tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post5270695687613856772..comments2024-03-29T10:10:24.419-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Hometown of TV's McCloud / SUN 4-7-13 / Backs anatomically / Onetime sunblock agent / Great 1666 conflagration / British soccer powerhouse / Legendary queen of Britons immortalized by Shakespeare / Gecko's gripper / Birthday suit enthusiast / Fleetwood Eldorado informally / Novelist who had two spouses / Scotland's Granite CityRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger77125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9517038664215567002016-08-09T08:57:06.913-04:002016-08-09T08:57:06.913-04:00One must be careful using the Spanish language in ...One must be careful using the Spanish language in English-language crosswords (Mayo containers = ANOS). This clue and answer are clever but technically incorrect: a year in Spanish is "año" with a tilde. "Ano" without the tilde is an anus. I suppose the answer could be correct, depending on what one does with mayonnaise.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-27557820738919629172013-04-20T16:49:23.654-04:002013-04-20T16:49:23.654-04:00@Anonymous, 3:36 PM - Re: "Beat it" for ...@Anonymous, 3:36 PM - Re: "Beat it" for BONGO. This is just one of the quirky forms of cluing that comes up once in a while in crosswords. It has been discussed previously on this blog, although I am sorry I can't come up with a citation at the moment. And when you think about it, when you come across an imperative in a clue, to whom must it be addressed? You, I would think, so "beat it" is equivalent to "you beat it." :>)Bob Kerfufflehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02615811802419025933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-49685708487418665732013-04-20T15:36:25.949-04:002013-04-20T15:36:25.949-04:00Nobody complaining about Bongo
Maybe "you bea...Nobody complaining about Bongo<br />Maybe "you beat it"<br />But not just "beat it"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-18119448944379863562013-04-15T14:49:02.872-04:002013-04-15T14:49:02.872-04:00Any puzzle with ABORC near the center of the grid ...Any puzzle with ABORC near the center of the grid is OK in my book. TAN crossing PABA was a nice touch for those of us who love to SUN on the pool deck all summer.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-57908379935993798352013-04-14T15:18:58.745-04:002013-04-14T15:18:58.745-04:00Oh, wow, thanks.Oh, wow, thanks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-49227433968048202502013-04-14T15:14:48.544-04:002013-04-14T15:14:48.544-04:00Erratum: That is, the month "Mayo", in t...Erratum: That is, the month "Mayo", in the singular! Smacdnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-36214588428914279152013-04-14T15:10:53.546-04:002013-04-14T15:10:53.546-04:00Anon @ 2:36 PM: In Spanish, "Anos" are y...Anon @ 2:36 PM: In Spanish, "Anos" are years, which include the months "Mayos."Smacdnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-41701937131668652482013-04-14T14:36:53.144-04:002013-04-14T14:36:53.144-04:00i still don't get mayo containers being anos. ...i still don't get mayo containers being anos. Help!<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-11594112251861328322013-04-14T13:56:02.990-04:002013-04-14T13:56:02.990-04:00Speaking of dated, cluing " marg" from c...Speaking of dated, cluing " marg" from china beach? Instead of that little show called CSI?Montreal Divanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-82432397739135984992013-04-14T12:04:20.686-04:002013-04-14T12:04:20.686-04:00After the debacle of yesterday, this was fun, fun,...After the debacle of yesterday, this was fun, fun, fun! OFL, why make such a point about whether the anagrams were original or not? What difference does it make? I bet when you were younger you MADENICE. What happened?<br /><br />Chuckled at ALASNOMOREZS, har-harred at BADCREDIT, and guffawed at HEBUGSGORE. Great stuff.Spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8051751351238241052013-04-08T12:23:32.928-04:002013-04-08T12:23:32.928-04:00@Z
I said only that the website is an example of t...@Z<br />I said only that the website is an example of the government doing something well. Congress pulls money out of the USPTO to pay for other programs. This leaves the patent office underfunded. The examiners are understaffed, overworked, and underpaid.Paul Kellernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-77219952775131103292013-04-08T09:05:55.562-04:002013-04-08T09:05:55.562-04:00I didn't know "seta" and wonder why ...I didn't know "seta" and wonder why "Sun" is a sufficient clue for "tan?"Georgiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09390260023876228637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9932809901073921342013-04-08T07:40:52.914-04:002013-04-08T07:40:52.914-04:00Play and download Scary Maze Game to your mobile a...<br />Play and download Scary Maze Game to your mobile at <a href="http://thescarygames.org/" rel="nofollow">http://thescarygames.org</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8804323363083254662013-04-08T01:03:17.479-04:002013-04-08T01:03:17.479-04:00@Susan Jo--I totally wanted Queen Boadicea, but, w...@Susan Jo--I totally wanted Queen Boadicea, but, well, as someone who was not Dante Gabriel Rossetti said, you don't always get what you want. It would be nice to see her in a puzzle some time so we can all talk about her story.Ellen Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00473445503706985149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-70019476528344938552013-04-07T22:54:10.066-04:002013-04-07T22:54:10.066-04:00@Z - Thanks. And I agree that it's not comple...@Z - Thanks. And I agree that it's not completely wrong; that's why I said it was "lame." ;)<br /> Ijust would have preferred that, since it's a pretty tenuous connection, he had picked on of the 10,000 other things that have centers as the clue. :)paulsfohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07721639286466422944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-74022235872646349352013-04-07T22:41:19.061-04:002013-04-07T22:41:19.061-04:00@paulsfo - no, other than Rec Centers. But I do th...@paulsfo - no, other than Rec Centers. But I do think that's a legitimate, if not thrilling, answer. Community Centers and Rec Centers are very common out in the 'burbs and hinterlands.Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-13685357961327105352013-04-07T22:26:27.367-04:002013-04-07T22:26:27.367-04:00Reposting because I didn't get a response:
Wh...Reposting because I didn't get a response:<br /><br />Why is CTR (I assume that's "center") a municipal facility. If that's as in Community Center then it's a pretty lame clue. <br /> The most common uses of "center" in regards to a city are, I believe, "city center" or "town center", and neither refer to a facility. Am I missing something?paulsfohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07721639286466422944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-43068077653485640962013-04-07T22:03:35.158-04:002013-04-07T22:03:35.158-04:00This 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 7:02, 6:12, 1.14, 92%, Challenging<br />Tue 7:22, 8:19, 0.89, 16%, Easy<br />Wed 9:25, 10:16, 0.92, 30%, Easy-Medium<br />Thu 20:46, 16:58, 1.22, 84%, Challenging<br />Fri 15:18, 22:18, 0.69, 5%, Easy (9th lowest ratio of 171 Fridays)<br />Sat 25:42, 25:08, 1.02, 67%, Medium-Challenging<br />Sun 32:49, 29:41, 1.11, 78%, Medium-Challenging<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 4:22, 3:42, 1.18, 96%, Challenging (8th highest ratio of 172 Mondays)<br />Tue 4:21, 4:52, 0.89, 13%, Easy<br />Wed 5:20, 6:04, 0.88, 18%, Easy<br />Thu 14:10, 9:56, 1.43, 91%, Challenging<br />Fri 8:36, 12:57, 0.66, 4%, Easy (7th lowest ratio of 171 Fridays)<br />Sat 15:06, 14:48, 1.02, 60%, Medium-Challenging<br />Sun 21:57, 19:51, 1.11, 72%, Medium-Challengingsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-60143408464754322772013-04-07T21:58:58.352-04:002013-04-07T21:58:58.352-04:00I like anagrams and so liked this and thought it w...I like anagrams and so liked this and thought it was clever and fun. Rex's comment about the anagrams not being "invented" by the constructor seems unnecessarily nitpicky to me. So what? Anagrams can be easily googled nowadays, but so can anything. The constructor's efforts in finding and working them into the puzzle is appreciated by this solver.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04551716499829677518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-6790719767695753442013-04-07T21:55:43.758-04:002013-04-07T21:55:43.758-04:00Took me forever but ground it out with some Google...Took me forever but ground it out with some Google-assist on a few clues:NSYNC and YAZOO City, EMINEM. Had Alabama for a while and that made things slower. All in all a good fun day. And I nailed the Acrostic, too!LaneBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-28155068297177290722013-04-07T20:34:45.835-04:002013-04-07T20:34:45.835-04:00Oops!
A vivid tree / I revived at!Oops!<br /><br />A vivid tree / I revived at!Anagrandmanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-7181024977894995242013-04-07T20:29:47.172-04:002013-04-07T20:29:47.172-04:00A vivid tree / I arrived atA vivid tree / I arrived atAnagrandmanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-90422437073824971862013-04-07T19:05:03.046-04:002013-04-07T19:05:03.046-04:00What's an apt anagram for DERIVATIVE? ;)
Not ...What's an apt anagram for DERIVATIVE? ;)<br /><br />Not very original, it's true, and yet MATT GINSBERG = BIG SMART GENT.Oscarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-33956148462822256032013-04-07T18:00:19.409-04:002013-04-07T18:00:19.409-04:00Didn't anyone else want Queen Boadicea? She l...Didn't anyone else want Queen Boadicea? She led a revolt against the Romans......Susan Jonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67399517039713052352013-04-07T17:47:03.174-04:002013-04-07T17:47:03.174-04:00Re Rex's and Matt's dialog about the Males...Re Rex's and Matt's dialog about the Maleska Sunday puz (no spoilers) I've often wondered if, in general, the puzzles have gotten easier under the Shortz regime. I'm certainly solving faster than I did 30 years ago. Nope. Aside from a few Naticks, it was smooth sailing. I recommend that everyone who solved then and now do the puzzle and read the comments. It's fascinating. mitchsnoreply@blogger.com