tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post3754056763260535670..comments2024-03-29T10:35:45.726-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Fictional character who "died" in 1975 / MON 8-3-15 / News service inits. / Singer K. T. / No-sweat shot / Capital of SenegalRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger102125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-82568540263307767332015-09-07T20:06:03.400-04:002015-09-07T20:06:03.400-04:00The comments are getting better since we've be...The comments are getting better since we've been put on notice about changes to come on the blog, and I hope that they become even better by deterring comments on comments on comments.... leftcoastTAMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-37417191451852588842015-09-07T15:36:47.627-04:002015-09-07T15:36:47.627-04:00About the "little grey cells" many poste...About the "little grey cells" many posters have questioned: In the actual printed newspaper puzzle, the row is shaded GREY -- so they are considered grey cells.<br /><br />I loved this puzzle!Mary in Oregonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-30768838574772712712015-09-07T15:32:53.866-04:002015-09-07T15:32:53.866-04:00Knew Hercule from Public TV series (very good), no...Knew Hercule from Public TV series (very good), not Christie. Giving the puzzle a little bite for a Monday were fill entries APERCU, ENOCH, THRACE, EATON, DAKAR, and OSLIN. I confused k.d. (Lange) with K.T. before crosses clarified it.leftcoastTAMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-88262236595655898852015-09-07T14:29:49.005-04:002015-09-07T14:29:49.005-04:00@Rondo, I do the puzzles using Puzzazz on an iPad...@Rondo, I do the puzzles using Puzzazz on an iPad. The app only holds onto 20 or so completed puzzles so I can't go back and look at how this one appeared on the tablet screen, but my recollection is that it was shaded squares, so the reveal made sense. Puzzazz is very good at rendering the puzzles the way they are in the NYT print edition. Ellen Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00473445503706985149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-17266072275067220052015-09-07T11:46:21.685-04:002015-09-07T11:46:21.685-04:00Easy puzzle and done fast since I've been an A...Easy puzzle and done fast since I've been an Agatha fan for years and know all about the Belgian grey-celled one. Fun puzzle and completely unexpected from the wunderkind Steinberg. <br /><br />I really expected a more difficult puzzle on Labor Day, here in Cal.<br /><br />Ron Diego, La Mesa, CA<br />(Where we actually place our lists in a bucket).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-19841659221643690892015-09-07T11:29:10.329-04:002015-09-07T11:29:10.329-04:00Almost forgot - wanted Tunstall, but only OSLIN wo...Almost forgot - wanted Tunstall, but only OSLIN would fit.<br /><br />And ODDEST that SPIRO is on the left and OBAMA is on the right. Only place that could happen is in a puz.rondonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44911659833403053762015-09-07T11:23:43.445-04:002015-09-07T11:23:43.445-04:00Way too much French lately, even considering the t...Way too much French lately, even considering the theme today. Did it really take 5 or so years for this Mon-puz to surface? Wondered how there could be a DS puz on Monday. <br /><br />In my paper the LITTLEGREYCELLS are shaded to be just that. Similar on a device?? Anyone? Anyone? Just curious as I am considering such. Finally.<br /><br />HEIDI Klum, a GIMME as yeah baby. I’d take AGAZE and give her ANA. Unlike this puz.<br /><br />Hard to MESSUP on this puz, but somewhat unsatisfying.<br />rondonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-16016445397889499162015-09-07T11:00:48.964-04:002015-09-07T11:00:48.964-04:00The LOT of you are giving DS way too much love on ...The LOT of you are giving DS way too much love on this one. Crossing AGAPE and AGAZE then APERCU followed later by ALOOP and ADAM and ATONE, and ALSO EATON crossing EATEN? It makes my EGGSHAPEDHEAD ACHE!<br /><br />He PEERS AGAPE and AGAZE, and with DRAMA offers her a MATCH,<br />“MADAM, I’m no DETECTIVE, but I see you’ve a MOUSTACHE,<br />and with sweat socks, TAILS, and STILETTOS, you’ve the ODDEST panache.”<br />GIMME COCKTAILS by SGT APERCU OSLIN<br /><br />And there are abbr.s galore, SOI think this is the ODDEST puzzle to give any kudos, even on Monday. No matter the constructor.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-57531839892246037382015-08-03T23:44:27.597-04:002015-08-03T23:44:27.597-04:00Great puzzle and great comments, now that I finall...Great puzzle and great comments, now that I finally got to read them.<br /><br />Hand up for reading Dame Agatha at my mother's knee and I kept some of Mom's AC collection though I think they fall into her later years' output which @Nancy has dismissed as lesser works.<br /><br />@Nancy, loved the three volumes of Josephine Tey that I have, and when they found Richard III's body under that parking lot, my mind immediately flashed back to 'Daughter of Time'. <br /><br />Thanks, DS and Annabel.Teedmnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12832353448839187816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-16644480570941717822015-08-03T21:49:35.068-04:002015-08-03T21:49:35.068-04:00@ Nancy. Thanks for the book list. I've read s...@ Nancy. Thanks for the book list. I've read some, and since they were great (Daughter of Time!!!), shall put the others on my list. <br /><br />And thanks, Rex, for letting the comments wander. Malsdemarehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05375476737540476148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-32534205619851255792015-08-03T21:25:35.118-04:002015-08-03T21:25:35.118-04:00I've never been big on doing my own crosswords...I've never been big on doing my own crosswords (helping others with theirs is so satisfying, after all) but i started working on them again a few weeks ago. Last week's puzzles really kicked my asp and today's was an absolute thrill and delight. So funny to read the comments that it was an asp-kicker to some!<br />I love the photos of Pluto! Thanks!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-64857184815587707682015-08-03T20:51:53.313-04:002015-08-03T20:51:53.313-04:00Cheating versus checking. Well first of all, there...Cheating versus checking. Well first of all, there is no cheating when one plays against oneself. But for me, if I look anything up before I declare myself finished, it's a DNF. If after that declaration I look things up, that's education. And if anything is incorrect after than declaration, we're back to DNF.kitshefnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-84319636418001973382015-08-03T20:35:54.565-04:002015-08-03T20:35:54.565-04:00My first post post-moderation. What a difference. ...My first post post-moderation. What a difference. And who knew that moderation would make things more moderate?<br /><br />Definitely Tuesday difficulty, primarily due to the Frenchiness. Some lovely longs - STILETTOS, COCKTAILS, and all the themers, plus great mediums like THRACE, SPIRO, MACAW.<br /><br />Have not read much AC beyond Miss Marple, but I did have the curious experience of correctly IDing the murderer Aykroyd maybe 10% of the way through the book.<br /><br />Thank you Annabelle for the Peter Sellers clip. Although clearly using a stunt man for most of the screen time, it was completely in keeping with his sense of humor, in which a long set-up enhances the eventual joke. This is in sharp contrast to the current trend in comedy, in which the absence or artlessness of the setup is part of the gag. See e.g. Anchorman 2 (or better yet, don't).kitshefnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-36777190601745681962015-08-03T19:55:32.381-04:002015-08-03T19:55:32.381-04:00@ Hartley70, good point about the pointy heels of ...@ Hartley70, good point about the pointy heels of STILETTOS being pointless. Since the owner of the green Kawasaki is a fifth degree black belt and an inductee into the Martial Arts Hall of Fame, I think he can hold his own if the Harley riders took issue with his choice of ride. <br /><br />@Nancy, how do you know that Hartley70 might not actually decide to hop on a Harley one day? My favorite Belgian nun, Sister Heronema, drove her moped at breakneck speeds through the streets of Aketi over the bumpy red sand roads while everyone leapt out of her way. I was only 21 at the time and of course thought she must be about 100 years old but she was incredibly young at heart and would have easily won a Motocross race. <br /><br />@ Moderators, forgive my digressions, I'll definitely forgive you if you delete me. Just couldn't help myself.Aketihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07059835429995060000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9319453786717423382015-08-03T19:30:55.297-04:002015-08-03T19:30:55.297-04:00Always tinkle then shave, never the other way arou...Always tinkle then shave, never the other way around @ Leapy @ LMS. Urea stings like a motherf$#%er.<br /><br />Excellent story @ Nancy! <br /><br />Loved the puzzle and appreciated APERCU is Steinbergian Monday fare.<br /><br />Since this place is more like a cloisters, I'll now repair to weed the courtyard knot garden which is how I @ Leapy work off any and all peach cobblers....Questiniahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06225633428852696530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-21358385651643744042015-08-03T19:25:23.326-04:002015-08-03T19:25:23.326-04:00Within experimental error, this puzzle's const...Within experimental error, this puzzle's constructor (@David Steinberg) and blogger (@Annabel) are the same age, and are both college-bound (Stanford and Wellesley, respectively). The apparent time-warp relates to the fact that the Hercule Poirot puzzle sat in the accepted queue for 4 years, as you can learn by reading @David's hilarious commentary over at xwordinfo.com. I solved the puzzle on-line last night, and didn't realize until opening the print edition of "The Gray Lady" this morning that the central row of the puzzle was shaded grey. <br /><br />While still in graduate school, I would occasionally run myself into the ground and then have to spend a day or two in bed recovering from whatever bug du jour those with less compromised immune systems would have fought off. Invariably, those portions of the day not spent sleeping or eating chicken noodle soup would be whiled away reading mystery novels which were suitably calibrated to my level of intellectual capability, rather than chemistry journals which required too high a level of concentration. I remember vividly when "Curtain" -- Agatha Christie's last novel -- was published, and I rushed to read it even though I was perfectly healthy at the time. The underlying twist is so ingenious ... (won't spoil it further) (... and thanks to @Nancy for her reminiscences of events from 40 years ago).<br /><br />Incidentally, this is the second Monday in a row in which our current President with his crossword-friendly 5-letter name (3 alternating vowels) appears. The clue reminds us that tomorrow (Tuesday) will be his birthday. I wonder if the EGO clue was written by @David or changed during the editing process. Surely, it can apply to many of the actors -- past and present -- in the political arena.George Baranyhttp://www.chem.umn.edu/groups/baranygp/puzzles/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9897787302861997722015-08-03T18:21:27.957-04:002015-08-03T18:21:27.957-04:00You can help Michael out if you do a little self-p...You can help Michael out if you do a little self-policing and limit yourself to 3 posts. evil doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17593231055589228837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-86403809383458577622015-08-03T18:08:51.257-04:002015-08-03T18:08:51.257-04:00@Gill -- My boss at the Literary Guild at that tim...@Gill -- My boss at the Literary Guild at that time of course had to know. (She was a mystery buff, herself, and in fact had run Mystery Guild before handing it off to me when she was made Executive Editor in 1974). She also insisted on reading the ms. immediately after I'd finished it. (It wasn't all professional; she was positively salivating.) And the Rights Director at Dodd Mead knew she would be reading it, too, along with perhaps other editors at the Guild. BUT I TOLD ABSOLUTELY NO ONE ELSE! Not even my mother, as much of a die-hard Christie buff as I was. Only after the book came out in hardcover (but before it appeared as a Mystery Guild Selection) was I allowed to talk. But, by then, the reviews were out, the fact of Poirot's death revealed and the history of the book having been in the publisher's vault for all those years also revealed.<br /><br />Thanks to everyone for all the really nice comments. And to @Hartley70: 1) I think we get on because we both share a middle brow :) and 2)I so much preferred Joan Hickson to Margaret Rutherford, I can't even tell you. MR played it as rather low comedy: Aren't I just the cutest, funniest thing and aren't my murder-solving skills absolutely adorable? Joan Hickson EMBODIED Miss Marple exactly the way I had envisioned her for lo these many years. I found her performance absolutely uncanny.<br /><br />@Aketi -- It amuses me that you still see Hartley70 on a Harley. I guess first impressions never quite die.Nancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16737377749030219974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46970388701812029102015-08-03T17:43:57.269-04:002015-08-03T17:43:57.269-04:00It just struck me how I am so familiar with the ph...It just struck me how I am so familiar with the phrase "little grey cells." It was part of the intro for a radio show of Hercule Poirot mysteries. It aired for one season in 1945 starring Harold Huber.mathgentnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-72478443664640952032015-08-03T17:19:20.993-04:002015-08-03T17:19:20.993-04:00@Seth - Annabel echo, "Oh celeb Anna!" &...@Seth - Annabel echo, "Oh celeb Anna!" <-- Well done on the palindrome!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17650498984297214113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-48340848041218752802015-08-03T16:44:32.716-04:002015-08-03T16:44:32.716-04:00@Anony 224...Ah, "the little grey cells of th...@Anony 224...Ah, "the little grey cells of the mind." <br />Christie used this phrase in a lot of her books. She favored the use of that part of the brain in order to solve the mysteries!<br />@Nancy...Well, wow girl. Did you really keep it a secret? I would have had to blab it to someone at least!!!!<br />@Leapy: Margaret M....Finest jowl wagging puddin this side of the pond. I was really sad when she no longer graced Agatha films.GILL I.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05605766053820226324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-5953276142682643362015-08-03T15:52:04.955-04:002015-08-03T15:52:04.955-04:00Love reading your comments and hope there is no mo...Love reading your comments and hope there is no more negativism.<br />Disagree about cheating on APERCU but I can certainly live with it.<br />I also live in a non-crossword world and I was told by a psychiatrist friend that " others do not share your enthusiasm".<br />So I thoroughly enjoy this blog immensely!!<br />Thanks<br /><br />Charles Flasterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16588962898277593533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-23711062137456222292015-08-03T15:42:44.313-04:002015-08-03T15:42:44.313-04:00Easy Monday for me, even though I haven't read...Easy Monday for me, even though I haven't read much of Christie. I'm only disappointed that the constructor couldn't fit in the word MONOCLE for a theme answerDoug Garrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13965787725520647126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-22818383384442638262015-08-03T15:15:42.201-04:002015-08-03T15:15:42.201-04:00@Nancy, wonderful anecdote today! My brow is happ...@Nancy, wonderful anecdote today! My brow is happily in the middle too when it comes to Agatha's charms. I would have liked this as a Sunday with 5 or 6 more themers to amplify the fun. Heck, why stop there, go for 10. I'm sure we could come up with lots of possibilities with perhaps a moustache as a visual. No, no annoying little circles of course! .<br /><br />@Aketi, that avatar, while colorful, does not scream "Made in America" to me, and bikers are nothing if not overtly patriotic. They stream up Rte 7 here for hours to commemorate 9/11 and it's quite moving. My chopper of choice would always be a Harley and those sandals are silver to match the chrome exhaust. No BURLY BEAST needed. We agree on the STILETTO ISSUE. Pointless.<br /><br />@Leapy, yes three cheers for Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple. But oh my, Joan Hickson was awfully good too. She's much fresher in my mind.Hartley70https://www.blogger.com/profile/00557118655188472450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-89487065992681844412015-08-03T14:50:00.690-04:002015-08-03T14:50:00.690-04:00p.s.
Puz was a bit lite on U's. But, hey -- t...p.s.<br />Puz was a bit lite on U's. But, hey -- the Steinbergmeister was only 14, at the time. Don't want the young-uns to hurt themselves, on some poor, under-respected vowel's account.<br /><br />Puz was slightly challenging (yet hardly Herculean) for a MonPuz, which is plenty ok by m&e. Was somewhat conversant with the whole Agatha Christie-Poirot dealy, thanks to the great "Murder on the Orient Express" flick.<br /><br />I was out of state all of last week, so M&A has many miles of blank grids left to fill, before he sleeps…<br /><br />Masked and Anonymo3UsMasked and Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16027736429645378004noreply@blogger.com