009-12-29T18:23:42.043-05:00#Anon (5:47PM) Great story...but you make an obser...#Anon (5:47PM) Great story...but you make an observation many people have made before:namely, knowing a whole lot about a subject(you certainly know a thousand times more about Igbos/Ibos than the person that created the puzzle)doesn't really help in this game...the puzzle requires a specialized vocabulary that is somewhat independent of reality, as you yourself just demonstrated...PIXnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9059065416276870532009-12-29T17:47:43.219-05:002009-12-29T17:47:43.219-05:00As someone who got his start in NYT crosswords dur...As someone who got his start in NYT crosswords during French class in high school (I could fold up the paper just so and have it on my desk without Mme Simon noticing), I always like it when I get the "French" answers and clues like ICI and BAGATELLE since it retroactively justifies my priorities in those days.<br /><br />Breezed through most of the puzzle but came acropper in the NW for the most infuriating of reasons. At the risk of overburdening you all with more autobiographical information, I lived in Nigeria during the Biafran War, when the Igbos rebelled against the Federal Government. A bad place and time. Anyway, I immediately rejected IBOS since I don't think I have seen it spelled without the G. Ran through every other tribe I could think of with no result, then grudgingly tried IBOS which landed me with the *SU problem others had.<br /><br />Nonetheless a lovely puzzle (and write-up) with the added bonus of bringing back memories from a long-forgotten part of my past.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-48646224278046182052009-12-29T17:47:32.615-05:002009-12-29T17:47:32.615-05:00My niece begged for and received the . . . doll. ...My niece begged for and received the . . . doll. It was never put to the test since it arrived at someone else's house, but my impression was that the only difference between number one and number two was food coloring. Of course, the real rub for the parents is that you get the food coloring from official "baby juice" packets (wouldn't want to see that juicer . . .) and remove it in official diapers. The old "give-away-the-razor-and-sell-the-blades" trick. Though, of course, they did not give away the doll. Insidious bastards.<br /><br />I found the puzzle pretty easy, though I had some of the same sticking points already mentioned.treedwellerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12634227778469664442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-34472530395867685302009-12-29T17:23:57.125-05:002009-12-29T17:23:57.125-05:00@Elaine
Technically the space is enormous since i...@Elaine<br /><br />Technically the space is enormous since its all part of one big loft. We didn't quite have pasta hanging from the Chandelier but it was close. We mostly made the smaller shapes - macaroni, fusili, etc. - so they didn't require quite as much drying space as spaghetti would.Jim in Chicagonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26674845046849418892009-12-29T17:13:29.398-05:002009-12-29T17:13:29.398-05:00I guess we are all feeling we've gotten a voca...I guess we are all feeling we've gotten a vocab boost with ANCON...and I can tell you it was not easy to find the link I posted above (which did NOT contain the word, but should have!) <br /><br />@Jim in Chicago<br />You made eight batches of pasta? Just how big is your kitchen???<br />BTW: <br />I use half semolina flour (Bob's Red Mill) and half unbleached King Arthur flour for my pasta. Dry lasagna noodles a couple of hours and go ahead without precooking (honest!) Comes out perfectly al dente (NOT crunchy or chewy)...<br />So, we had to put a limit on how often I made noodles, etc. We were gaining too much weight. sigh<br /><br />@Ret-chem<br />Just say the word-- I have a terrific recipe for lamb kidneys...or for steak and kidney pie. If you don't like it, you can always feed it to the dogs....Elainehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13195458656221202202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-6918622677860663222009-12-29T17:03:15.278-05:002009-12-29T17:03:15.278-05:00@Stan - for truthiness sake I misreferenced the qu...@Stan - for truthiness sake I misreferenced the quote. It was Mort Sahl. Hope your back gets perfect!<br /><br />@Andrea - funny. Could MELD together and be Corinne Bailey RAE Dawn Chong.<br /><br />@Edith - hope it's true. The only bagatelle I knew was the music kind.<br /><br />@Joe - I agree. You would order a "well-done steak," or "farfalle al dente." It's adjectival and means there is still a little feel to the teeth, not mush and not raw. <br /><br />@Kartoffle - love that scene.<br /><br />@Plantie - Would say, "You dirty so-and-so," to someone's face, but not ask, "What's your face?" That would be rude.<br /><br />Waited for a while to get the last letter of EINEN because of the many grammatical inflections of our favorite secondary language. Thank history that Dutch and Anglo-Saxon dropped that stuff. Sorry, Ulrich. It's one of the reasons why German is no longer a world language. <br />Lost my wonderful HS German teacher this week. She was 99, and still teaching in Rochester.<br /><br />Got the nice theme right away. <br /><br />Had a total, personal Nattick at IBOS cross KSU.<br /><br />Had no problem with cash drawer. I don't know my right from my left,<br />and in a car, I ask, "Your side or my side?"<br /><br />Did not know, but they fell in: ANCON, PEDRO, IVOR. <br />As for IVOR, it's a Welsh name, and I checked out the fellow. He was born Ivor Davies in Cardiff. As for PEDRO, hubster wouldn't wouldn't tell me. Said I should try some common Spanish names. I asked him if the Spanish aren't doing the same as the Italians - naming their kids Evan, Kevin and Sean. He said he hoped not.<br /><br />ERI TU from the Masked Ball is not as well-known since it is a baritone's, and the tenors get all the attention today. Check out YouTube for various versions.<br /><br />Betsy-Wetsy sued one of the other wetting doll companies and lost, since drinking and wetting was unpatentable since it was basic. I have 3 Tiny Tears, which differed From Betsy in that they had (cw creaters note) Caracul/Karakul/Persian lamb wigs. But how natural is urinating out of holes in your butt?<br /><br />ONESIE TWOSIE INSIE AUSSIE.<br /><br />Which is a better abrev. for Social Security Number - SSN or "ssno" ? <br />Neither!<br /><br />Is ENL common? <br /><br />Sorry I'm ANOLD grumpster today. The wind chill is -12. I knew a computer salesman who thought it was windshield factor, and that your get it by measuring the temp of the inside of your windshield. That was in the late '60s.Sfinginoreply@blogger.com