tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post4809173363494539657..comments2024-03-29T07:55:40.047-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Light for Aladdin / THU 12-19-13 / 1960s British PM Douglas-Home / Rio Amazon feeder / Longtime Red Sox nickname / Seattle Center Coliseum since 1995 / L'chaim literally / Falstaff's quaffRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger99125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31544491266490244712014-01-23T19:48:25.953-05:002014-01-23T19:48:25.953-05:00Hahaha! Great one!Hahaha! Great one!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-5592820065586862942014-01-23T19:47:12.953-05:002014-01-23T19:47:12.953-05:00Another reminisce about very early color TV was &...Another reminisce about very early color TV was "Disney's Wonderful World of Color". At one time it was virtually the only color programming available. It was an hour long ad for buying a color TV.<br /><br />Took a loooooong time to catch on, but once I did it fell into place. Really liked it, especially all the different LAYERs. <br /><br />Thank you @George Garany for the original 'solution'. Also, for the original clues. Your comments about your processes (pun intended) were most interesting! In the past, I've always enjoyed reading your posts.<br /><br />My boat is 9's over 8's.Gingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07156872089175084024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-18550591398178171762014-01-23T17:29:43.788-05:002014-01-23T17:29:43.788-05:00Hand up for Winky Dink! Watched it faithfully on m...Hand up for Winky Dink! Watched it faithfully on my b&w TV. Ditto for the faux-color plastic covering (although I hadn't thought of that in at least a gazillion years). My folks never had color until after I left home. My wife and I didn't get one until the mid-to-late '70s when I decided, "Enough already! I want to watch the baseball playoffs in color."<br /><br />As to the puzzle: It was a Thursday. It was a rebus. I finished. That makes it a great day.<br /><br />I was initially intimidated by the six puzzle-spanning downs, but eventually caught on. Somehow pulled CLEMENTI out of a very murky recess of my mind with nary a cross. Thought TINFOIL would've been funnier if it'd been clued as some kind of hat. Say, "Chapeau for wackos?"<br /><br />Skipped over a lot of paragraphs above, kvetching about the online problems. A good opportunity for us Syndilanders to razz (or at least RIB) the pros mercilessly. <br /><br />Glad to see George B. give his side of the story. Good work, man. I enjoyed it a lot. With all the recent droning on about crappy fill, most of this popped nicely. Would have loved the original CAT clue. Didn't that story get mentioned here a couple days ago? Especially timely, as I'll always think of it whenever I hear these so-called analysts drone on with their drivel about the run-up to the Super Bowl. Cary in Bouldernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-17114061404834616472014-01-23T16:57:20.639-05:002014-01-23T16:57:20.639-05:00I noticed the strange numbering ing the middle of ...I noticed the strange numbering ing the middle of the grid before I picked up on the rebus down in the bottom right corner. Once the WATER became apparent I was able to see the long revealer (which sounds right to me just the way it is) and went looking for the OIL. The double rebus in TOILETWATER eluded me for too long. I'm surprised nobody (@m&a, I'm looking at you) devised clues for the double down answers; how about it @SiS - you got anything?<br /><br />Puzzles like this make me even more appreciative of being a syndi-solver where programming problems and computer limitations are not a problem. (I can create enough problems on my own, thank you.)<br /><br />Have I mentioned that my home town used to bill itself as "The BROILER Capital of the World"?Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-85327076661610472172014-01-23T16:46:39.538-05:002014-01-23T16:46:39.538-05:00Guess syndiland papers (not paying their rent to t...Guess syndiland papers (not paying their rent to the NYT?) weren't supplied with circles, dark-line dividers and the like but that didn't really affect solving very much. <br /><br />Once the theme became clear, only difficulty came while spinning wheel(ie)s trying to identify a bogus third rebus in 52A, what I thought must be Hot Water BOTTLE.<br /><br />Really enjoyed @Barany's original clues - too bad puzzlemeister Will saw fit to bowdlerize them. Wouldn't it be neat if all constructors visited this blog to provide similar nuggets?<br /><br /><br /><br /> Waxy in Montrealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04395751487137805245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9578538877583588162014-01-23T16:06:23.993-05:002014-01-23T16:06:23.993-05:00The grid I got looked pretty standard. No circles....The grid I got looked pretty standard. No circles. No heavy black lines. Thus, it took me a bit to see that some of the downs consisted of stacks of unrelated words. But I finally figured it out, and got the rebus thing from TINFOIL, tho I hesitated there because somewhere in my past it was drummed into me that the stuff is made of aluminum, not tin. Other problem was MAITRED, but coming here showed me it was correct-a person, not an unknown vehicle! <br /><br />Full house, 8's and 4's.<br />DMGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-17785293064346898642014-01-23T14:30:20.752-05:002014-01-23T14:30:20.752-05:00No time today to read anything except Rex's wr...No time today to read anything except Rex's writeup and Syndyland.<br /><br />Loved this puz! A great Thursday rebus. Thanks, George and Michael.<br /><br />Broke the code with TINF- at 20A and LIKE--- at 36A, but wrote in LIKEOILANDWATER first, then had to swap them as 41D had to be NEGRO.<br /><br />At 2D, I tried to figure out how to cram ARTICLE1section8 into 15 boxes, then realized there was a 45D and wrote in WHEELeys - later changed to IES which gave me SEAwater at 71A.<br /><br />(I need @Diri to pat me on the back so I don't injure myself.)<br /><br />Two pair. Loser.<br /><br />Off to the golf course - Sunny and 52 today.<br /><br />Go Hawks!Solving in Seattlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04249420848844874936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-89302587506342917522014-01-23T14:23:12.190-05:002014-01-23T14:23:12.190-05:00Loved it! Got the mid-North and the two OIL rebi,...Loved it! Got the mid-North and the two OIL rebi, then the middle gridspanner, and noticed the numbering where numbers don't usually appear. This made the double downers apparent, and so I actually breezed through this, relatively speaking. Good cluing throughout, and the wavy center really did simulate an oil-water interface.<br /><br />I think Hollywood Henderson actually said "Terry Bradshaw is so dumb, he couldn't spell CAT if you spotted him a C and an A". Not very nice, but pretty funny.<br /><br />4's full of 3's. Lose.rain forestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-62190552153836315992014-01-23T12:08:50.786-05:002014-01-23T12:08:50.786-05:00I got the two top OIL rebi, but not much else. The...I got the two top OIL rebi, but not much else. The grid as printed in OFL's blog is not numbered the same way my paper copy was. Thus 41d for me was NEGRO, which (I guess) matches the clue--in my paper--an Amazon feeder. But that word in OFL's grid is 38d: "Rebel yell." Really? I don't doubt that many rebels yelled that word...but REALLY? See why I got so confused?<br /><br />Too much. All this stop/start, rebus here/no rebus there weirdness. You put a hairpin turn on a NASCAR track, and I crashed.<br /><br />6's full of 2's.spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-19178641853416135952014-01-23T10:27:28.155-05:002014-01-23T10:27:28.155-05:00Your words are very strange to me rebus PDF interf...Your words are very strange to me rebus PDF interface. I just opened the paper and solved the puzzle. It was a good one.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-4984825077018176242013-12-26T02:05:45.368-05:002013-12-26T02:05:45.368-05:00The puzzle is quite tricky. I am amazed that you w...The puzzle is quite tricky. I am amazed that you were able to solve it. I'd like to try answering other puzzles of this difficulty level. :)<br />- <a href="http://www.dryers-loaders-blenders.com/" rel="nofollow">Dryers-Loaders-Blenders.com</a>Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09669105640597560856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-88913639000919498412013-12-20T14:51:04.629-05:002013-12-20T14:51:04.629-05:00Wow I loved this puzzle, but reading all of these ...Wow I loved this puzzle, but reading all of these comments was extremely frustrating with people complaining that the line in the middle should of separated the puzzles evenly, and that the circles didn't make sense. Clearly no one here has heard of the concept of EMULSION. There are droplets of each phase intermixed with the opposite phase, which is a common occurence (picture a vinegarette salad dressing). I did it on Magmic and it was executed great. Had a really fun time solving this puzzle and it was extremely creative. Most interesting puzzle I've done in a while.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-18657275756969031262013-12-20T10:41:50.756-05:002013-12-20T10:41:50.756-05:00@ Bob Kerfuffle - Thanks for the explanation. Clev...@ Bob Kerfuffle - Thanks for the explanation. Clever. Cheeriohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04919455386774076690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-33269145215112952462013-12-20T01:18:46.299-05:002013-12-20T01:18:46.299-05:00@George Barany: I'm crushed that your CAT clue...@George Barany: I'm crushed that your CAT clue didn't make it in. That would have been one of the best clues in the history of clues (and that is one of my favorite sports quotes/insults ever). Steve Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15185067739452052656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-38553177848776537332013-12-20T01:08:50.019-05:002013-12-20T01:08:50.019-05:00Great puzzle.
I wasn't bothered at all by the...Great puzzle.<br /><br />I wasn't bothered at all by the oil/water mixing at the interface. Whenever I draw a sketch in a chemical eng class of a liquid in a container, I make the top wavy, ~~~~~~~~ ,<br />so seeing some surface waves seemed natural.<br /><br />Mike who solves the next daynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-59927756924433372902013-12-19T23:18:47.706-05:002013-12-19T23:18:47.706-05:00Really liked this puzzle; this has been a nice wee...Really liked this puzzle; this has been a nice week for me. That I am a chemist may have added to the enjoyment a bit, but this was really clever, well clued and engaging - one of my favorites in quite some time. Surprised about the objection to "Rio Negro," which I don't think is obscure at all, is a major tourist destination for travelers to the Amazon; Manaus, the town located where the Negro meets the Amazon is on my "must visit" list. OISKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16808675378318214461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-21674127697977145892013-12-19T22:05:08.594-05:002013-12-19T22:05:08.594-05:00This week's relative difficulty ratings. See m...This week's relative difficulty ratings. See my 8/1/2009 post for an explanation and my 10/15/2012 post for an explanation of a tweak I've made to my method. 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 7:08, 6:13, 1.15, 93%, Challenging<br />Tue 7:27, 8:12, 0.91, 21%, Easy-Medium<br />Wed 10:28, 9:56, 1.05, 66%, Medium-Challenging<br />Thu 24:56, 17:56, 1.39, 93%, Challenging <br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 4:30, 3:49, 1.18, 95%, Challenging (11th highest ratio of 208 Mondays)<br />Tue 4:56, 5:09, 0.96, 35%, Easy-Medium<br />Wed 6:29, 5:58, 1.09, 73%, Medium-Challenging<br />Thu 16:33, 10:24, 1.59, 95%, Challenging (11th highest ratio of 208 Thursdays)sanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44831190057264267072013-12-19T21:48:59.334-05:002013-12-19T21:48:59.334-05:00@ George Barany
Thanks for the "solution"...@ George Barany<br />Thanks for the "solution". I did the puzzle on the NYT's site and I knew I was missing something good in the grid design!<br />At least I didn't DNF despite just filling in "O" for OIL and "W" for WATER. The NYT's must know their IT limitations.Questiniahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06225633428852696530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-2253701089864458812013-12-19T21:39:21.671-05:002013-12-19T21:39:21.671-05:00lol. I actually thought the electronic version was...lol. I actually thought the electronic version was very well done. My program didn't display any circles[it usually does at least on weekdays if there are circles], and I opened the pdf by finding the link on the Wordplay blog being careful not to read the blog from prior experience. When I started solving I noticed all the numbers were different and had feelings of dread. But then I noticed the double clues for the downs and I just used the think black lines on the pdf for reference.travishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10068393277095793532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-632995805317601942013-12-19T21:31:15.508-05:002013-12-19T21:31:15.508-05:00Hello, Everyone!
We appreciate the many kind and t...Hello, Everyone!<br><br><br />We appreciate the many kind and thoughtful responses to this puzzle. It was quite an honor to be slated as the Thursday (read “gimmick”) puzzle just two days before the much-anticipated 100th birthday of crosswords, and like the rest of you, we can hardly wait to see what Will Shortz has in store for all of us. The fact that Will chose to run with this one, and applied his editorial magic to it, speaks to the staying power of crosswords, and to their constant evolution. When constructing this puzzle, we were well aware of the extensive use of bars in the rest of the puzzle world, but it is nonetheless a new step for the acknowledged gold standard puzzle in the paper of record.<br><br><br /><br />Unfortunately, we cannot be as complimentary about the New York Times IT department, which seems to be behind the times (no pun intended) and having trouble keeping up with adventurous new formats. Over at <a href="www.xwordinfo.com" rel="nofollow">xwordinfo.com</a>, Jim Horne was able to devise an <a href="http://www.xwordinfo.com/Solve?sp=0" rel="nofollow">outstanding on-line solving experience</a>, and Roy Leban’s team at <a href="http://www.puzzazz.com/" rel="nofollow">Puzzazz</a> handled our puzzle with no problems. While expressing our appreciation for the patience of on-line solvers who were able to get past the technical glitches at the Times Premium site, we also love the comment, not an exact quote, from someone who said that he solved the puzzle with pencil in the newspaper, as God intended.<br><br><br /><br />Paraphrasing something once said about hockey, you came here for a crossword puzzle, and a chemistry lesson broke out. Yes, we know all about immiscibility, emulsions, micelles, liposomes, colloids, hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity, surface tension, menisci, liquid-liquid extractions, Rayleigh-Tomotiak instability, Langmuir-Blodgett films, etc., etc., but Will knows his audience and we respect that. Let’s head straight to the <a href="http://www.chem.umn.edu/groups/baranygp/puzzles/december19/solution.html" rel="nofollow">solution</a> solution, as we originally envisioned it sans spurious circles at either the interface or telegraphing where the rebuses are supposed to be. We did our best to put together a schematic approximation of an important physical chemical concept within the constraints of a mid-week diversion. <br><br>Finally, we are pleased that many of our suggested clues were used verbatim or with minor tweaking by Will, and are reluctant to second-guess his judgment when he chose other directions [sorry Muzio CLEMENTI, it was not our intent for you to mutate into a little-known pope with a random Roman numeral]. Other clues of ours that did not make the final cut included: CAT: Spelling challenge to Terry Bradshaw, according to Hollywood Henderson;<br />ALE: It has a head and hops;<br />TEA: Some like it hot;<br />(water)SKI: One needs one to slalom<br />BANANAS: Woody Allen comedy in which Howard Cosell does play-by-play of a political assassination; and<br />KEY_ARENA: Storm center? (referring to the Seattle entry in the WNBA).<br /><br><br><br />GB and MSGeorge Baranyhttp://www.chem.umn.edu/groups/baranygp/puzzles/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-6284763546282147662013-12-19T21:07:12.825-05:002013-12-19T21:07:12.825-05:00I admire that this puzzle is fairly clean, despite...I admire that this puzzle is fairly clean, despite the massive 7x3.5 corners with a rebus square and two rebus squares in the middle. Truly impressive work. Not my favourite theme but far from the worst (see Tuesday).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-130187682621953252013-12-19T19:19:39.250-05:002013-12-19T19:19:39.250-05:00Constructors really can't win on this blog, ca...Constructors really can't win on this blog, can they.<br /><br />Perfect mirror symmetry in a rebus and you criticize that??? Just unbelievable.<br /><br />What a fantastic puzzle. Took me forever to get it, and then it came together. Practically every single clue could be "worked on", compared to almost every other NYT puzzle these days where large numbers of clues I just have to ignore because they refer to some person I've never heard of.<br /><br />And the oil and water don't mix - no one says the boundary between the two has to be a straight line. <br /><br />Thanks G&M! Bring on some more!David IN CAnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10112485760025768722013-12-19T18:34:02.387-05:002013-12-19T18:34:02.387-05:00@Anonymous 5:32 - Falstaff Brewing.@Anonymous 5:32 - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falstaff_Brewing_Corporation" rel="nofollow">Falstaff Brewing</a>.Wikipediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falstaff_Brewing_Corporationnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10632562135462738452013-12-19T18:23:46.040-05:002013-12-19T18:23:46.040-05:00Anon 1:20, I used to play Winky Dink too. Yes, we...Anon 1:20, I used to play Winky Dink too. Yes, we're getting old.<br /><br />Why conceal your name?Jim Finderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08484757199667048774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-69838089641511713582013-12-19T17:32:42.585-05:002013-12-19T17:32:42.585-05:00Falstaff drank sack, a cheap white wine not ale. ...Falstaff drank sack, a cheap white wine not ale. See 16 Across.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com