tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post3761315578204865156..comments2024-03-29T05:08:37.783-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Climactic musical finales / FRI 4-16-10 / Crookes tube emission / Clandestine maritime org. / Rialto attention-getterRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger71125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-22277361403263202512010-05-28T13:05:46.022-04:002010-05-28T13:05:46.022-04:00Started solving in the SE and got the "paid&q...Started solving in the SE and got the "paid" part of 29-D first. I SOOO thought the other half would and should be "over" and couldn't wait to see if that was the case. As I already had "saturnine" in mind for 34-D, however, I knew the chances were slim . . . a missed opportunity for a bit of snark. Aside from that, I enjoyed it.Sudsy in Chicagonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-62050835273224611502010-05-21T18:52:14.718-04:002010-05-21T18:52:14.718-04:00From Syndcity -
Great Friday puzzle. Saturday-like...From Syndcity -<br />Great Friday puzzle. Saturday-like in complexity and enjoyment. Committed to PATERSMOOD for Pop's condition (11D) for way too long which delayed things...Waxy in Montrealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04395751487137805245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44570003638003919072010-04-17T02:31:14.589-04:002010-04-17T02:31:14.589-04:00@Andrea
Well, it might actually be more than 34 ti...@Andrea<br />Well, it might actually be more than 34 times to Hedonism II.<br /><br />A buddy of mine and I were talking about our up-coming trip and we went over the years ... and that was all I could definitively remember,<br /><br />There have been more trips to Jamaica, but I'm ONLY counting the Hedo ones.<br /><br />Now the "Twins" ... or should I say the "quads" ... they are two chapters in my bio. LOL <br /><br />We went to Kindergarden through College together.Tinbenihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14661395078047234853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61140696555526798692010-04-17T02:00:53.185-04:002010-04-17T02:00:53.185-04:00This 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 6:44, 6:55, 0.97, 48%, Medium<br />Tue 6:40, 8:49, 0.76, 7%, Easy<br />Wed 12:50, 11:52, 1.08, 72%, Medium-Challenging<br />Thu 19:25, 19:37, 0.99, 52%, Medium<br />Fri 24:52, 26:27, 0.94, 36%, Easy-Medium<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:34, 3:40, 0.97, 48%, Medium<br />Tue 3:32, 4:30, 0.79, 11%, Easy<br />Wed 6:05, 5:49, 1.05, 70%, Medium-Challenging<br />Thu 8:49, 9:23, 0.94, 36%, Easy-Medium<br />Fri 12:06, 12:50, 0.94, 38%, Easy-Mediumsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-12796196000470747842010-04-17T00:38:15.395-04:002010-04-17T00:38:15.395-04:00@Timbeni
34 times???!!! Really? I went to Sandals...@Timbeni<br />34 times???!!! Really? I went to Sandals there once as a chaperone with the All New Dating Game...over 20 years ago...been dying to go back since! ALL couples on their honeymoon and me and the boy whose date had stood him up!<br />Wouldn't that have been funny if the answer WAS THOSETWINS???!!!<br /><br />@edithb<br />was NEON a neon for you?andrea unpaid michaelsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-21978742635737796552010-04-17T00:33:35.078-04:002010-04-17T00:33:35.078-04:00@Andrea, you're a genius! But we knew that... ...@Andrea, you're a genius! But we knew that... I think heading East would have been an interesting option. But puzzlehusband, also a genius, remembered Jordanian Airlines flies directly to NY, so I'm coming through Amman (an Airport I know well). <br /><br />@mac, I too wanted hOMEwrecker and the fact that the OME matched made it hard to get rid of. I bet the cluing misdirection considered this... <br /><br />And yes being stranded at home is nicer :) I have a friend/colleague from US currently stranded in Holland. Too bad about your sister though.<br /><br /><br />@archaeoprof thanks for thinking of us!<br /><br />@Tinbeni, I need some of what I see in your Avatar, and it's before 8:00 am my time...<br /><br />@Rex, sorry for the non-puzzle related chatter. You're a port in my storm.foodiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13052189131129098616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26759514621633139052010-04-16T21:40:58.109-04:002010-04-16T21:40:58.109-04:00@Andrea
"Letter WTF" got me again.
I'...@Andrea<br />"Letter WTF" got me again.<br />I'll never learn, damn.<br /><br />Last Friday was a GNARLIER offering but I can't bitch.<br /><br />Any puzzle with a BAR and SOTS is OK by me.<br /><br />WOD STRETTI was totally new. OCAT, huh?<br /><br />Liked the mini theme ASTOR & ANIMAL PELT. <br /><br />"the greatest adventure of them all"<br />Just wrote in HEDONISM II, there wasn't room for the Negril, Jamaica. But what do I know? Only been there 34 times.<br />Really wanted 'those twins' but I figured Eric doesn't know them. Cognizant reasoning told me he therefore couldn't clue them.Tinbenihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14661395078047234853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-14484795648574391112010-04-16T21:33:35.892-04:002010-04-16T21:33:35.892-04:00Going from BAR to PUB and back again and again mad...Going from BAR to PUB and back again and again made me one of the SOTS. Lots to like in this puzzle. REPUTEDLY and SATURNINE were two good new xword entries for me.fergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-66913433932490899832010-04-16T21:32:51.323-04:002010-04-16T21:32:51.323-04:00Christina Applegate is engaged to be married! Good...Christina Applegate is engaged to be married! Good news.<br /><br /><br />uledumpmachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8984687323376123812010-04-16T20:42:41.008-04:002010-04-16T20:42:41.008-04:00@Ben: and now Steve Bardo does commentary on coll...@Ben: and now Steve Bardo does commentary on college basketball for ESPN.<br /><br />Archaeoprof (U of I, 1976)archaeoprofhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17956231727789223463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10219845155487752832010-04-16T20:39:21.908-04:002010-04-16T20:39:21.908-04:00I'm considering the LA tourney.
PuzzleMate is ...I'm considering the LA tourney.<br />PuzzleMate is excited about plans of his own so it looks like it might happen.<br />Can I handle meeting Rex and Andrea in person?<br />Any other regulars coming?Two Ponieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06896743444873087885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-6840241353506351542010-04-16T19:43:25.486-04:002010-04-16T19:43:25.486-04:00@Foodie: I guess I should feel lucky to be strande...@Foodie: I guess I should feel lucky to be stranded at home! Unfortunately, my sister from Oregon has now cancelled her trip, so the 4 de Gier sisters are not reuning....<br /><br />@chefwen: sometimes I read a particularly clever clue to my husband. His response: that's just cruel!<br /><br />@Ben: thank you! Love tidbits like that.<br /><br />@Andrea: I didn't get the animal pelt until I had Astor - then it was immediate. <br />Even funnier: how about the answer: an N? ANN?<br />Like Kathy Griffith, love Julia L.D.machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-87381420549167286022010-04-16T19:07:38.234-04:002010-04-16T19:07:38.234-04:00@falconer
Congratulations!!!!
(@sethg
that's &...@falconer<br />Congratulations!!!!<br />(@sethg<br />that's "felcitations a toi!", as you know)<br />Plus cool extra info about Astor, which was interesting bec I think yesterday or the day before was the actual anniversary of the Titanic.<br /><br />@wm e emba<br />That's not cheating, it's mystical and fabulous!<br /><br />@joho, @chefwen<br />I tried to think why I dislike the LETTERN clue-type so much<br />(I'm speaking purely as a solver here)<br />a) it fools me EVERY time<br />b) I think it's bec I don't feel like you can say LETTER N. Wouldn't you would say "THE letter N"?<br />So Letter N feels so off that I can't get it... ever.<br /><br />Maybe they could have tied the Sesame clue in with this puzzle being brought to you by THE Letter N...<br /><br />However, it's time for me to accept it, I guess...instead of writing every time how much I dislike it as a type of clue! But I'm sorta in chefwen's husband's camp!<br /><br />@dk<br />Your insane, borderline- nonsensical shout outs to me continue to make my day! Not to totally encourage you, but thank you. ;)<br /><br />@mac<br />Speaking of which "homewrecker" never occured to me! ;) I got right away it was COMEDIENNE but somehow kept miscounting the letters and deciding it didn't fit!<br />I used to have a business card that read COMEDIENNNNNE with five N's just bec I thought it odd that they were always pointedly differentiating between the sexes of the comics.<br />(Funny is funny, no?)<br /><br />There could be five men on the bill, but if there was even ONE woman, the club owners would say "Oh, we already have Rita (Ellen, Paula, Elayne) performing so we don't need another gal".<br />grrrrrr.<br />('sides, I tend to think of COMEDIENNES as actresses, and female standups as comics. E.g. Julie Louise Dreyfus is a comedienne, whereas Kathy Griffin, despite her occasional film/TV appearances is a stand-up comic.)<br /><br />@Eric<br />Wonderful puzzle and thanks for dropping by and giving credit where credit was due...I sometimes forget how much Will/crew does ;)<br /><br />Odd bleed over...the lead singer in the band O NEGATIVE just died.<br /><br />@foodie<br />rebook thru San Fran!!!!!!!!!<br />You could hang out till the LA tournament! Road trip!!!andrea N michaelsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-48822634046272319872010-04-16T17:54:27.997-04:002010-04-16T17:54:27.997-04:00@Chefwen: The billiards stroke you were thinking ...@Chefwen: The billiards stroke you were thinking of is a MASSE shot. You can see one <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4my4Cy5EEs4" rel="nofollow">here</a>.<br /><br />@Mac: As Jae mentioned, the University of Illinois' team name is the Fighting Illini, named after the Illini tribe native to this region. (I'm writing from Chicago.) Hence the Marching Illini are the marching band.<br /><br />Taking it one step further, Chief Illiniwek was for decades the mascot at U of I football and basketball games. The forces of political correctness brought his era to an end, despite his widespread popularity among alumni and vocal support for the Chief from many Native Americans.<br /><br />Finally, the Flying Illini was the nickname for the talented, athletic U of I basketball team from winter 1989 starring Nick Anderson, Kendall Gill, NCAA slam dunk champion Kenny Battle, Marcus Liberty and Steve Bardo, several of whom went on to solid pro careers. The Flying Illini were upset in the NCAA Final Four by a last-second shot from Michigan's Sean Higgins.Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04754156636762779545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-48121383309203814672010-04-16T17:43:46.682-04:002010-04-16T17:43:46.682-04:00LOVE Kathy Griffin - thanks for the clip, Rex.
Ha...LOVE Kathy Griffin - thanks for the clip, Rex.<br /><br />Had INTENT instead of ENRAPT for the longest time; also FIBIA instead of TARSI, A NEW instead of A HOT, etc. Another DNF for me - oh well. <br /><br />@Falconer: congratulations!JenCThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18290169184354765840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-77697155991678113982010-04-16T17:30:31.007-04:002010-04-16T17:30:31.007-04:00@SethG - I have experienced that type of TASTING M...@SethG - I have experienced that type of TASTING MENU at The Inn at Little Washington and Gary Danko in San Francisco. Both places to DIE for.<br /><br />My husband looked at my finished puzzle last night and asked me what a LETTERN was, I told him that it was LETTER N as in the last letter of discussioN, he said, and I quote, "that's b#ll sh*t, can they really do that? I said "yeah, but we don't like it."chefwenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03999206352243329280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-38089405539828877412010-04-16T17:07:41.089-04:002010-04-16T17:07:41.089-04:00Can you say Eyjafjallajoekull???
Well, it's s...Can you say Eyjafjallajoekull???<br /><br />Well, it's stranding me in Istanbul, as all flights through Germany are canceled. I'm working on a crazy detour to get me home. Much as I love this place, I've got to come home and catch up on my taped Jeopardies...<br /><br />DOMINO'S owner lived in my neighborhood but I still had to work hard to get the full answer. <br />The puzzle was not easy for me, but I was having a tough time focusing, given my travel travails. <br /><br />@Eric Berlin, thank you for stopping by. You're so right about parenthood being "the greatest adventure of them all"-- sometimes a Hawaiian double rainbow, and sometimes an Icelandic volcano eruption, but always breathtakingly unexpected.foodiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13052189131129098616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-52309906478099061292010-04-16T16:11:27.276-04:002010-04-16T16:11:27.276-04:00Midday report of relative difficulty (see my 7/30/...Midday report of relative difficulty (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 of my method):<br /><br />All solvers (median solve time, average for day of week, ratio, percentile, rating)<br /><br />Fri 24:11, 26:27, 0.91, 30%, Easy-Medium<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Fri 12:20, 12:50, 0.96, 45%, Mediumsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45750014474463632892010-04-16T16:08:20.340-04:002010-04-16T16:08:20.340-04:00Busy day at work so I read @Eric's post too qu...Busy day at work so I read @Eric's post too quickly. Now I see that Will et al. get credit for the gloss they put on the OMOO and ELAL clues.Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04754156636762779545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-14564243884366278042010-04-16T15:25:27.460-04:002010-04-16T15:25:27.460-04:00Like yesterday, I found this one delightfully off-...Like yesterday, I found this one delightfully off-beat. Favorite answer: SATURNINE.<br /><br />Plus, there's a connection with country music: before the Alan Jackson concert the other night I had dinner at a restaurant with a TASTINGMENU. <br /><br />Go Illini!archaeoprofhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17956231727789223463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-33941320549348958312010-04-16T15:22:23.585-04:002010-04-16T15:22:23.585-04:00Or you could read the entry and the comments befor...Or you could read the entry and the comments <i>before</i> commenting.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67535020795736618832010-04-16T15:22:03.578-04:002010-04-16T15:22:03.578-04:00@ lit.doc - I am not a doctor and i don't play...@ lit.doc - I am not a doctor and i don't play one on TV. In fact, I haven't played doctor since....well.... maybe 60 or so years ago.<br /><br />But the TALUS is one of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarsus_(skeleton)" rel="nofollow">the tarsal bones</a> acc. to Dr. Wikipedia.retired_chemisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13181126754941899228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-57492582220724006032010-04-16T15:20:28.591-04:002010-04-16T15:20:28.591-04:00Like @jesser, I too have a love/hate relationship ...Like @jesser, I too have a love/hate relationship with this puzzle. After getting the entire middle and south, I was looking at a virtually empty north. Was getting tired of this so started Googling. Didn't know Rihanna. Like @Elaine, could not find COULDA in her Wiki discography. This Reeks of the same obscurity as what's-her-name Clijsters, (Kim's sister), that we had a few weeks back. OCAT? eh. IDENT? boo. ANIMALPELT? gedoudahere. Even ASTOR didn't sound right.<br /><br />Then again, loved ELAL and OMOO. Think LETTERN and ELEM are "cute" clues.<br /><br />Too many bad clue/answer combos... one thumb down.Rubehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04773241241484881566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-55582858300630130112010-04-16T15:10:33.675-04:002010-04-16T15:10:33.675-04:00Felt like Saturday to me. Epic fail, fueled by a ...Felt like Saturday to me. Epic fail, fueled by a bumper crop of High-Quality Wrong Answers.<br /><br />In pretty fair Friday time, had NW filled (correctly) and NE filled (with alphabet soup): 11D CARBONATED next to 12D REARSCREEN next to 13D O’CAT and 31D OLIVE (complexion). Finally noticed 43A OED and started over. Adding to the fun were 29D AFFLUENT next to 34D DEPRESSED (or even SATURNINE, which I’d jotted in my notes…), until I finally read 50A “Tibiae” as something other than an obscure, possibly Roman tribe.* <br /><br />An hour in, I ran up the motley fläg of google in surrender, though Check All would have been way more help. Checked Rex’s grid for a few answers and done. Biggest single problem was “22D is WASPS and no effing way am I even going to <i>think</i> about changing it”.<br /><br />*Full disclosure: a while later, I noticed that I had unaccountably keyed in ULNAE instead of whatever mutant form of FIBULA today’s plural turns out to be. Doh! Wait—TARSI?! If we’re going that direction for “neighbors”, isn’t the next bone down the TALUS? Is there a doctor in the house?<br /><br />Back after I read Rex’s write-up and the posts.lit.dochttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06729199575329286046noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-73661604428592610932010-04-16T14:39:36.339-04:002010-04-16T14:39:36.339-04:00@Elaine, forgive my mental haze, please? I guess I...@Elaine, forgive my mental haze, please? I guess I was barely awake.<br /><br />@mac, I hope you get a safe flight to Holland soon. Son-in-law is supposed to fly to Russia on Monday via London, and I worry...<br /><br />@dk, interesting that you worked at Disney a while back and found EISNER a tough boss. I know he was controversial, but I think it was thanks to him that "Aida", the musical, was backed by Disney -- a super deal for my son-in-law, the director. <br /><br />And WOW, the latest news is that Disney bought the film rights to my daughter's book "Dark Life", which comes out in May. Fingers crossed that it all comes to fruition without hitches!<br /><br />∑;)ArtLvrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03869528391374878601noreply@blogger.com