tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post5916672609957613426..comments2024-03-29T03:22:09.826-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Reinvest some funds / MON 2-7-11 / It offers flexible support for women / Quantity picked by Peter Piper / Perpetually dirty kid in PeanutsRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger76125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-17950129211765636622011-03-14T15:48:07.030-04:002011-03-14T15:48:07.030-04:00Five weeks later I had the exact same write-overs ...Five weeks later I had the exact same write-overs as @Rex did - this fact should bother him a lot more than it bothers me.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-86257674016705234892011-02-09T21:13:24.167-05:002011-02-09T21:13:24.167-05:00Yes, Mae West, there IS a stretch bra! Are all fem...Yes, Mae West, there IS a stretch bra! Are all female puzzle-solvers well-endowed??<br /><br />I buy stretch bras - they are comfortable!<br />And, they fit great- for those of us who don't have to worry about sag as we age, stretch bras are often the only ones that fit!!<br /><br />BTW - did anyone here, including Rex, google the term????Sonatanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-34935720080562669702011-02-08T22:09:55.927-05:002011-02-08T22:09:55.927-05:00Thanks for your info about Leslie Howard, Rex!
Da...Thanks for your info about Leslie Howard, Rex!<br /><br />DavidDavid Pearcehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17580599628294869568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-17330757071858528992011-02-07T23:27:28.040-05:002011-02-07T23:27:28.040-05:00@TwoPonies, you are such a gas! (I was paying atte...@TwoPonies, you are such a gas! (I was paying attention.)fikinkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06324570637549775751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-12813967520802036612011-02-07T22:01:26.323-05:002011-02-07T22:01:26.323-05:00This week's relative difficulty ratings. See m...This week's relative difficulty ratings. See my 7/30/2009 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 6:29, 6:54, 0.94, 26%, Easy-Medium<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:41, 3:41, 1.00, 52%, Mediumsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-7018438929937884592011-02-07T19:36:57.959-05:002011-02-07T19:36:57.959-05:00@ ragtime,
Like @sfingi, I scan the clues and look...@ ragtime,<br />Like @sfingi, I scan the clues and look for fill-ins and obvious answers first. I also do not time myself as I like to savor my puzzles. Mondays and Tuesdays can be pretty automatic so starting at 1A usually works but esp. on Fri & Sat I approach with more caution. I am a paper and pen solver.<br />I also like outdoor bistros and long walks on the beach. Just kidding and seeing if you are paying attention.Two Ponieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06896743444873087885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-84681145135640129202011-02-07T18:49:19.837-05:002011-02-07T18:49:19.837-05:00@ragtime,welcome to this unique community. Enjoy!
...@ragtime,welcome to this unique community. Enjoy!<br />I do the puzzle pen on paper and usually run through the clues until I find one I know and proceed from there. <br />I just received a gift of a CD (the music kind)of rags written by women called Ruffles and Rags. Have also visited the Scott Joplin house in St. Louis. <br />captcha: ariensin,bad stuff done by white folks.quilter1https://www.blogger.com/profile/09569747169212018177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56277210027241866662011-02-07T18:43:14.658-05:002011-02-07T18:43:14.658-05:00@Steve J
Out of couriosity, I checked further wit...@Steve J<br /><br />Out of couriosity, I checked further with a friend still at NBC and learned that Rex's link more accurately reflects the "firing".<br /><br />The "pull down" effort was part of the daily routine of a unit, that all networks have, that monitors "unauthorized use" of their copyrighted material.<br /><br />So, it appears neither were solely related to the actual clip, but you link's spin makes for a juicier tale.<br /><br />.../GlitchGlitchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14940000404613329056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-69382039347432869342011-02-07T18:04:28.753-05:002011-02-07T18:04:28.753-05:00@clark gets my vote for best comment with his read...@clark gets my vote for best comment with his reading of @Cathy's information.<br />Why anyone quotes google hits is beyond me.PuzzleNutnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-7446115843865734162011-02-07T16:50:51.288-05:002011-02-07T16:50:51.288-05:00Well, most Triscuits are eaten, but EAT TRISCUITS ...Well, most Triscuits are eaten, but EAT TRISCUITS as an answer for [Snack on some Nabisco crackers] would be lousy. While a cd may be rolled over, "roll over a cd" is just not a phrase. <br /><br />It does get 6,270 google hits, though.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-71800865217978730232011-02-07T16:32:26.284-05:002011-02-07T16:32:26.284-05:00Easy, didn't notice the theme.
Everything by c...Easy, didn't notice the theme.<br />Everything by crosses.<br /><br />Wondered what FORONCE was, Now, I know BeyONCE and FORagE- Oh, FOR ONCE. <br /><br />Wouldn't know which network Katie is on, since I never know what network I'm watching, nor what product an ad is pushing. I'm glad I'm immune to all that.<br /><br />@Ragtime - I fill in the blanks and do the 3-letter words. Then I go from bottom to top, since the theme clue is usually toward the bottom. If it's toward the end of the week I put Xs next to words I might need to Google and are Googleable, i.e., factual, not phrases. No speed-solver here.<br /><br />If by STRETCHBRA you mean athletic bra, they aren't to0 supportive good up at the higher sizes.<br /><br />I bet PIGPEN had no allergies.<br /><br />I'm fascinated with comparative words - and their superlatives, always trying to imagine the 2 or 3 things that can actually be compared for the particular quality. "Now, we have 3 chalky things. Which is the...."<br /><br />captcha - phifydis - word for a half-Greek rapper.Sfingihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06903616949048940858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-38549993781730177612011-02-07T16:04:49.331-05:002011-02-07T16:04:49.331-05:00Midday report of relative difficulty (see my 7/30/...Midday report of relative difficulty (see my 7/30/2009 post for an explanation of my method):<br /><br />All solvers (median solve time, average for day of week, ratio, percentile, rating)<br /><br />Mon 6:18, 6:54, 0.91, 20%, Easy-Medium<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:42, 3:41, 1.00, 52%, Medium<br /><br />I too had trouble parsing ROLLOVERACD, but it's a perfectly reasonable phrase. I think most financial institutions automatically rollover CDs into a comparable product (in their judgment) when they mature unless the owner chooses a different option. To those of you who didn't like that clue/answer combination, what's the objection?sanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-25340777952389911862011-02-07T15:58:57.095-05:002011-02-07T15:58:57.095-05:00@Glitch: Reports last week about the firing also m...@Glitch: <a href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:ByJISRPRiIcJ:www.crunchgear.com/2011/02/04/nbc-ruins-the-fun-fires-employee-over-whats-the-internet-video/+tech+crunch+nbc+today+show+fired&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&source=www.google.com" rel="nofollow">Reports last week about the firing</a> also mentioned that NBC had been trying to pull the video down from various sites. Whether the reports are correct or not, I admit I don't ultimately know. <br /><br />As far as the "not getting the internet" comment: it was a bit of a joke (fully acknowledging that adage that if one has to explain their joke, it's probably not a very good one). That said, if they did indeed try to take down as many instances of the video as possible, there would be some truth to not getting it, since trying to remove content from the internet is like trying to remove a particular grain of sand from a beach. There's just no way to get rid of it. It wasn't a comment about NBC's online strategy writ large.Steve Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15185067739452052656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-55698430704242242232011-02-07T15:55:55.479-05:002011-02-07T15:55:55.479-05:00I thought this was a fun and breezy Monday.
I rea...I thought this was a fun and breezy Monday.<br /><br />I really had no problem with either STRETCH BRA or ROLL OVER A C.D., though I agree, both are not exactly "everyday" words for most folks.<br />From least to most generic, I think of jog bra --> sports bra --> stretch bra, but it's the same general idea. Rolling over a CD, or several of them, in a group of CDs staggered throughout the year over similar maturities is a fairly standard way to invest a portion of an investment portfolio aimed at safety with some return, so I just don't see the "obscurity" issue with that. Yeah, it isn't the easiest to parse in the grid, and in fact, my last fill was the 3D/37A R, and even then I had to stare at is a second for its meaning to click. But I liked the "aha!" moment of it. And, frankly, one of the few in the puz for me. So, I guess, to each their own.<br /><br /><i>cavityp</i>: Eek! A reminder that a TSA "close search" could be worse!Nighthawkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11898505137434147165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-22038332629412854992011-02-07T15:43:57.288-05:002011-02-07T15:43:57.288-05:00@ragtime, provocative question to a wonderful mix ...@ragtime, provocative question to a wonderful mix of speed-solvers and word-mullers! I guess one's approach really depends on the pleasure you derive.<br />Not a speed-solver, I do the puzzle as if I were making one of those woven potholders children make at camp, weaving the grid warp and weft. <br />A really smooth puzzle leads, maybe, to Rex's "silken" Mondays; the more textured puzzles at the end of the week results, for me, in a nubbier fabric. Often, by the time Saturday arrives, I have to resort to macramé! ha!<br />(sheesh! Block that metaphor!)fikinkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06324570637549775751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-72687137056109915572011-02-07T15:25:42.997-05:002011-02-07T15:25:42.997-05:00Yeah Team!
Did this one last night while rejoicin...Yeah Team!<br /><br />Did this one last night while rejoicing with a bit 'o the bubbly. Looking at my printing with sober eyes this A.M., it may have been a tad bit too much, but I really did have to get my heart back to a normal rate. WHEW!<br /><br />Filled it in rather quickly but did not get the theme 'til I got here. Must have been that fuzzy brain of mine.<br /><br />Thank you Miss Lynn for a fine Monday puzzle, I think.chefwenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03999206352243329280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-16596926684019405572011-02-07T15:20:25.846-05:002011-02-07T15:20:25.846-05:00@ragtime -- I just want to throw in that for me, a...@ragtime -- I just want to throw in that for me, a good way to start a really hard puzzle is to go through all the acrosses first. That way I don't start building off of a wrong answer. I get in all the acrosses I can (which may not be many), and no single across will be influenced by any other wrong word in the grid, because they don't intersect. I then find it easier to pick out the right answers. They are the ones that connect up more easily with their neighbors. Just a thought.Clarknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-32786715495894901872011-02-07T15:12:37.674-05:002011-02-07T15:12:37.674-05:00@Ragtime I agree with @Howard B. Thats How I solv...@Ragtime I agree with @Howard B. Thats How I solve.<br />Welcome to our worldchefbeahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15195945085405126511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-40483114140456506992011-02-07T15:12:34.212-05:002011-02-07T15:12:34.212-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-74168237302091117172011-02-07T14:46:13.678-05:002011-02-07T14:46:13.678-05:00Welcome, @ragtime. Have fun.
(2) works pretty goo...Welcome, @ragtime. Have fun.<br />(2) works pretty good for M-WPuzs.<br />(1) is a good start for TH-SATPuzs. Then toss in some (2), from time to time.<br />Other possibilities:<br />(3) Talking to self<br />(4) Phone a friend<br />(5) Nap<br /><br />@44: Given your rascaliness today, you shoulda included "AND GO" in your uptop theme list. (See 58-Across) M&ALast Silver Bulletnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-1660773181276726892011-02-07T14:42:27.339-05:002011-02-07T14:42:27.339-05:001) @ragtime: An efficient way to solve most puzzle...1) @ragtime: An efficient way to solve most puzzles is to enter your first answer, then solve clues building off that answer. Each correct letter filled in makes the remaining letters in connected words easier to solve. Continue until the puzzle is complete. For more difficult puzzles, this may take more time and practice, and may require multiple starting points due to the difficulty of the clues. If a puzzle seems too easy, then solving across or down clues only may provide an extra challenge. <br /><br />For easier puzzles I try to start at the top-left, connect words from the first answers, and 'flow' through connected words until completed. Depending on the grid design, this may take a number of paths, and there is no one ideal way to solve. The connectivity of answers is the most helpful thing.<br /><br />- Note on Google hits: Be careful about judging the validity of an answer on Google hits alone. That's just frequency of those words used as a phrase across Internet usage, but not as the harder-to-judge "in the language" cohesiveness of that phrase.<br />Maybe in the past when there were less sites and random static to serach through, it had slightly more validity, but now it's hard to tell.<br />For example, right now of the top of my head (and because I have a sweet tooth at the moment), I Googled "strawberry cupcake" and the result was 281,000 hits. But unless you had a 17x puzzle with a theme that fit this perfectly, it's not a stand-alone phrase. Similarly, the completely random "green bird" gets 217,000 hits.Howard Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00766792795622192271noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-4097341873862861022011-02-07T14:11:26.393-05:002011-02-07T14:11:26.393-05:00A witty and self-reflexive Monday morning puzzle f...A witty and self-reflexive Monday morning puzzle from my second-favorite early-week constructor. <br /><br />Besides DAYBREAK and "Snooze" (as Andrea pointed out), we have ARISE at 7D. And for me, Couric will always be associated with early morning TV (but that may be a STRETCH).Stanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02681342234536407419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-14276407614253331402011-02-07T14:10:39.685-05:002011-02-07T14:10:39.685-05:00Hello Rexword NY Times Puzzle Community,
I am n...Hello Rexword NY Times Puzzle Community,<br /> I am new to the joys of doing the Times Crossword, introduced to the pleasure by son-in-law, a newly minted neuro-science PhD. I'm wondering which approach you prefer? <br />(1) Do the across clues, filling in what you know, and then the down clues?<br /> (2) Do the puzzle by areas, alternating up and down clues?<br /> I started out with the first way, but have discovered that the second works better for me, as the theme emerges faster and makes the puzzle <br />easier. <br /> I'm interested in the opinions of everyone else. Many thanks!ragtimepianonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-42005723670451145732011-02-07T13:39:57.705-05:002011-02-07T13:39:57.705-05:00Same solving experience as @Rex.
Loved ESTUARY - ...Same solving experience as @Rex.<br /><br />Loved ESTUARY - great word. <br /><br />Can EKED be retired, please?<br /><br />Go Green Bay! The end of the game was nail-biting.<br /><br />I thought the choreography of the halftime show was great, but the sound seemed poor to me.JenCThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18290169184354765840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-58705096119118017322011-02-07T13:34:07.535-05:002011-02-07T13:34:07.535-05:00P.S. @44: Interesting "(!)" punctuation ...P.S. @44: Interesting "(!)" punctuation spurt, following Morning Movements, in theme description. You rascal.Masked and Anonymous IInoreply@blogger.com