tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post5053261047000660689..comments2024-03-29T03:22:09.826-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Rapper with 2013 #1 album Born Sinner / SUN 11-3-13 / Politico Kefauver / Jet Ski competitor / Greek goddess of witchcraft / Fourth-longest river of Europe / Legendary Scottish swimmer / French colony until 1953Rex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger111125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-76444170348637666812022-06-20T02:07:04.217-04:002022-06-20T02:07:04.217-04:00I'm with Rex on this one: the theme is merely ...I'm with Rex on this one: the theme is merely tedious. Yes, it shows excellent construction craft, but the application is out of paradigm. This felt to me like a carpenter who builds and finishes fine boats by hand, had decided to line the keel with alternating aglets, lovingly shaped and framed out. It shows lovely work, but the boat no longer floats.<br /><br />I got especially stalled by the first theme answer. Where I live, "service animals" implies a far greater range than dogs, and "service dog" has a far greater range than "German shepherd". Many years ago, virtually all service animals were, indeed, German shepherds leading the sightless; this is far from the case today.<br /><br />This contributed heavily to the Naitck of TO HELEN crossing that theme, OONA (as I knew only of her grandmother), and J COLE (unless a rapper has appeared in an earlier puzzle I solved, I don't know them). I might have sussed out the H once I had the rest of the puzzle done, but by that time, I no longer cared.Prunehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00224476641730508311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-48762785313264141802013-11-20T15:39:44.888-05:002013-11-20T15:39:44.888-05:00As an average or below crossworder (I won't ex...As an average or below crossworder (I won't exalt myself by implying I am a solver). I found this one very difficult. I too would prefer difficulty in ways other than filling in nonsense words. I vowed to quit several times but would be dragged back into the fray by finding a key word followed by a string of others. I never got the "theme" until coming here, which is probably a shameful admission, more so that I could not fill in about 20 squares. Knowing now that the empty squares needed nonsense words I feel a tiny bit vindicated for my lack of skill. But not too much. ;)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-38957367763790046732013-11-10T15:26:53.139-05:002013-11-10T15:26:53.139-05:00I liked it, and one of the things I liked best was...I liked it, and one of the things I liked best was knowing that slow, methodical solvers like me were having a lot more fun than the speed-solvers. The theme answers were like speed-bumps - the faster you were going when you hit them, the more jarring the effect.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-16137366727932942372013-11-10T14:59:10.493-05:002013-11-10T14:59:10.493-05:00got the whole right side, but not the left because...got the whole right side, but not the left because of the mangled words. Got an inkling of the "trick" because I wanted "university" in the SE for the Margaret Thatcher clue, but couldn't put it together. <br /><br />Finally got the German Shepherd clue and figured out the trick, but was too lazy to try to do all the letters for all the other left side answers. <br /><br />Just didn't care to even bother at that point.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-15919633970138194412013-11-10T14:26:17.811-05:002013-11-10T14:26:17.811-05:00I am in awe of the complexity of this construction...I am in awe of the complexity of this construction without much liking the results. Saw the gimmick from Grape Leaves combined with the title and had close to a record time, but was left feeling irritated and queasy.<br /><br />I only come to this blog when I want to see if RP and the gang here share my out of the ordinary "loved it" sentiment about a particular puzzle. I never post. But this one was at once so sublime and so subpar, felt the need to say so. A tour de force, for sure, but I do not want to take that tour ever again.<br /><br />PS. Rap is not art, music or culture, and certainly is not NYT crossword worthy. I resent constructors that force any information about it into my mind. (Note unoxfordian and oxfordian comma series in same sentence. Ta-da!) <br /><br />The Old Man<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-30863167118856763202013-11-10T12:10:10.093-05:002013-11-10T12:10:10.093-05:00I'm in tune with @David. Don't remember go...I'm in tune with @David. Don't remember going "Grrr!" at any of the fill, so that has to be a JWD (Job Well Done). Understandably, I couldn't get traction in the western half, so I solved basically right-to-left. I knew something foul was afoot when I appeared to have ...RCUR locked in. Could there be a sign "CURB YOUR CUR" in the park? That's as far as I could get. Much later, when other nonsense patterns messed up my grid, I was forced to take the theme literally--another first?!--and then it was OK. I didn't dislike it, PER SE, but it did raise the difficulty. As @David said, if the fill'd been junky, I would've thumbs-downed it. On a pass-fail, this gets a pass. 'Nuff said.spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-41721367890882417582013-11-05T21:59:01.296-05:002013-11-05T21:59:01.296-05:00Fairly easy for me, once I caught on to the theme....Fairly easy for me, once I caught on to the theme. One mistake I made was HECATE for HEKATE. I didn't know DEKE, and DECE didn't seem plausible but I went with it anyway. I hadn't seen the K spelling before.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-18835954879889722312013-11-05T17:53:24.616-05:002013-11-05T17:53:24.616-05:00I as well am late on commenting, but did not want ...I as well am late on commenting, but did not want to let this pass. For I rarely blow through a Sunday puzzle as quickly as I did this one. My handy-dandy little iPad app tells me I did this one is roughly 60% of my average Sunday time. <br /><br />But here's the kicker - the fill came so easy I barely noticed the theme. <br /><br />I am with Rex. The theme is nonsense. Had I stumbled with the fill, this would have been a killer. And an unpleasant killer. <br /><br />Once I could look at what I filled in, I thought the theme was utter rubbish and had I worked to complete this, I too would categorize as a deeply unsatisfactory solving experience.Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-71668582248769057892013-11-05T12:53:19.193-05:002013-11-05T12:53:19.193-05:00I know I'm late to the game with this comment ...I know I'm late to the game with this comment but I had to put in my $.02. As I've said in the past, the clue must lead to the fill, even if the fill is gibberish. This puzzle certainly accomplished that and I thought it was interesting.Doc Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12540112168511893896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-4171668353501702852013-11-05T05:56:19.158-05:002013-11-05T05:56:19.158-05:00I was sure Rex would classify this as an "eas...I was sure Rex would classify this as an "easy" puzzle - my pen just flew for the first quarter of fill. <br /><br />When I got the theme at Barnum and Bailey, I was delighted to make sense of y nonsensical strings of letters, and vastly enjoyed solving all the theme answers, both fruitful and fruitless.<br /><br />Thanks for a great puzzle!nurturinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02035395856164817422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-751217150811451762013-11-04T09:43:18.081-05:002013-11-04T09:43:18.081-05:00To judge from the comments, those who worked it ou...To judge from the comments, those who worked it out on paper may have tended to like it better, perhaps because they could write in the substituted letters in superscript form and thereby produce rebuses. With these on paper, I never thought of the answers as gobbledygook.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-88087800851397752282013-11-04T08:39:42.829-05:002013-11-04T08:39:42.829-05:00Surprised at the difficulty rating There were lot...Surprised at the difficulty rating There were lots of no- brainers. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45155122733031036522013-11-04T08:19:46.876-05:002013-11-04T08:19:46.876-05:00I too really enjoyed this puzzle which I finished ...I too really enjoyed this puzzle which I finished in record time for me! I thought the theme was very clever. I really didn't figure out that the fruit got left out until I was 3/4 done with the puzzle! The fill was fairly easy after that.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00693867980877583205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-70545409647231358402013-11-04T01:08:54.018-05:002013-11-04T01:08:54.018-05:00I'm truly surprised by the negative comments. ...I'm truly surprised by the negative comments. What a unique and interesting puzzle. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-69029910373198080142013-11-04T00:54:08.400-05:002013-11-04T00:54:08.400-05:00@loren muse smith: I've seen a similar sentenc...@loren muse smith: I've seen a similar sentence which scans a bit better: Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.<br /><br />I liked the theme. Had the most trouble with the first one because I couldn't remember how German Shepherd/Sheperd?/Shepheard?? was spelled.paulsfohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07721639286466422944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-36850694792010361882013-11-03T23:36:41.676-05:002013-11-03T23:36:41.676-05:00Mixed feelings about this one. I really appreciate...Mixed feelings about this one. I really appreciate the clever theme, but found working through the nonsensical answers a bit tedious. I can't imagine how one goes about constructing something this. I guess overall I liked it more than not.michaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-14905269210062237042013-11-03T23:19:01.331-05:002013-11-03T23:19:01.331-05:00This 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 7:13, 6:07, 1.18, 97%, Challenging (8th highest ratio of 201 Mondays)<br />Tue 7:16, 8:15, 0.88, 16%, Easy<br />Wed 11:06, 9:44, 1.14, 81%, Challenging<br />Thu 20:04, 16:44, 1.20, 81%, Challenging<br />Fri 23:02, 18:38, 1.24, 88%, Challenging<br />Sat 31:46, 26:51, 1.18, 87%, Challenging<br />Sun 27:27, 27:38, 0.99, 51%, Medium<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 4:16, 3:46, 1.13, 91%, Challenging<br />Tue 4:36, 5:09, 0.89, 13%, Easy<br />Wed 6:15, 5:37, 1.11, 79%, Medium-Challenging<br />Thu 13:11, 9:30, 1.39, 89%, Challenging<br />Fri 12:57, 10:42, 1.21, 81%, Challenging<br />Sat 20:20, 17:01, 1.19, 84%, Challenging<br />Sun 20:23, 19:20, 1.05, 60%, Mediumsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-11431734801161767642013-11-03T23:14:25.029-05:002013-11-03T23:14:25.029-05:00I like to do crosswords for the mental challenge. ...I like to do crosswords for the mental challenge. While having all words in a puzzle (no gibberish) may be ideal, I found this puzzle to be clever and one of the most satisfying puzzles of the year. Once I discovered the theme, I enjoyed first getting the fruit entries and then working back to get the dropped fruit entries.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-21921728955520173372013-11-03T22:42:25.570-05:002013-11-03T22:42:25.570-05:00It might have been impossible, but I figure if the...It might have been impossible, but I figure if the "aha" experience enables me to get the 'second' answer, great, but if not, meh. I got most of the 'second' answers through crosses before I got the theme.<br />I suppose the singular of antipodes would be antipus. Like octopodes/octopus. Certainly not antipode.Joe in Montrealnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-6833743652858109682013-11-03T22:18:54.504-05:002013-11-03T22:18:54.504-05:00loved this puzzle. great theme and execution. th...loved this puzzle. great theme and execution. thought it was a medium at most, though. guess it just depends on how fast you figure out the theme.oldbizmarknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-36663051235610352572013-11-03T21:22:27.351-05:002013-11-03T21:22:27.351-05:00Count me as another vote in favor of Rex's eva...Count me as another vote in favor of Rex's evaluation of this puzzle. A clever theme idea, but one that made for an unpleasant solving experience.Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15336260911834780345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-59986547225317409572013-11-03T20:17:38.247-05:002013-11-03T20:17:38.247-05:00I liked the puzzle.
@okanaganer - 1:10: I am not ...I liked the puzzle.<br /><br />@okanaganer - 1:10: I am not educated in the classics either. To catch up with minimal effort I have been purchasing old issues of Classics Illustrated Comics. Polished off the Iliad just now while in the bathroom. Had read Great Expectations in the can last week and it fortuitously gave me Miss Haversham in a puzzle last week. Pip Pip.jburgsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-84633738345198636792013-11-03T20:07:00.304-05:002013-11-03T20:07:00.304-05:00Liked it a lot. Always nice for a newbie to get it...Liked it a lot. Always nice for a newbie to get it fairly easily. <br />When my kids were young my only rule for car music (back in the day when everyone had to listen to the same thing) was NO RAP. Too bad I couldn't see into the future to when I'd be child free and actually have time to do things like crossword puzzles. I allow myself a Google for rap. Blackeyed Susannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-6622561234390654572013-11-03T20:06:58.393-05:002013-11-03T20:06:58.393-05:00@ Anon 2:02, who I presume is also Anon 2:49 after...@ Anon 2:02, who I presume is also Anon 2:49 after his question was answered: If you spell shepherd shepard, as in your question, no wonder you had trouble with it. Sour grape.<br /><br />I liked it, had a better than my average Sunday time, and wish I had caught on to the gimmick a bit sooner.<br /><br />Last fill was using RUM D BILEY (what a GREAT name!) to change CLAra to CLAUS. <br /><br />Thanks, Andy and Victor.retired_chemisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13181126754941899228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-49830038627753312202013-11-03T19:50:58.132-05:002013-11-03T19:50:58.132-05:00Norm said,
"Just a pain in the derriere to h...Norm said,<br /><br />"Just a pain in the derriere to have to think..."<br /><br />I'm taking this out of context (sorry Norm), but it pretty well sums up the naysayers. Sedwickdotnoreply@blogger.com