tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post3571256196991262311..comments2024-03-29T03:22:09.826-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Four-time Pro Bowler Ahmad / THU 2-14-13 / Compounds with nitrogen / Eight-time Oscar nominee who never won / Hunters of now-extinct moa / Onetime Ebert partnerRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger74125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-28256329601342725932013-03-21T20:11:36.373-04:002013-03-21T20:11:36.373-04:00My brain let me down, so I gave up.My brain let me down, so I gave up.straylinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13536180563789923012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-68817173051576187252013-03-21T19:44:52.907-04:002013-03-21T19:44:52.907-04:00Had LIFT crossing TWOS to start in the NW which co...Had LIFT crossing TWOS to start in the NW which complicated things no end. Also ended with an OTHO/ASHLEY nattick in the NE. <br /><br />Totally agree with @Spacecraft's two-puzzle analysis.<br /><br />Liked the ROSES and AMERICAN HEART MO. shoutouts to Valentine's Day; however, would have loved them had I been solving in realtime on Feb. 14th. Waxy in Montrealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04395751487137805245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-15968062108146907812013-03-21T17:35:45.423-04:002013-03-21T17:35:45.423-04:00Surprised you didn't mention the excessive use...Surprised you didn't mention the excessive use of names esp. the Natick of Rashad and Astley.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-66098181443209005052013-03-21T15:59:43.598-04:002013-03-21T15:59:43.598-04:00Talk about an obscure cross, a bowler and a singer...Talk about an obscure cross, a bowler and a singer. Way out of my league, even when I'm told the former was really a football player! Anyway, one blank square for me, again. Sigh. Took the revealer for me to learn that the cast in 55A is not found around a BroKenArm! But fixing that helped with the rest of that corner, and I was as finished as I could be.<br /><br />I offer my Captcha without comment: tartsupkDMGrandmanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45189383402500857482013-03-21T15:36:33.184-04:002013-03-21T15:36:33.184-04:00Mostly smooth sailing for me except for the choppy...Mostly smooth sailing for me except for the choppy seas encountered in the NE - I'm still trying to understand how Truly = YEA (I'll google it later) - and in the SW where the spelling of SHABBAT was in serious doubt. Having BroKen(arm/leg) for Where a cast may be found didn't help my cause either, but I finally figured out the correct answer and all was well, except for SHABBoT.<br /><br />Now I'm off to get a massage and my EGO will not be the target!Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-35137200290917228062013-03-21T11:42:24.364-04:002013-03-21T11:42:24.364-04:00This was two puzzles: (1) How to Execute a Theme, ...This was two puzzles: (1) How to Execute a Theme, and (2) How NOT to fill! I join others in praising the density of the theme, the fact that both halves of each compound word fit, while at the same time standing strong on their own (well, maybe ELEVATORCAR is a bit wobbly; who of us steps into one of those? We just "get on the elevator.")<br /><br />Oh, but the fill! I can't imagine anybody looking at this completed grid, getting ready to submit it for publication, and NOT wincing and groaning several times--to the point that they say "Yecch. Back to the drawing [ELICITing?] board."<br /><br />-->SOLVEFOR?<br />-->ECASH?<br />-->EELED?<br />-->AABBA?? My God!<br />-->DEFAT?<br />-->RELOAN?<br />-->HARDG: well, that's me. I HATE that!<br /><br />Not to mention GASSES, a fine word but incorrectly clued. A M*A*S*H-era anaesthetist GASSES his patients. But "Dangerous buildup in a mine?" That's GAS, or if somehow there are different ones in the same mine (?), GASES.<br /><br />Then, to make up for forced gimmes like Jai- and -Fu, they try to Saturday-obfuscate with stuff like "Big do" for (')FRO (another UGH!) and "clear" for RID.<br /><br />All in all, very uneven. A shame the fill had to ruin a good idea. Spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-68965052623905314842013-02-14T22:58:32.529-05:002013-02-14T22:58:32.529-05:00DEFAT soup out-googles DEGREASE soup by over 4:1.
...DEFAT soup out-googles DEGREASE soup by over 4:1.<br /><br />Never, ever, mess with the goddess of cooking.Julianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-42938089951470909502013-02-14T22:39:01.497-05:002013-02-14T22:39:01.497-05:00Hello from Mexico. Good one on the plane. Too ti...Hello from Mexico. Good one on the plane. Too tired to say more. <br /><br />Yo, Dave, great job on LAT. You be one stout dude. John Vhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10557037910799243636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-36382181960508465122013-02-14T22:03:05.884-05:002013-02-14T22:03:05.884-05:00For once I agree with Rex. I enjoyed this puzzle. ...For once I agree with Rex. I enjoyed this puzzle. No problems at all - the last thing I filled in was Apolo with reloan. Rashad was a gimmee for this football fan, and although I have no idea who Latoya Jackson is, I have at least heard the name.. Never heard of Astley, but I am pretty much resigned to the daily appearance of unknown (to me) pop stars. Easier than average for a Thursday, for me, but very pleasant.OISKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16808675378318214461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-17377741844092186322013-02-14T22:02:17.580-05:002013-02-14T22:02:17.580-05:00This 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 6:43, 6:08, 1.10, 86%, Challenging<br />Tue 7:07, 8:28, 0.84, 8%, Easy<br />Wed 13:03, 11:52, 1.10, 73%, Medium-Challenging<br />Thu 15:15, 17:02, 0.90, 27%, Easy-Medium<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:59, 3:40, 1.09, 84%, Challenging<br />Tue 4:25, 4:54, 0.90, 13%, Easy<br />Wed 7:27, 6:34, 1.13, 83%, Challenging<br />Thu 8:05, 9:43, 0.83, 17%, Easysanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-287474976629395082013-02-14T21:54:16.757-05:002013-02-14T21:54:16.757-05:00I have to agree, it's degrease, usually by pu...I have to agree, it's degrease, usually by putting the stock pot in the garage overnight. I may defat chicken thighs before I cook them, though.machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-83435795775828757662013-02-14T21:44:32.646-05:002013-02-14T21:44:32.646-05:00@Julia - That's degrease not defat.
@M & ...@Julia - That's degrease not defat.<br /><br />@M & A - You really crack me up. At which local do you do stand up?chefwenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03999206352243329280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-33110115338128772172013-02-14T20:26:24.328-05:002013-02-14T20:26:24.328-05:00Nice, tough cluing. But I really hate "HARDG...Nice, tough cluing. But I really hate "HARDG" whenever it rears its ugly head in a puzzle. That's just being a smart-ass. One more in a recent string of non-Thursday Thursdays. Bring back the Thursday tricks! I give it a "C".Notsofastnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67521887539674603012013-02-14T19:44:36.306-05:002013-02-14T19:44:36.306-05:00Embarrassed that I needed the crosses for DUTCH OV...Embarrassed that I needed the crosses for DUTCH OVEN. <br /><br />Having pOLo before GOLF made seeing BACKSTAGE and the rest of the SW harder. <br /><br />Love the <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xsdji_rick-astley-never-gonna-give-you-up_music#.UR2DReipw7A" rel="nofollow">limericks</a>.<br /><br />REPO always reminds me of Emilio Estevez's <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xsdji_rick-astley-never-gonna-give-you-up_music#.UR2DReipw7A" rel="nofollow">1984 cult classic</a>.<br /><br />@Sir Hillary - A little <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xsdji_rick-astley-never-gonna-give-you-up_music#.UR2DReipw7A" rel="nofollow">Mamma Mia</a> for you.<br /><br />For everyone else, don't get <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xsdji_rick-astley-never-gonna-give-you-up_music#.UR2DReipw7A" rel="nofollow">Rick Rolled</a>.<br /><br />Now I'll go make my Red Cross Donation. Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-34816391970053836422013-02-14T19:29:25.509-05:002013-02-14T19:29:25.509-05:00When you use TIMEOFF for SHABBAT and SISKEL for RO...When you use TIMEOFF for SHABBAT and SISKEL for ROEPER [each of which fits and seems correct], you are going to DNF. Which I did. Or did not. Made much of the lower half one big impossible mess.LaneBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-48671457229778147432013-02-14T18:13:09.761-05:002013-02-14T18:13:09.761-05:00@loren smith: got a good laugh on that no children...@loren smith: got a good laugh on that no children policy sign!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-7474534083441956402013-02-14T16:24:43.512-05:002013-02-14T16:24:43.512-05:00Just donated to the Red Cross and copied my puzzle...Just donated to the Red Cross and copied my puzzles. Love the puzzle on the cover with the Red Cross in the middle. What a great idea. Thanks, Rex, for spearheading that!<br /><br />@Evil – on the no children policy. I once saw a sign that said “Unattended children will be given an espresso and a free puppy.”<br /><br />@Sir Hillary – AABBA nice! But. . .<br /><br />On your plight I will try to be gentle<br />In suggesting that change is essential.<br />Get RID of that marker<br />(Don’t fret about Parker)<br />Be like me and just solve with a pencil.Loren Muse Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05308030011870397977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24790076476279503122013-02-14T15:48:04.438-05:002013-02-14T15:48:04.438-05:00Midday 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 and my 10/15/2012 post for an explanation of a tweak to my method):<br /><br />All solvers (median solve time, average for day of week, ratio, percentile, rating)<br /><br />Thu 15:19, 17:02, 0.90, 28%, Easy-Medium<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Thu 8:59, 9:43, 0.92, 31%, Easy-Mediumsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56068214964323519892013-02-14T15:44:42.898-05:002013-02-14T15:44:42.898-05:00The cluing was tricky for me. I like that if ther...The cluing was tricky for me. I like that if there are nice aha's that come from the answers, but these didn't feel like fun. I'm surprised Rex didn't complain about ELEVATOR CAR. I don't think anyone says that. People just say ELEVATOR.<br /><br />I liked REDDER and the look of the grid, with its variety and balance of word lengths.<br /><br />Rex, wonderful work on the Red Crosswords. Bravo!<br /><br />Happy V-Day all!Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09709142959535977331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44821357507733824272013-02-14T14:37:44.956-05:002013-02-14T14:37:44.956-05:00So where is @Rex's time today? Did he even fin...So where is @Rex's time today? Did he even finish? Did he take a reeaaallly long time and is too embarrassed to post it?<br /><br />What I was going to say about the puzzle has already been said.<br /><br />@Bird - I'm not a chef, but I think DEFAT is a BS wordNamelessnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-55417934519082234922013-02-14T14:19:12.068-05:002013-02-14T14:19:12.068-05:00CT Scan is a radiological, not an oncological proc...CT Scan is a radiological, not an oncological procedure. Charleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26089325254499598792013-02-14T13:55:29.301-05:002013-02-14T13:55:29.301-05:00Easy but clever theme and a couple of Thursday-wor...Easy but clever theme and a couple of Thursday-worth crosses for me! <br /><br />Hand up for Siskel and the car malapop. <br /><br />I was served some passion fruit this morning. Haven't seen any red roses yet!<br /><br />I love my slow cooker: it has a metal insert that you can use to brown food on the stove. Williams-Sonoma. No extra pots to clean.<br /><br />Now for Dave's puzzle and the Red Crosswords! Brilliant name and idea, @Rex.machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91925386787416617072013-02-14T13:54:19.367-05:002013-02-14T13:54:19.367-05:00Donated to ARC & downloaded American Red Cross...Donated to ARC & downloaded American Red Crosswords. A great concept, I'm glad to help a little.OHThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15449946974991416779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-2155823071753642272013-02-14T13:51:50.833-05:002013-02-14T13:51:50.833-05:00@Bird - People do, in fact, DEFAT the soup, or bro...@Bird - People do, in fact, DEFAT the soup, or broth.Julia Childsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-64757657831405589182013-02-14T13:41:34.287-05:002013-02-14T13:41:34.287-05:00Meh. I’m still undecided about this one. I liked s...Meh. I’m still undecided about this one. I liked some of the cluing and the difficulty made for a pleasant solve, but I don’t like the cluing for 61A because (silly me) I was trying to figure out how a FIRE OPENs a DOOR. Duh.<br /><br />Guessed incorrectly at the intersection of 63A and 39D, so DNF. I wasn’t sure if it was an ‘A’ or an ‘O’ as either is plausible.<br /><br />DEFAT is ugly. Is that a word anybody uses? I know butchers trim the fat, but do any DEFAT the beef? Same deal with RELOAN. E-CASH?!<br /><br />Is WORKOUTABLE a word?<br /><br />Can’t wait to do some Red Crosswords. Bravo!<br /><br />@Evan – Same thoughts on SOLVE FOR. What am I solving for?Birdnoreply@blogger.com