tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post4241233098953430528..comments2024-03-29T10:29:48.789-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: SUNDAY, Dec. 9, 2007 - Patrick BlindauerRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-90299267057891314672018-08-03T00:00:25.501-04:002018-08-03T00:00:25.501-04:00Found an old nyt magazine 7/2518 and was happy to ...Found an old nyt magazine 7/2518 and was happy to also find the unfinished puzzle. Even happer to fin Rex’ review - I didn’t knowing been around that long. CHEERS!Paul in SFhttps://www.greatdad.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-75120336621928959972007-12-21T20:59:00.000-05:002007-12-21T20:59:00.000-05:00I was away for a few weeks, and just did this puzz...I was away for a few weeks, and just did this puzzle today (12/21).<BR/><BR/>I gotta say, it took too much out of me.<BR/>However, my gimme was 87D: He-Man Woman-_______ Club.<BR/>One of my favorite Little Rascals episodes!Fabiola Thinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15048011490452938853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-37913482763183693272007-12-19T15:01:00.000-05:002007-12-19T15:01:00.000-05:00Anon: "Iter" (Latin, way, journey) refers to a co...Anon: "Iter" (Latin, way, journey) refers to a connective passageway between anatomical structures.<BR/><BR/>All: Thanks for the explanation of "atno." Got it, but didn't know what I had.<BR/><BR/>Just discovered this blog. Fun reading and good to know others have some of the same questions I have.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-3538820205249965382007-12-18T20:55:00.000-05:002007-12-18T20:55:00.000-05:00Thanks to everyone who explained "13, for Al" I c...Thanks to everyone who explained "13, for Al" I couldn't get that one or "air" next to it. "Pullon" sounded wrong, and I thought I needed another ELF.<BR/><BR/>FIE FIE!<BR/><BR/>Anyway, I couldn't decide if it was 13, for Al, or "for AI", so I was trying to divine between artificial intelligence, Allen Iverson, and maybe an Italian stereotype?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-49769984063186309782007-12-16T15:54:00.000-05:002007-12-16T15:54:00.000-05:00Sun Dec 16, 2007Thanks all for the 46D: LEVELER ex...Sun Dec 16, 2007<BR/>Thanks all for the 46D: LEVELER explanation. Now it makes sense. <BR/>The south went very smoothly today. 97D: ISTOO was quite the gimme, which gave me a lot of SW fill. 108A: GOLDENFLEECE went in quickly and provided at lot of SE fill. I didn't know 91D: HENLEY but got it from the crosses. I did keep 77D: AFOR until I had to admit there's no such thing as an 77A: AAGLET. Then I hit the MW and went with 68A: ART (oil) 79A: SLEET (greet) 65D: EBBTIDE (leetide), etc, etc. <BR/>Took a while to sort things out. <BR/>Up to the NW where, after guessing on 2D: LOWFAT, 1A: ALFALFA presented itself and 5D: GODOT had to leave. I didn't know LEFTY; googled it after I finished. As for the bonus, my first fills in the south were FLEs but 66A: ELF showed the letters can go any way. Slow time but I managed to make it through without google help during, which is a first for me. *back pat*<BR/>86A: AWOL - nice clue IMHO<BR/>I finally found all the ELFs. Last one was F lyer, awoL, Ecce. Whew!<BR/>Great blog, as always.Stanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01804656238980616964noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61544491770070766082007-12-11T23:27:00.000-05:002007-12-11T23:27:00.000-05:00Oh, I neglected to point at the 15D THORP was a gi...Oh, I neglected to point at the 15D THORP was a gimme, since I met him at my friend's wedding! He's an old friend of my friend's father. He wrote the first how-to-win-at-blackjack book, before everyone else jumped on the bandwagon.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44170087179267955772007-12-10T17:40:00.000-05:002007-12-10T17:40:00.000-05:00STIPE was a gimme for me. For several years, in t...STIPE was a gimme for me. For several years, in the fall I would take a wonderful mushroom identification class offered by the local botanical garden. Bob Shaffer, who taught it, was exceedingly knowledgeable, and a wonderful person, too. (According to the U of Michigan directory, his titles include Lewis E Wehmeyer and Elaine Prince Wehmeyer Professor Emeritus of Fungal Taxonomy and Curator Emeritus of Fungi, Herbarium.) <BR/><BR/>The first year one took the class, one was required to attend the classroom sessions, but the real point of the class was the 4 Saturday morning mushroom collecting expeditions. We'd spend a couple of hours wandering in the woods (at 4 different parks/preserves) looking for mushrooms. Amazingly, it was usually nice weather. <BR/><BR/>Then we'd bring them back and lay them out according to their family classifications. Bob would then pick up interesting specimens and expound on this one's squamose stipe, that one's adnate sinuate lamellae, that one's scabrous campanulate pileus, and so on. <BR/><BR/>But the best part came after the "work" was over. That was the gourmet potluck picnic. People used to work to outdo each other with their offerings. The last picnic of the class usually involved a selection of cognac and other such beverages, and would last late into the afternoon.<BR/><BR/>Ah, life. Is it any wonder that some of the vocabulary stuck with me, with that kind of reinforcement?Spencerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00884188052527454989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61492978395012258202007-12-10T14:38:00.000-05:002007-12-10T14:38:00.000-05:00Marcie, the Am. Heritage Dictionary lists stye as ...Marcie, <A HREF="http://www.answers.com/stye&r=67" REL="nofollow">the Am. Heritage Dictionary</A> lists stye as a secondary spelling for the eyelid woe; plurals are sties or styes.<BR/><BR/>A haiku:<BR/><BR/>In a pig's (red) eye<BR/>In a germy old pigsty—<BR/>Is it a sty sty?Orangehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12433254398377357737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-41213539287790284132007-12-10T10:55:00.000-05:002007-12-10T10:55:00.000-05:00jerry20020: It's not Zugspitz, it's Zugspitze. "Sp...jerry20020: It's not Zugspitz, it's Zugspitze. "Spitze" can indeed mean a mountain peak, like a "Piz".Ulrichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02086202853174403008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-4522752380501343382007-12-10T01:17:00.000-05:002007-12-10T01:17:00.000-05:00This was not pleasent for me as the theme didn't r...This was not pleasent for me as the theme didn't really help me much and there were enough crossing obscurities so that I was guessing more than I like. Got really bogged down in NW until I gave up on GODOT and finally saw ALFALFA which helped me remember LEFTY. My only error was the "I" in the ELIEL/ALI crossing. I know I've seen ELIEL previously but just couldn't recall him and I've never seen Aladdin. I also needed this blog to find out what ATNO was all about. Ah well, still a relatively easy week overall. <BR/><BR/>BTW Great drawings, Ms. Cureton is to be commended!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-5827563880776334012007-12-10T00:20:00.000-05:002007-12-10T00:20:00.000-05:00iter? ain't no kind of duct i ever heard of!iter? ain't no kind of duct i ever heard of!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61096389906940330892007-12-09T22:18:00.000-05:002007-12-09T22:18:00.000-05:00Ulrick - Spitz as in Zugspitz.Ulrick - Spitz as in Zugspitz.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-71827211545697701282007-12-09T22:08:00.000-05:002007-12-09T22:08:00.000-05:00Had a Manx cat when I lived in Maine sorta close t...Had a Manx cat when I lived in Maine sorta close to Saco (Portland). It had no tail, weighed a ton and fetched.<BR/><BR/>Went sledding today on a Mad River Bomber not a Flexibleflyer. <BR/><BR/>For Night Cafe I was fixated on Hopper and Nighthawks at ...<BR/><BR/>So as always the 6 degrees of seperation help with the clues as do trends like Afro. <BR/><BR/>The ones I do not get often come when I just walk away (eggnog with rum seems to help as well).<BR/><BR/>And, I find this blog to be an integral part of the above mentioned amusement, etc.<BR/><BR/>It is on to a new week. (I can only hope to see Asta again).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-78001553804183502132007-12-09T21:58:00.000-05:002007-12-09T21:58:00.000-05:00I didn't like this puzzle.Of course I started with...I didn't like this puzzle.<BR/>Of course I started with LEAVES for 1D but that was just the beginning.skua76https://www.blogger.com/profile/15450051465313263422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-36191112100697365952007-12-09T20:51:00.000-05:002007-12-09T20:51:00.000-05:00wendy... my dictionary, and I think most crossword...wendy... my dictionary, and I think most crosswords, differentiate stye (eye infection) from sty (pig domicile) though both are pretty yucky. I've never seen the eye infection with no "e".<BR/><BR/>LOL, if I had waited a few minutes I could have let Orange tell me where that fogi was. I went back thru the whole puzzle looking for fogi, but since I flexiblefl<B>y</B>ers was one of my first fills the fogy/fogi spelling didn't happen to me.<BR/><BR/>thanks everyone for explaining who the heck Al is and why the number 13 is significant to him ;-) . AtNo is especially wicked since it does spell two perfectly good English words (unlike AtWt) which make perfectly NO sense at all in context of the clue.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9673468608485123972007-12-09T20:36:00.000-05:002007-12-09T20:36:00.000-05:00It's my sense that Doc John is right about title a...It's my sense that Doc John is right about title abbreviations. I was thinking that it was Times style to use Sen., but searching the NYT site for Arlen Specter revealed that news articles spell out Senator and then follow with Mr. (or Ms., etc.) subsequently.<BR/><BR/>Louis Catorze, the old sled is <A HREF="http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ahrpa/opa/kids/themes/flexflyr.htm" REL="nofollow">spelled with a Y, FLEXIBLE FLYER</A>, crossing FOGY. There's no FOGI here.<BR/><BR/>'Cept when Yogi Berra got on in years and turned into Fogi Berra, that is.Orangehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12433254398377357737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61040991689486736802007-12-09T18:18:00.000-05:002007-12-09T18:18:00.000-05:00I didn't do the puzzle today but just had to add m...I didn't do the puzzle today but just had to add my two cents' worth about Ms. Cureton's drawings. They're great!<BR/><BR/>P.S. re: Sen. Specter- has anyone ever seen "Mr." spelled out in crossword clues? I don't think so. IMHO, I would say that titles are the exception to the rule.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-75442466937265342972007-12-09T17:45:00.000-05:002007-12-09T17:45:00.000-05:00Kumar - when you level something, you even it out....Kumar - when you level something, you even it out.<BR/><BR/>Eileen – After falling for “Godot” instead of “Lefty” so many times, I'm ready for it now.<BR/><BR/>Anon, I don't like it when rules are broken either. If the clue uses abbreviations, so should the answer. What is this world coming to if we can’t depend on crossword puzzles to follow the rules.<BR/><BR/>Rex, I found your blog yesterday. What a rare pleasure it is. I'll be back often, after I finish the puzzle that is (I hope).blog editorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04690435684033502917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-34117721568247174592007-12-09T16:38:00.000-05:002007-12-09T16:38:00.000-05:00In a speech to Congress, Ms. Cate refers to women ...In a speech to Congress, Ms. Cate refers to <A HREF="http://speechbank.blogspot.com/2007/07/woman-suffrage-is-inevitable.html" REL="nofollow">women haters.</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-4067989525785145192007-12-09T16:04:00.000-05:002007-12-09T16:04:00.000-05:00I had a puntastic time with this puzzzle, but I fe...I had a puntastic time with this puzzzle, but I fell in love with cleo and got stuck there.<BR/><BR/>Thanks, Jerry, for the explanation for 40 down. AT NO time did it make sense to me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-20059815063397728162007-12-09T15:45:00.000-05:002007-12-09T15:45:00.000-05:00Even up, Kumar. Evening evens the day.Even up, Kumar. Evening evens the day.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-19040810759841264692007-12-09T15:34:00.000-05:002007-12-09T15:34:00.000-05:00Did any one else have a problem with 46 Down? I th...Did any one else have a problem with 46 Down? I thought an "Evening person" would be a reveler, not a leveler, unless you are Japanese and mix up the pronunciations of "l" and "r".<BR/><BR/>I am afraid I still don't get Leveler.kumarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14790185113545178390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44280794348415028312007-12-09T15:19:00.000-05:002007-12-09T15:19:00.000-05:00Nice present of a puzzle.In addition to the elfs, ...Nice present of a puzzle.<BR/><BR/>In addition to the elfs, lots of Holiday flavor: The Whos of Grinch fame, Soirees, Alvins, feast, Santa's Reindeer and good cheer for the twelfth night.<BR/><BR/>Also liked that a member of the He Man Woman Haters club, Alfalfa, was snuck in to contrast to the clued feminist.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-18014436827204806092007-12-09T15:12:00.000-05:002007-12-09T15:12:00.000-05:00Dear dear - the more I learn the more stupid I fee...Dear dear - the more I learn the more stupid I feel ..... I also had to look up SO much, I feel quite the idiot. Had in Stalks for Stipes, Chasm for Feast and At Rest for At Ease - not the prettiest grid by the end though I have to say that I love a crossword that makes me learn new things.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-69779112916339315292007-12-09T14:43:00.000-05:002007-12-09T14:43:00.000-05:00This puzzle took me forever, or more grammatically...This puzzle took me forever, or more grammatically, I took forever to do the puzzle. But I did not think it was hard. Just sort of cloying with the corny Christmas theme.<BR/>ATNO I got on crosses and had to read the whole blog to figure out what it meant. Thanks. <BR/>Loved FLEXIBLE FLIERS. <BR/>Saco River, obscure<BR/>Piz Bernina? I even Googled it wrong. Biz Pernina. Whatever.<BR/>St Leo, same objection as Rex. Improper cluing.<BR/>Fogi? Please.<BR/>I had Lowes for Loews so i got pretty screwed up "down there"<BR/><BR/>Finally, is anyone else sick of SGT and its progeny?<BR/>These military ranks are getting old. <BR/>Time to decorate the tree!Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01449784097272827714noreply@blogger.com