tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post5762351080108062374..comments2024-03-28T14:10:39.725-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Scarperer author / FRI 5-25-12 / Compass divisions / Home Invasion rapper / First jazz musician to win Pulitzer / 2022 World Cup host / Hinged vessel / Eugene Onegin girl / Lethal injection adminsterersRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger111125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-34590325202485214322012-06-30T19:08:25.745-04:002012-06-30T19:08:25.745-04:00Just got around to Friday's CW. Wow, was @Diri...Just got around to Friday's CW. Wow, was @Diri country tough. ULTIMAS? AMENAMEN? Why two? Had banana before FROZEN. Jab before JOG. Liked the clue for 18A. Hand up for pub clue should have had a period after. Moving on to Saturday. <br /><br />Hope all you Syndielanders are keeping cool with FROZEN DAIQUIRIS.Solving in Seattlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04249420848844874936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-49091811725049239632012-06-29T23:24:36.002-04:002012-06-29T23:24:36.002-04:00Boy, C SHARP was an easy one for me. Thought I wa...Boy, C SHARP was an easy one for me. Thought I was going to rip right through this one after knocking that one down right away, but no such luck.<br /><br />Wanted blue man to be UMP, and just once would like to see TATA clued as former umpire Terry.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-22596444938155862032012-06-29T22:09:16.081-04:002012-06-29T22:09:16.081-04:00It's me. 10:02 again. Just wanted to mention ...It's me. 10:02 again. Just wanted to mention that my first thought on reading the clue for 53d was Brown=University. But I was getting nowhere with that until the Q in DAIQUIRI lined up. Great clue.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-15119487524493318942012-06-29T22:02:55.959-04:002012-06-29T22:02:55.959-04:00Wow. I'm impressed with myself for coming as ...Wow. I'm impressed with myself for coming as close as I did. Gotta learn that a kite is a bird. Gotta read Moby Dick one of these days. But to grind through this baby and miss by just that one Naticky square...well I feel pretty good about that.<br /><br />SE was the tough area for me. I wanted stuff like LASE OFF (Remove spots from)in there, which messed me up until DAIQUIRI finally came to me. Almost spelled it DACQUERI, which still looks proper, but GUIDES gave me the I, and I wasn't going to mess with TATIANA, who was a pure guess when I had little to go on, and she was the one who was really responsible for putting me on the right path in that final region.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-74757248053588133072012-06-29T21:48:59.342-04:002012-06-29T21:48:59.342-04:00I really wish someone would fix the "preview&...I really wish someone would fix the "preview" feature so I could eliminate those typos before I post - but you get my drift.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-40580296065095194462012-06-29T21:44:55.047-04:002012-06-29T21:44:55.047-04:00Tghis was hard enough to begin with, but once agai...Tghis was hard enough to begin with, but once again my paper decided to make it even more challenging by omitting a couple of clues, this time it was 53d and 54d. Happily the crosses were inferrable so no harm, no foul bit I'm sorry I missed the really cool clue for QUAD which seems to have flummoxed so many. ROOST eluded me - I'm not sure what I have written in there but it definitely is not ROOST. Hand up for DollUP before DUDEUP. Devilishly clever cluing, I say - and this wasn't even his good stuff?Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-40305838519496529732012-06-29T17:52:18.039-04:002012-06-29T17:52:18.039-04:00I rarely have expectations of a puzzle by noting t...I rarely have expectations of a puzzle by noting the constructor's name. It just doesn't matter to me. In today's puzzle, I pretty well blitzed the entire upper part, wincing at "evener" (wha?), and Mrs. Fields (who?), but loved "internet dating" and "The Pequod", but really got mired down in the bottom part.Outside of crosswords, who calls a magazine a "zine"? "Pub" needed a period, period. Had Mar- and ran the alphabet to get Marsalis, couldn't be anyone else, I think, (Ira Gershwin was NOT a jazz musician). Then came "roost", visualizing a falconer holding a stick for the bird, then very gradually the rest came. I didn't find the puzzle fun, and I usually do, but I completed it, and it's now in the recycling box. Tada.rain forestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-75450272154321628982012-06-29T15:15:56.322-04:002012-06-29T15:15:56.322-04:00I'm with @Octo and @rh: that pub clue was a li...I'm with @Octo and @rh: that pub clue was a little too informal for me! The whole SW was a big block for me, as for the longest time I wouldn't even hazard a guess at the 31d rapper (had______DAIQUIRI but didn't know what "fruit" to put in there). Finally tried TEEN, then wondered if 31d might just be the only rapper I've ever heard of: ICET (only through L&O:SVU). Then 31a wanted to be I__UE--and the aha! of ZINE/ISSUE hit home, dragging FROZEN right along.<br /><br />Writeovers at crouP for STREP, and INANity for INANEST.<br /><br />One great thing about INTERNET DATING: you don't have to DUDE UP in your best REGALIA. You don't even have to LAUNDER, NEATEN or CLEAN--you can go NATURAL.<br /><br />captcha=earror: you said WHAT?!Spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-33125749289550688532012-06-29T15:09:09.415-04:002012-06-29T15:09:09.415-04:00Like Mr. Parker, I simply was not on the right wav...Like Mr. Parker, I simply was not on the right wavelength for this puzzle. There are days like that, and tomorrow is another day! What amazes me is that when this happens to Rex he is still able to supply a completed grid. Some things you can Google, but strange things like ROOST? I would never have thought of it. To me an avian kite roosts on a branch-can't see one sitting on a stick somewhere. At least things seemed happier in the other world today-or whenever!DMGrandmanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-84138273545509071702012-05-25T22:04:22.633-04:002012-05-25T22:04:22.633-04:00This week's relative difficulty ratings. See m...This week's relative difficulty ratings. See my 8/1/2009 post for an explanation. 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 6:32, 6:50, 0.96, 31%, Easy-Medium<br />Tue 10:35, 8:53, 1.19, 91%, Challenging<br />Wed 8:58, 11:48, 0.76, 5%, Easy (7th lowest median solve time of 150 Wednesdays)<br />Thu 14:05, 18:58, 0.74, 11%, Easy<br />Fri 29:25, 24:48, 1.19, 83%, Challenging<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:44, 3:40, 1.02, 63%, Medium-Challenging<br />Tue 5:27, 4:36, 1.19, 93%, Challenging<br />Wed 4:59, 5:53, 0.85, 15%, Easy<br />Thu 7:25, 9:21, 0.79, 21%, Easy-Medium<br />Fri 15:10, 12:16, 1.24, 87%, Challenging<br /><br />This ends a string of 10 straight Easy or Easy-Medium Friday puzzles.sanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-12346100616032132932012-05-25T21:24:11.758-04:002012-05-25T21:24:11.758-04:00CLEArED/BEHAr right here... I also managed to end ...CLEArED/BEHAr right here... I also managed to end up with DUpAL/pINES, which is a lot less plausible. D'oh.Kerrynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-30941671618168259312012-05-25T21:10:39.995-04:002012-05-25T21:10:39.995-04:00I think this is a terrific puzzle with great clues...I think this is a terrific puzzle with great clues. I am really surprised that some of you find this subpar BEQ. In my opinion, one of the best puzzles I've done in a long, long time.michaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31782438214667761002012-05-25T20:57:43.892-04:002012-05-25T20:57:43.892-04:00Cool, @r.alph - nice to see all those e.g.s and ab...Cool, @r.alph - nice to see all those e.g.s and abbv's side by side...<br />Though I have a bone to pick with your "Food Chain"...<br />I will send you a picture that throws the food chain on its furry (and feathery) ear!Titahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368251255494687496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-12218872196933892882012-05-25T19:57:42.289-04:002012-05-25T19:57:42.289-04:00@jae 6:39PM
To avoid confusion the clues now appe...@jae 6:39PM<br /><br />To avoid confusion the clues now appear within { }s. Any colons within the braces appeared in the clue.<br /><br />I have also removed the scrambled answers.r.alphbunkernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-27217338629832785962012-05-25T19:49:12.285-04:002012-05-25T19:49:12.285-04:00Oh wait - the pic of Oreo indulging...Yes!! He do...Oh wait - the pic of Oreo indulging...Yes!! He does look lots like Marzipan. Hmm---both our cats are named after desserts...Titahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368251255494687496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-58951171222134474402012-05-25T19:36:48.617-04:002012-05-25T19:36:48.617-04:00@Jen - of a very relaxed Oreo? Yes! And had I se...@Jen - of a very relaxed Oreo? Yes! And had I sent you back one, which I just resent.<br /><br />Good thing they just made medicinal catnip legal in Connecticut, or you and Oreo might wind up behind IRONBARs!Titahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368251255494687496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45450840406256944282012-05-25T19:03:34.754-04:002012-05-25T19:03:34.754-04:00Yes @JenCT, I too had ibM instead of DEM for the b...Yes @JenCT, I too had ibM instead of DEM for the blue clue. Part of my "shipboard" debacle where THE PEQUOD belonged.Lindsaynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-4622620039765248042012-05-25T18:42:32.755-04:002012-05-25T18:42:32.755-04:00@acme: Here's a kite that can be seen in Cali...@acme: Here's a kite that can be seen in California: <br /><br /><a href="http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-tailed_Kite/lifehistory" rel="nofollow"> White-tailed Kite </a>JenCThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18290169184354765840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-22378609395166184622012-05-25T18:39:08.946-04:002012-05-25T18:39:08.946-04:00@r.alphbunker -- re: crucimetrics.com --If I assum...@r.alphbunker -- re: crucimetrics.com --If I assume that the actual puzzle clue ends at the first : my conclusion is that e.g. is sometimes used to signal an abbreviation. I don't remember ever seeing a Fri. or Sat. clue ending in e.g. followed by a : abbr.<br /><br />I realize I'm way over three. Sorry about that too.jaehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03385568014046336373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-54832137803774476192012-05-25T18:30:34.606-04:002012-05-25T18:30:34.606-04:00@Tita: speaking of catnip, did you get the pic I ...@Tita: speaking of catnip, did you get the pic I sent the other day?JenCThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18290169184354765840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67284603561668301172012-05-25T18:26:18.303-04:002012-05-25T18:26:18.303-04:00@quilter1: I tried MATCHES first too, for the wob...@quilter1: I tried MATCHES first too, for the wobbly table.<br /><br />Lots & lots of writeovers for me: wanted IBM for One who's blue?, CANNABIS for Herb that causes euphoria (my cat was sound asleep in the catnip bed yesterday - too funny), many others.<br /><br />Loved C SHARP.<br /><br />Was wondering what UNDAY was????.....duh.JenCThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18290169184354765840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-84942110696274917982012-05-25T18:20:58.869-04:002012-05-25T18:20:58.869-04:00Veni puzzli vici. Had to pick her up and put her d...Veni puzzli vici. Had to pick her up and put her down many times today. Satisfying solve, but mostly because it was just challenging for me. It wasnt particularly memorable, otherwise.hazelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04627015904603641109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-90668886831310969832012-05-25T18:04:31.108-04:002012-05-25T18:04:31.108-04:00For the record, Will Shortz has said a couple of t...For the record, Will Shortz has said a couple of things in print on the subject of abbreviation signals. I've posted them here, and apologize for the repetition.<br /><br />First, his signals are always abbreviations that are not used regularly in place of their spelled-out form. We see "etc." more often than "et cetera," so he wouldn't consider that a fair signal, as Gareth said. "Abbr." is always good in a pinch.<br /><br />Second, many word forms that originate as shortening of other words are not properly abbreviations and need not be signaled. These include words like "stat" that we say without visualizing the original long form. The dictionary typically lists these as words in their own right. More surprising to some solvers, initialisms and acronyms (NYSE or NASDAQ) are not always signaled in clues. (They are more likely to be signaled early in the week, but it's purely an editorial call.)<br /><br />The proper abbreviation, nearly always signaled, is easy to recognize. You must know that it's an abbreviation, and what it abbreviates, to avoid looking like an idiot when reading aloud. All the letters are there for "NASCAR," even if you don't know what it stands for. But if you say, "Let's have lunch next Thoo or Fry," people think you're a conehead. "Thu." and "Fri." will normally be signaled abbreviation. Note that the "true" abbreviation is usually printed with a period, unlike the other kinds of shortenings.Martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-21926319077086607862012-05-25T17:55:05.683-04:002012-05-25T17:55:05.683-04:00I fiddled around and whatever went crazy is fixed....I fiddled around and whatever went crazy is fixed. I think I'll have a cookie.Sparkyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11149915526159432838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91145521297421748792012-05-25T17:54:36.794-04:002012-05-25T17:54:36.794-04:00@jae
Go to crucimetrics.com
Click the abbreviati...@jae<br /><br />Go to crucimetrics.com<br /><br />Click the abbreviations or E.G.s links. Answers that are gibberish come from scrambled puzzles.<br /><br />Draw your own conclusions.r.alphbunkernoreply@blogger.com