Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Variation of rummy that was 1950s fad / MON 1-3-11...

Never seen Alberta abbreviated ALB but easy enough...

2011-02-13T20:26:55.890-05:00

Never seen Alberta abbreviated ALB but easy enough for a Canadian to figure out given it is three letters, it is usually either AB or ALTA.

Discussion in a MESS: would ACK-ACK fire be adequa...

2011-02-07T15:59:17.666-05:00

Discussion in a MESS: would ACK-ACK fire be adequate to bring down the ENOLA GAY once it has passed through the sound barrier, resulting in BLIPS on a radar screen? Or perhaps the ARMOR on the plane would make it as useless as RIFLE or TASER fire meaning the crew would be UNAWARE of any HITS. Only the TAILgunner might know for sure. PRAY tell.

Now it's February 7 and the P(ACK)ers a...

2011-02-07T14:44:39.540-05:00

Now it's February 7 and the P(ACK)ers are the Super Bowl Champions so the theme seems more topical than ever.

My Dad was an anti-aircraft gunner on a Navy Destroyer in WW II - he always referred to the weapon as an "ACK-ACK" Gun.

Glad to see the BRATPACK make an appearance at 26a - that's what I call my 3 dogs, collectively (had no idea the term applied to a group of actors, though - still glad to see it.

i noticed that rummy is becoming a verry well play...

2011-01-09T14:26:59.245-05:00

i noticed that rummy is becoming a verry well played game online, but it isn't as popular as poker.In my country rummy isn't played with cards, it is played with tiles and there aren't many types of games, actually there are only two or three, but rummy is much appriciated from where i come.

36A BOOM (Sound made when passing the sound barrie...

2011-01-04T14:11:39.875-05:00

36A BOOM (Sound made when passing the sound barrier): the clue is wrong. A sonic boom is caused by the shock wave of an object travelling faster than sound. The wave exists continuously as long as the object is moving faster than sound, not just at the moment it achieves the critical speed.

Can I just say I've had America in my head all...

2011-01-03T23:00:03.216-05:00

Can I just say I've had America in my head all day now? Did you have to go there?

@Anon - If you look through the comments, you'...

2011-01-03T22:37:25.093-05:00

@Anon - If you look through the comments, you'll note that everyone but you limits their posts to 10 lines or so. Just sayin'.

@Rex - Does Mallory ever get beyond the body counts at various battles? I got about 50 pages in and just gave up.

This week's relative difficulty ratings. See m...

2011-01-03T22:09:51.511-05:00

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.

All solvers (this week's median solve time, average for day of week, ratio, percentile, rating)

Mon 6:04, 6:55, 0.88, 8%, Easy

Top 100 solvers

Mon 3:18, 3:41, 0.89, 8%, Easy

When a kid in the late 40s I remember playing Hopa...

2011-01-03T22:05:10.233-05:00

When a kid in the late 40s I remember playing Hopalong Canasta. Had card sets with boots, spurs, rope, etc. Yes, I don't remember how to play either.

Had the usual error at KNAPSACK/backpACK. Also had MRES before MESS.

A typical Monday CW. It goes so fast I really don't have time to enjoy it. Don't particularly like Bill the Cat or, (Ack), what's-her-face either. (That's Kathy.)

Hey, I'm really in a good mood. Just fixed the stove so the ovens now work. Think I'll go for a dip.

Rex coming home . . . SENILE . . . ACK? This can ...

2011-01-03T20:57:39.212-05:00

Rex coming home . . . SENILE . . . ACK?

This can only mean this --

This old man, he played one,
He played knick-knack on my thumb;
Knick-knack paddywhack,
Give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played two,
He played knick-knack on my shoe;
Knick-knack paddywhack,
Give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played three,
He played knick-knack on my knee;
Knick-knack paddywhack,
Give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played four,
He played knick-knack on my door;
Knick-knack paddywhack,
Give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played five,
He played knick-knack on my hive;
Knick-knack paddywhack,
Give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played six,
He played knick-knack on my sticks;
Knick-knack paddywhack,
Give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played seven,
He played knick-knack up in Heaven;
Knick-knack paddywhack,
Give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played eight,
He played knick-knack on my gate;
Knick-knack paddywhack,
Give a dog a bone,

GO BEARS

@Joe - if you don't know what this hippy-perio...

2011-01-03T20:35:03.075-05:00

@Joe - if you don't know what this hippy-period stuff means, just say, "Ooh, that's heavy."

@Sparky - Or TIARA.

Welcome back, Rex. You do sound rested. Thanks f...

2011-01-03T19:42:55.155-05:00

Welcome back, Rex. You do sound rested. Thanks for Bill the Cat. I always identified with him.

I played Canasta in college. Games going all day. I guess the rules were a lot like Rummy.

Pretty easy puzzle. Never heard of THATSWACK. @Doug, right, clues were straightforward. Also, almost anything about beauty pageant will have the answer SASH.

Off to a happy start for the New Year.

Not sure how long this one took me, as I started i...

2011-01-03T19:35:31.164-05:00

Not sure how long this one took me, as I started in the waiting room, used extraordinary self-discipline to not look at the clip board while driving, and finished in the car wash. I liked it a lot.

I have heard my son or his friends say "that's w[h]ack" so I checked Urban Dictionary for myself. Found a definition for "wacked" as follows: "just plain crazy...and fun......out of this world......"

Joe, it parses fine. Subject you, verb remember, y...

2011-01-03T18:26:57.780-05:00

Joe, it parses fine. Subject you, verb remember, yadayada; sublordinate clause subject there, verb ain't OK, a little ungrammatical but still....) You get the idea.....

I think you are referring to meaning, which, on good authority, is:

"Ooo eee, ooo ah ah ting tang
Walla walla, bing bang
Ooo eee, ooo ah ah ting tang
Walla walla, bing bang..."

The answer to "Miss America band" is not...

2011-01-03T17:38:50.089-05:00

The answer to "Miss America band" is not Grand Funk Railroad.
That would be "WE'RE an American band."

And don't look for meaning in America's lyrics.
They also came up with
"In the desert you can remember your name,
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain."

Could someone please parse that sentence?

This was my fastest Monday to date. By far. Just...

2011-01-03T17:20:33.981-05:00

This was my fastest Monday to date. By far. Just under 8 minutes! :)

Very happy, as they normally take me about 15 on average.

As a mediocre solver, I found this one incredibly ...

2011-01-03T17:03:51.586-05:00

As a mediocre solver, I found this one incredibly easy. I've never seen so many literal clues.

@ sanfranman59 ...glad to see you back; I miss th...

2011-01-03T17:03:24.942-05:00

@ sanfranman59 ...glad to see you back; I miss the numbers...hope you had a good visit.

Seven plus KOJAK... they keep upping the density a...

2011-01-03T17:01:20.633-05:00

Seven plus KOJAK... they keep upping the density ante!

Fun, fun puzzle.

I agree with Mac (whose nom de blog rhymes with the theme) that Rex, you sound great-- easy and breezy. I want to hear about Who's the Boss, which used to be one of my favorites BACK in the days.

Livengood-- what a great name! Enough to inspire its owner to love words.

@Nate - In the 50s-60s - that's who played Ma...

2011-01-03T16:59:54.207-05:00

@Nate - In the 50s-60s - that's who played Mah Jong. It was what it was. Last tear I went to a Senior Center where everyone plays it now. But, it's a half century later.

I also know that most Seniles are Seniors, and my mom, 91, is one of them.

The last time I stepped on someone's toes is when I used the verb "to gyp." As a New Year's resolution, I'm trying hard to avoid this and the expression, "that's retarded."

Midday report of relative difficulty (see my 7/30/...

2011-01-03T16:19:23.061-05:00

Midday report of relative difficulty (see my 7/30/2009 post for an explanation of my method):

All solvers (median solve time, average for day of week, ratio, percentile, rating)

Mon 6:00, 6:55, 0.87, 5%, Easy

Top 100 solvers

Mon 3:22, 3:41, 0.91, 14%, Easy

I'm ba-a-a-a-ack! I decided to give you all a two-week hiatus from the numbers while I visited family and friends in Ohio for the holidays. I still tracked solve times, but not as diligently since I was less attached to my computer than is normal for me (which is to say that my fingers were in contact with a keyboard somewhat less than 100% of my waking minutes). I hope everyone had a joyous and jolly holiday season.

To Sfingi at 11:49 This is NOT,repeat Not, a cri...

2011-01-03T15:03:04.316-05:00

To Sfingi at 11:49

This is NOT,repeat Not, a criticism of your phrase "Jewish
mothers" when you could have just
said "mothers". I'm Jewish and when
I was a kid I always thought of
Jewish mothers as playing Mah Jongg. It's just that I am surprised that no one else found
it unPC,what with all the criticism
of "senile" and "Otay", none of
which I found offensive.

Huh. I thought Gawain was little bit of a jerk som...

2011-01-03T14:04:53.633-05:00

Huh. I thought Gawain was little bit of a jerk sometimes.

Gareth for me! Still trying to talk the husband into that as a possible name choice for any future sons. :)
He's not having it. :(

Why all the upset about "senile"? It'...

2011-01-03T13:27:24.879-05:00

Why all the upset about "senile"?
It's a good,non-pejorative, word
when used properly.Also, it rhymes
with "smile", "worthwhile","style" and "agile"(in England).

Definitions of WACK on the Web: •An eccentric; an...

2011-01-03T12:59:34.706-05:00

Definitions of WACK on the Web:

•An eccentric; an oddball; a weirdo; bad (as in not good), inauthentic, of an inferior quality, contemptible, lacking integrity, inauthentic, lame, or strange; Egregious
[en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wack]

•Term that refers to anything bad – usually a move done incorrectly. The opposite of “fresh.” Definitions by New Jersey State Theatre. [volumeone.org/magazine/articles/79/Breaking_It_Down_Breakin_Terminology_101.html]