tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post399317209526662667..comments2024-03-28T09:22:03.720-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Roman consul who captured Syracuse in A.D. 211 / SAT 1-2-16 / Mass master in brief / Alternative to Goobers / Jamaican jerk chicken seasoningRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger77125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91888247202484673202016-02-07T15:01:11.561-05:002016-02-07T15:01:11.561-05:00I guess I am the only one who thought there was so...I guess I am the only one who thought there was some Korean War politician or general from Korea with the surname HSU ... Had to Google it even after seeing the answer was HST to figure out the clue referred to Truman.<br /><br />Also put in ATENYEMEN for the USS Cole attack site and had SHAVE in for "get rid of" rather than SHAKE for quite a while.<br /><br />After zipping around the rest of the grid, you can probably tell the SW gave me fits.Bananafishnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-21085585019139051362016-02-06T20:49:02.746-05:002016-02-06T20:49:02.746-05:00@Rainy - agree with Longbeach that I'm in awe ...@Rainy - agree with Longbeach that I'm in awe of your "non-native" X-ing ability. Where are you - or are you from?<br /><br />@Rondo - true fact - it almost never rains in Spokaloo in the summer. Summer is what a perfect summer should be - 75, dry, sunny, day after day after day after day. AAAAAHHHHHH. When friends ask why we don't move permanently to PG, I cite Lake Spobegone summers. <br /><br />“Hon, I called Elliot and told him to bring the missus along.”<br />“Yes, dear. Always nice to have the NESSES over.”<br />Huh?" THis reminded me of life with my extremely hard-of-hearing husband. Some day I'm gonna write a sit-com about our life in communication land. Fave story - one day we were outside and I put on my sunglasses even tho it was overcast. We were near the ocean, and the reflection gave my light-sensitive eyes the conniption. Husband laughed - "Sunglasses today?" I said, "Hey, I don't laugh at your hearing loss." After a pause (pun there, wait for it) he looked down at his hands and sad "Fuzzy paws?" Since then we have referred miscommunications to as "fuzzy paws." <br /><br />Diana, still waiting for puzzles<br />Diana,LIWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10574918670688440822016-02-06T16:13:56.782-05:002016-02-06T16:13:56.782-05:00"Ralph" and "Louie" clearly co...<br />"Ralph" and "Louie" clearly correspond to right and left (R and L) respectively. But why substitute for perfectly good terms? Imagine confirming directions given: That was a left, right, at the corner? Another term is called for.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61837617705774553152016-02-06T15:52:51.612-05:002016-02-06T15:52:51.612-05:00Ahem. Any time I complete a Saturday puzzle in ab...Ahem. Any time I complete a Saturday puzzle in about 3 hours, slow and steady progress, knowing in my heart of hearts that I will be successful, I also know Rex will call it easy. But "wickedly" easy? What, pray tell, is that? I am so glad that many of the others here did not feel the same. One moment I'm the 582nd smartest person who ever lived, next I'm a dolt, then I finally end up as your average Joe (or Joanne). <br /><br />Got SKINTIGHT right off the bat, which led to KOALA and then off to the races. Well, like the tortoise in the race. Haters revealed itself early, too - that part did seem easy to me. I don't mind the phrase if it's applied to someone who is ALWAYS critical. No matter what you say (the sky is blue - Macy's is having a sale) they come back with "Oh, I don't know" or "No, that's not right." Just oppositional on everything. That's my take, could be wrong.<br /><br />@Spacey - CARET is the little ^ thingy an editor uses to indicate you should "input" another word or phrase in your exposition. I love wordplay and misdirects - they make you THINK. (Whereas unknown names are just unknown names that will never come to you during a walk around the block.) Agree with all who thought STASHAWAY was not a good description for hoarding, a quite green around the gills.<br /><br />GOOBERS - did anyone else use this word to name something else (think nasal creatures)?<br /><br />OK - par tee on the 9th - how apt, for our NINEHOLES today. Anyone traveling a distance could start early on the 8th. I'll bring the nova and bagels. (You'll get that joke in a week or two. In Futureland.)<br /><br />Diana, Lady-in-Waiting for CrosswordsDiana,LIWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9850440631633704282016-02-06T15:35:12.264-05:002016-02-06T15:35:12.264-05:00Rain Forest - my admiration. I can't imagine ...Rain Forest - my admiration. I can't imagine taking on an NYT puzzle if I were foreign born.Longbeachleehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10945278798020339134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-7171716388263161522016-02-06T14:52:38.342-05:002016-02-06T14:52:38.342-05:00This puz was anything but easy for me. Only write-...This puz was anything but easy for me. Only write-over was AlERt aher it needed to be ACERB, but I was being really cautious while filling. Better part of an hour for sure. Really liked it, but that gridspanner is getting old already.<br /><br />“Hon, I called Elliot and told him to bring the missus along.”<br />“Yes, dear. Always nice to have the NESSES over.”<br />Huh?<br /><br />Hockey, golf, and hoops in that NE niner stack. (Colorado AVALANCHE).<br /><br />NONAME here evokes a yeah baby. I dated an ANN once who looked great in SKINTIGHT duds (and out of them) – she ran for St. Paul Winter Carnival Queen of Snows one year. Yeah baby!<br /> <br />@D,LIW – I’ve been to and through Spokane many times, most recently August 2014. Used to have an aunt and uncle there living on West Crown (Drive? I think). Seemed to never rain during summer vacations there. Big crush on the next-door neighbor girl when we were both about 13. First girl I ever went SWIMming with. Here’s where I must STAVE off the ACHE and YEN. <br /><br />WILL IS starting the real-time new year decently.<br />rondonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-84872344398981075422016-02-06T14:28:06.769-05:002016-02-06T14:28:06.769-05:00Not knowing "Louie" (TV show, I thought)...Not knowing "Louie" (TV show, I thought) as a LEFTTURN was my undoing. Had LEFT but not the TURN.<br /><br />Didn't know NESSES but crosses fixed that. Made a good guess for the I at the RIESEN/POSIES cross. (Didn't know that florists created them.) <br /><br />Clever clue for EST.<br /><br />Medium for me, except for that errant TURN.<br />leftcoastTAMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-74629584865853066582016-02-06T14:10:06.665-05:002016-02-06T14:10:06.665-05:00ESSEX RUSE INUSE
SHE’ll TAKEADIVE and a SWIM in h...ESSEX RUSE INUSE<br /><br />SHE’ll TAKEADIVE and a SWIM in her SKINTIGHT suit<br />and with POWERGRAB him, her QUEST or RIESEN is moot,<br />with the STEADIEST motion, SHE’ll SHAKE him for a minute,<br />RAISINETS her notion, and SHE’ll ACHE when he’s INIT.<br /><br />--- CLARA WILLIS<br />Burma Shavenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-43834264270481307112016-02-06T13:56:48.569-05:002016-02-06T13:56:48.569-05:00DNF.
This is one of the occasional puzzles which t...DNF.<br />This is one of the occasional puzzles which took advantage of my not being American. I just didn't have a clue as to what/who Goobers, Raisinets, TJ Maxx, or "Louie" is/are. My effort wasn't helped by my insistence on ACute, walk-on (star's opposite), AOL instead of MSN.<br /><br />Oddly, I got the whole west side, without knowing NESSES and RAISINETS, and the grid-spanner. Then came the Eastern side. Now that I look at it, I might have sussed a couple things out had I persevered, but I just lost interest in what may be a pretty good puzzle which was not on my wavelength. Not to be today.rain forestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-1277519297458100182016-02-06T10:48:47.233-05:002016-02-06T10:48:47.233-05:00I really don't like the expression spanning th...I really don't like the expression spanning the grid today. That's not to say I "HATE" it; I just think it's stupid and negative. And this is not the first time I've encountered it. Please, constructors, don't turn it into another one of your cliche ADAGES.<br /><br />Someone must have said to today's contributor. "Bet you can't fit TJMAXX into a puzzle!" Well, take that, Someone. Here you go.<br /><br />It was interesting; can't go with the "easy" rating, though. Medium bending slightly toward challenging. I was stalled getting into the SE...still can't figure out why CARET is "Input signal?" "Right" could mean 1,000 other things as well as ETHICAL. But eventually, after hitting on HAIRLINE, that was filled in.<br /><br />The SW features two intersecting greenpaints: SUNSHADE and STASHAWAY. Well OK, SUNSHADE is a real thing; it just sounds greenpainty. But it's all good; just let me polish off my PASTA with some RIESEN and I'm happy. (The SHAKE doesn't belong; that's another meal.)<br /><br />NINEHOLES is about all I'm good for any more--on a cart. Oh well, at least I parred this one. B.spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-13898421176937740272016-02-06T07:39:32.918-05:002016-02-06T07:39:32.918-05:00Take a Louie, take a Ralph
Common directions growi...Take a Louie, take a Ralph<br />Common directions growing up on Cape Cod in seventies and eightiesBobWhitehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10700721679207958937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-53046322070764688932016-01-07T19:34:16.088-05:002016-01-07T19:34:16.088-05:00Am I really the only one who disputes "Mass M...Am I really the only one who disputes "Mass Master" as an accurate definition for J. Sebastian Bach? A master of something by definition implies that he did that thing repeatedly at a high level of skill. JS Bach composed one mass - millions of other works, but one mass. How does that qualify him to be described as a "Mass Master"? Sure it's a masterpiece, but that describes everything he ever wrote. Why not "trio master" or "prelude master" or "solo cello master" or any of a million other ways? (Best would be "cantata master, he composed over two hundred of them.) Completely inaccurate definition because it implies that he specialized in composing masses, which is insane. Giovanni Palestrina yes, Josquin des Prez yes (although he also composed great secular music too). I'm having difficulty thinking of any composer who is best known for his masses. Victoria and Byrd also composed great motets and liturgical music; Mozart composed operas, songs, concertos and chamber music though his masses are pretty good. You see my issue? By this idiotic definition, anybody who ever composed a great mass would suit the answer in this puzzle just as well as JS Bach -- say, Guillaume Machaut (1 mass), Ralph Vaughan Williams (1 mass), Igor Stravinsky ( 1 mass), just to name a few. Awful awful clue, unless the answer is "Palestrina", the only famous composer I can think of who is known primarily for his masses.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-23284822302367729352016-01-04T03:11:54.175-05:002016-01-04T03:11:54.175-05:00Wow! I'm glad I'm not the only one who mis...Wow! I'm glad I'm not the only one who misremembered Fraiser's brother as 'Nigel'. That mistake caused me the most delay on solving this puzzle. I figured 'netlosses' had to be 36-down but struggled to reconcile it with the rest of the lower-right quadrant. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-5409058671592799032016-01-04T03:08:34.751-05:002016-01-04T03:08:34.751-05:00I'm glad you claim this puzzle is 'easy...I'm glad you claim this puzzle is 'easy', even with its factual errors. I'm an intermediate crossword solver, and it took me at least 3 hours—on amd off—to solve it. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-41267300696655131542016-01-02T23:53:00.312-05:002016-01-02T23:53:00.312-05:00I found this very hard, but maybe because I was ha...I found this very hard, but maybe because I was having someone over for dinner and was doing food prep most of the day. (You notice I said food prep, not cooking, but serious food prep takes me as much time as actual cooking does other people.) Oh yes, the puzzle. I almost gave up just now, but kept at it and ended up solving. What, pray tell are NESSES? Had to change NIGEL to NILES. Had to change CHUCK to SHAKE. But my biggest question is this:<br /><br />WHY WOULD ANYONE CALL A LEFT TURN A "LOUIE"? Or a right turn a "Ralph," as two of you pointed out. Isn't fast reaction time really, really important when you're behind the wheel? Why have cutsie terminology you have to think about, rather than a simple word like LEFT or RIGHT that you can react to automatically? I don't want to be anywhere near you LOUIE/RALPH people on the highway, thank you very much.<br /><br />I'm sure this would have been much easier if I'd been focused on it all day. But I wasn't focused until just now. And now it's time forime for bed. Good night, everyone.Nancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16737377749030219974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-76949319945230645002016-01-02T21:19:25.636-05:002016-01-02T21:19:25.636-05:00Thanks, @Numinous for the German explanation for &...Thanks, @Numinous for the German explanation for "ARIE". <br /><br />And double thanks to @AliasZ for providing such a lovely piece by JSBACH. I bet I am not the only regular on this blog who goes back and back during the afternoon and evening to see what gems have cropped up. And Mr Z's musical contributions are at the top of my personal list.<br /> <br />Now I will sign off for the night, having had a modest supper of brown California rice, with a lovely and large piece of baked chicken from Mary's Chicken -- and of course a glass or two of Sonoma County wine. There are some advantages to living in Northern California -- the disadvantage being I am 3 hours behind a lot of you.<br />old timernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-4495053943174432832016-01-02T21:06:42.338-05:002016-01-02T21:06:42.338-05:00The west fell fast but the east was a struggle. Ea...The west fell fast but the east was a struggle. Easy-challenging schizo here. Bracing end to a breezy crossword week. LindaPRmavennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-29222926846756159072016-01-02T20:12:44.404-05:002016-01-02T20:12:44.404-05:00@Z 2:21pm: Cybill Shepherd (lucky for me, I blanke...@Z 2:21pm: Cybill Shepherd (lucky for me, I blanked on her name at the time).kitshefnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44030896282034118752016-01-02T19:35:17.965-05:002016-01-02T19:35:17.965-05:00Just getting around to reading the second postings...Just getting around to reading the second postings approved by OFL. I started my original post nearly 5 hours ago, but between all the interruptions and the tide, (which waits for no man) I'm just catching up. The late afternoon produced two fat black ducks, a handsome drake mallard, and one hen gadwall. I shall ear heartily next week!<br /><br />Having said all that, let me comment on one or two of the later posts:<br /><br />@Chuck McGregor:<br /><br />$1000.00 a week? That's chickenfeed! Try renting anything bigger than an outhouse in the Hamptons on Long Island, New York for less than $5000.00 a week from Memorial Day to Labor day! True indigenous locals call the influx of summer Manhattan dwellers, Citidiots! They are rude,and they can't drive an automobile worth a f**k! The cost of their vehicle does not equate to their driving proficiency! You will never find a more more self-absorbed, arrogant, self-perceived privileged class of people in America, except perhaps in Hollywood?<br /><br />@Tita: Great post!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Chaos344https://www.blogger.com/profile/08901221000538028472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-39178119801202984102016-01-02T18:51:13.868-05:002016-01-02T18:51:13.868-05:00While trivia is not the way to go, @dolgo makes a ...While trivia is not the way to go, @dolgo makes a point. Clues like "Dangerous fall" sound like someone literally translating AVALANCHES into English from a foreign language. Not ideal. Clues can be challenging without being intentionally awkward. <br /><br />On that note, "Good or bad things to pick up" is a bit better. But if you want VIBES as your answer, it seems to try too hard. That's my sense, maybe @dolgo's too.<br /><br />Other clues were brilliant. But then NESSES in the solution takes it down another notch.<br /><br />@phil phil - I'd say that some abbreviations in the cluing are just standard style: U.S.S. Cole clue and the (incorrect) A.D. clue don't signal an abbreviated answer. I guess N.J. might be harder to identify as normal style. Might be a tricky one.weingolbhttps://medium.com/@weingolbnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-89341095585498581232016-01-02T18:28:39.092-05:002016-01-02T18:28:39.092-05:00While ARIE may be Italian for arias, I feel the ne...While ARIE may be Italian for arias, I feel the need to point out, repetitively, that since Der Fledermaus is an opera in German, it contains at least one ARIE (German for aria). Numinoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01263999193499725814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-66122473737936375192016-01-02T18:25:50.895-05:002016-01-02T18:25:50.895-05:00I have to come to the defense of NESSES. It's...I have to come to the defense of NESSES. It's a tad archaic, but derives from good old Middle English, and I doubt many of you use BRAE or words of that ILK in your daily speech either.Normhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10032302346488486116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-81232885655555633772016-01-02T18:18:01.424-05:002016-01-02T18:18:01.424-05:00@Fred, there are at least seven in the SF Bay Area...@Fred, there are at least seven in the SF Bay Area including Daly City and on Harrison in SF.Numinoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01263999193499725814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-69646965913286119032016-01-02T17:36:07.609-05:002016-01-02T17:36:07.609-05:00Great puzzle. I'm with Rex and George Barany a...<br /><br /><br /><br />Great puzzle. I'm with Rex and George Barany as to the difficulty factor. Both today and yesterday seemed like tough Thursday level puzzles, sans the usual Thursday gimmickry.<br /><br />@dolgo: I'm with you for the most part amigo. I've been following the ongoing conversation started by @Diana-Lady In Waiting, vis-a-vis the contentious issue of pop-culture cluing. I'm strongly in her camp! Eugene Maleska would be spinning in his grave if he could see what passes for the current cluing and fill at the NYT crossword. Yes, I know that much of the knowledge gleaned from puzzles of the Maleska era was arcane or of little use in every day speech. After all, who among us would ever refer to common ants as pismires or emmets? Still, I'd rather have that knowledge than knowing the name of Eazye, Kanye, or Marshall Bruce Mathers III. The Thin Man debuted in 1934, but I didn't see that many complaints about the recent NORA Charles fill? What about Asta or Fala, and who doesn't know the name of Beaver's brother? Also, a quick perusal of the Wiki entry for the TV show Moonlighting will reveal the significant milestones it achieved. Let's see who remembers the aforementioned rappers 82 years from now! As a matter of fact, go to any current high school senior and ask him or her who Marshall Bruce Mathers III is? I'll bet most would give you a blank stare!<br /><br />Having said all that, I used to always look forward to learning something from late week puzzles. That doesn't happen too often anymore, but today, one of my last fills was nesses. So, I learned that a ness is a promontory. Without looking it up right at this moment, I'm guessing it is safe to assume that Loch Ness derives its name from that definition. If so, I'm just Wuthering weather it is also safe to assume that Eliot Ness is akin to Penistone Crag? If Eliot Ness in Untouchable, then perhaps Penistone Crag is equally "hard" to access?<br /><br />@LMS on your early WP post:<br />A big smile at your perceived self-deprecating image as a musher. A hearty laugh at admitting your dogs can't distinguish a LOUIE from a HAW. Haws aren't always that easy to recognize. In certain breeds of dogs, (and cats) they appear as a third eyelid. In the human species Haws are usually identified by 5 inch stiletto heels and mini-skirts, but that's a discussion for another time. Also, thanks for the great link to Cookerly.com. The neologisms were priceless. My favorite was the severe affliction known as Osteopornosis, but then you probably suspected that, right?<br /><br />@LMS in regard to your late post at Rexs' yesterday:<br /><br />"@Chaos – it wasn't too long ago that we had some people who delighted in pointing out our grammar/usage transgressions." [End Quote.]<br /><br />Au contraire mon petit papillion! No one hates the grammar Nazis more than moi! I would never deign to denigrate someone who used "it's" in lieu of "its", or "your" instead of "you're." If you're referring to my recent comment about a certain lady who posted that she "had sex from the bottom up" before solving, or made a similar comment in that regard, you are comparing apples and oranges. I specifically used the word "egregious" when opining that only the most blatant grammatical errors should be pointed out. I commented on the post in question only because I considered it a true Freudian slip worthy of eliciting a humorous response. There was also the omission of a key word that changed the context and potential interpretation of the whole post. It wasn't my intent to cast aspersions on the poster. If she was like-minded, she would have laughed at my observations as well? Capisce?Chaos344https://www.blogger.com/profile/08901221000538028472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-36830947693247541102016-01-02T17:33:47.027-05:002016-01-02T17:33:47.027-05:00@Z, nice try. I'm disappointed you don't ...@Z, nice try. I'm disappointed you don't recall Cybill Shepherd, who won 2 Golden Globes for "Moonlighting" and another for her follow up tv show, "Cybill" (opposite the always wonderful Chirstine Baranski). Apparently, she and WILLIS loathed each other by the end of production, which she addressed in her autobiography, which BTW is very juicy reading.<br /><br />@Wed.Child, POSIES is from England and is used in America (at least the East Coast) as well. Colonial Williamsburg even sells a needlework pillow depicting "posies". I learned the word as a child via the nursery rhyme: Ring around the rosie, pocketful of posies, ashes, ashes, we all fall down. The rhyme has several conflicting attributions, definitions and wordings, discussed in detail on Wikipedia if you're interested.Ludyjynnnoreply@blogger.com