tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post5940929147330254481..comments2024-03-19T00:21:49.519-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Esquire in Henry VI Part 2 / SUN 5-9-10 / Pilfer old-style / Jazz vibraphonist Jackson / Primitive percussion instrument / Midnight Poison makerRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-54154963757872249062010-05-16T17:50:50.160-04:002010-05-16T17:50:50.160-04:00Bad Clue: A magnetic compass's needle never po...Bad Clue: A magnetic compass's needle never points ESE, it always points magnetic North.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44310267130554883612010-05-11T00:21:10.458-04:002010-05-11T00:21:10.458-04:00Hey, shouldn't the clue for TILDE be "Wha...Hey, shouldn't the clue for TILDE be "What appears above a pinata?" rather than "What appears above a piñata?"dlsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-37158514964078568242010-05-10T03:31:49.319-04:002010-05-10T03:31:49.319-04:00Speaking of fish..." and Marcel Proust "...Speaking of fish..." and Marcel Proust "ad an "addock!"...<br /><br />captcha is NOLUCKWA. Isnt that a lake near NEW PALTZ???raidodazehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03556192721877992928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-17045841130187765632010-05-09T23:14:28.315-04:002010-05-09T23:14:28.315-04:00@Martin, I like your definition of the two subtyp...@Martin, I like your definition of the two subtypes better than my idea of two connotations-- a useful distinction. But I think these two notions of crosswordese, and whatever other definitions are floating out there, all refer to the following experience on the part of the solver: one of the ways one improves at solving puzzles is by bringing a whole vocabulary to the foreground of one's thinking-- whether it is previously unknown words, or words that occur a great deal more in crosswords than they would in everyday life. That unusual vocabulary that every competent crossword solver needs to possess is... <br /><br />The way I read Liz's essay (thank you @Glitch for the link) is that she wants us to embrace it as part of the process-- the versatile egg that binds the various flavors. Understood. But I'm totally with Rex that it would be way easier to construct entire puzzles filled with OMOO intersecting with OTTO, while ARIAS, AROMAS and ODORS fill the air. That would suck the joy out of life, and the best constructors seem to avoid it.<br /><br />@Nostromo, LOL. It's a comforting thought : ) I did read Proust at one point in my life. Remembering it is another matter-- oh wait, did he have something to say about memory?foodiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13052189131129098616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-47686983566884840702010-05-09T23:07:25.410-04:002010-05-09T23:07:25.410-04:00I enjoyed this puzzle, although it didn't feel...I enjoyed this puzzle, although it didn't feel easy to me. I thought of New Paltz immediately, but spelled it wrong (Pfalz) which caused havoc (crosswordese?;-)) in that area.<br /><br />I also figured "nim" had some connection with nehmen/Dutch: nemen, plus I noticed the oval/ovoid problem. Hi, Noam.<br /><br />@Artlvr: you made me look! I don't think front doory would have passed.<br /><br />Thank you Bard, and thank you Martin, for your thoughtful information. <br /><br />Imari was a gimme to me, I collect (old, small) teapots, and have been told that the few Imari pieces I have are more valuable now because the Japanese are buying back the Imari porcelain they exported to Europe.<br /><br />I just came back from a lovely Mothers' Day dinner with my son! Hope all you mothers had a good day.machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-47597466520277864422010-05-09T22:54:55.820-04:002010-05-09T22:54:55.820-04:00@Glitch
I read the Liz Gorski artile earlier in th...@Glitch<br />I read the Liz Gorski artile earlier in the week. Pretty much I am in total agreement.<br /><br />Today in the LAT was ITER my comment in the other blog:<br /><br />"Years ago, on the 1972 TV show Banacek, George Peppard's character looks at one of the perps who is doing the NYT Crossword and said "ITER, Roman Road is ITER." I started doing these shortly thereafter and have never forgotten the word."<br /><br />Like OMOO or YEGG, EDDY and a bunch of others, they come up from time to time. To me they are necessary connectors that hold the puzzle together.<br /><br />Same is true with Roman Numerals. If there is ONE it is only ONE. The math is easy, fill it in, move on. No need to complain about it, they are "fair game."Tinbenihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14661395078047234853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50017777958838637172010-05-09T22:51:01.165-04:002010-05-09T22:51:01.165-04:00If you buy a copy of Omoo or Typee, when you get h...If you buy a copy of Omoo or Typee, when you get home and crack it open you'll find on the first page "Ha ha! (Don't tell anybody, though, because you'll spoil it for the rest of us!)" The rest of the pages are blank. Same deal with Finnegan's Wake and every Henry James novel and the last fifteen volumes of Proust. Nobody reads that stuff because there's literally nothing on the pages. But you get to carry the books around and look all cool and shit.Nostromonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-68358847098346706322010-05-09T21:51:38.985-04:002010-05-09T21:51:38.985-04:00I read OMOO.I read OMOO.Queequegnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-35356575439764201582010-05-09T21:44:25.185-04:002010-05-09T21:44:25.185-04:00@Rex
I guess today I'm taking exception to th...@Rex<br /><br />I guess today I'm taking exception to the term *xwordese* as applied to IMARI.<br /><br />I didn't find it the *tired fill* of your comment above, or *(more obscure crosswordese)* of your write up.<br /><br />It's shown up only about 16 times in as many years, used by many of the *elite* authors, and apparently a topic of interest to more than a few people. <br /><br />Many *answers* fall into this catagory without being *xwordese* Obscure, perhaps to some, *tired fill* --- not.<br /><br />I knew it as a word-learned-from-xwords.<br /> <br />By comparison, LISA's count it 57, OREO's 200.<br /><br /><br />"IDEN, IT IN, INSO, NO IF (!?!!), RLS, IMRE" so stipulated.<br /><br />.../Glitch<br /><br />OTOH it's your blog ;)Glitchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14940000404613329056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-59451792638311063852010-05-09T21:34:11.107-04:002010-05-09T21:34:11.107-04:00Constructor-friendly (lots of vowels or esses) and...Constructor-friendly (lots of vowels or esses) and crossword-confined (words that you never see except in puzzles) are unrelated dimensions. Rex includes both in the analysis of crosswordese; I include only the latter. We have different defintions of crosswordese to begin with. As far as I know, there's no official definition so it's again subjective -- you're allowed to be bugged by anything you want.<br /><br />Vowel pattern and foreign are irrelevant to my crosswordese calculus. (And I don't believe I'm unique in that regard.) That's why ECRU (on the pantyhose package at Target) and IMARI (something I know a bit about) don't make the cut by my definition. But OMOO (has anybody here really read it?) and STRAD (if one comes up in conversation, I would give it the respect of saying the name in full) do.<br /><br />But there are no absolutes here. I know that Rex knows that and he knows that I use a different definition. We both prefer fill that hasn't appeared before to words in the database 100 times. (Unless it's "whitlings.") I just don't consider the 100-times word necessarily crosswordese.Martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-74943447690675568832010-05-09T20:46:56.342-04:002010-05-09T20:46:56.342-04:00With respect, she's exaggerating and she knows...With respect, she's exaggerating and she knows it. Constructors (incl. Liz) avoid crosswordese as much as possible, and no one is as hypocritical as she claims. Believe me, xwordese is real, and if constructors didn't restrain themselves, you'd be complaining like mad about the same tired fill everywhere, all the time. You have the luxury of saying it doesn't exist bec. constructors know it *does* and keep it from burying you alive. Every constructor has to use it — it's all a matter of proportion. Everyone knows OBAMA, so he may be a repeater, but he will never be crosswordese (like, say, IMARI).Rex Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-89937494002058707232010-05-09T20:42:18.528-04:002010-05-09T20:42:18.528-04:00Since the current discussion of "crosswordese...Since the current discussion of "crosswordese" is occuring on Ms. Gorski watch today, I find her essay on <a href="http://crosswordcity.blogspot.com/2010/03/myth-of-crosswordese.html" rel="nofollow"> The Myth of Crosswordese </a> appropriate here.<br /><br />For those that never bother to click links, here's her definition:<br /><br />Crosswordese (n.): The specialized vocabulary of puzzlemaking that, according to constructors, appears in puzzles made by other people. When the same vocabulary appears in their own puzzles, it is referred to as "fill" and is therefore justified.<br /><br />.../Glitch (only the messenger)Glitchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14940000404613329056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-83782890274730422192010-05-09T20:00:36.264-04:002010-05-09T20:00:36.264-04:00In the olden days, when I was in linguistics, I us...In the olden days, when I was in linguistics, I used to be interested in connotations (and associated cultural differences). I think the crosswordese discussion is about connotations. Is it something quite obscure? I'm guessing that is Martin's definition? Or is it stuff that shows up more often in crosswords than in everyday language because it has a certain convenient structure? I'm guessing that's Rex's definition? <br /><br />I haven't decided how to classify OBAMA-- Not crosswordese but-- crosswordophile?foodiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13052189131129098616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-65622122905618228762010-05-09T19:45:42.578-04:002010-05-09T19:45:42.578-04:00Sunk on IDEN - ALDANTINO cross. The L was one of ...Sunk on IDEN - ALDANTINO cross. The L was one of three choices and, as ever, I chose poorly.<br /><br />"IMARI is patently crosswordese."<br />As is the case more often than not: For those with no interest or context yes. For others - no, it's not.pezibcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-19154708255869458312010-05-09T17:19:00.706-04:002010-05-09T17:19:00.706-04:00I must be more cranky than I realize this week (I&...I must be more cranky than I realize this week (I've actually felt in a pretty good mood all week), because this is the second time in a few days I just haven't warmed to a puzzle that most people seem to like. <br /><br />While I loved the MOTHERSOFINVENTION payoff, and liked the concept behind the theme, there was too much other clunkiness that made this a bit of a slog. Especially that brutal NW corner. <br /><br />Of course, I didn't help myself by entering ANZAC instead of ANZIO (not only did I get a beach and a cove mixed up, I was off by one whole world war), and WAYNES World instead of DISNEY World at 28A. And I think at one time or another I tried about every D-Day beach I could think of that had four letters (UTAH, GOLD, JUNO; obviously, none worked).Steve Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15185067739452052656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-27119543672669191212010-05-09T17:01:48.347-04:002010-05-09T17:01:48.347-04:00@Martin -
certainly Crosswordese has a website.@Martin -<br /><br />certainly Crosswordese has a <a href="http://www.crosswordese.com/" rel="nofollow">website.</a>crosswordese.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-88478092991158315282010-05-09T16:59:54.282-04:002010-05-09T16:59:54.282-04:00IMARI is patently crosswordese. Obviously crosswor...IMARI is patently crosswordese. Obviously crosswordese. V-c-v-c-v structure, terminal-I, obscure (compared to 98% of the rest of the grid), foreign, etc. It's textbook.<br /><br />ERLE Stanley Gardner has a website. What a ridiculous criterion. <br /><br />You're out of your depth here, Martin. Go back to facts about clams. You're on solid ground there.<br /><br />rpRex Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-17663776020685689752010-05-09T16:34:39.289-04:002010-05-09T16:34:39.289-04:00Imari is not crosswordese. For one thing, crosswo...Imari is <i>not</i> crosswordese. For one thing, crosswordese is not <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/archive/200802A31.html" rel="nofollow">worth anything</a>. For another, crosswordese doesn't have websites. Try <a href="http://www.imari.com/" rel="nofollow">www.omoo.com</a>, for instance.Martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-7966707108287467652010-05-09T16:33:29.040-04:002010-05-09T16:33:29.040-04:00For 102D, "Midnight Poison maker" I firs...For 102D, "Midnight Poison maker" I first wrote DCON. <br /><br />@Ulrich: sorry to hear about your lost magnum opus. I bet most people would rather read it than Aristotle.archaeoprofhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17956231727789223463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-72391072697392808392010-05-09T16:05:34.675-04:002010-05-09T16:05:34.675-04:00@coolPapaD I had Enos/Inari. Damn! And my paper w...@coolPapaD I had Enos/Inari. Damn! And my paper wasn't delivered today to read that letter. Happy mother's day to your momAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-4335538584493823462010-05-09T15:56:34.812-04:002010-05-09T15:56:34.812-04:00@CoolPapaD, really close call on that PELTZ/ENOS c...@CoolPapaD, really close call on that PELTZ/ENOS cross for me too. Had the corner filled (with ENOS), but INARI just didn't feel right.<br /><br />Never heard of that brand or type, whichever it is, but after an alphabet run the M made the most Japanese word-form sense to my ear. Tried it and my "books of the OT" synapse finally fired.lit.dochttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06729199575329286046noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-87263578626153149322010-05-09T15:31:38.636-04:002010-05-09T15:31:38.636-04:00I wish I had read the first letter to the editor i...I wish I had read the first letter to the editor in the Sunday Magazine this morning before doing the puzzle- I wouldn't have had an error in the NW (I had PELTZ / ENOS).CoolPapaDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11542059534657415505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-11621775858264772012010-05-09T15:13:53.233-04:002010-05-09T15:13:53.233-04:00@artlvr: My hat goes up to someone who is able to ...@artlvr: My hat goes up to someone who is able to freely associate "nim" with "nimm" (imperative case of the strong (irregular) verb "nehmen"--to take) and then "nimm" with a poem by Nikolaus Lenau. A few hours ago, I had posted here an unbelievably trenchant dissertation on the affinity between the German Romantics and the night, followed by an equally astute line-by-line critique of the English translation and an argument that rhyming translations are almost always a bad idea. Now I see it's all gone.<br /><br />Apparently, the powers that be at Google found all of this less funny than Rex's cultural history of the bra and condemned my opus to the cyber abyss--it will be lost forever, sharing its fate with the Poetics of Aristotle (or whatever work of his is lost)--well, I could be in wores--oops worse-- company...Ulrichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02086202853174403008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80222295026331866862010-05-09T14:00:28.536-04:002010-05-09T14:00:28.536-04:00Where is the LA Crossword Confidential blog today?...Where is the LA Crossword Confidential blog today?Sunday Puzzle Guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-27245828426166725192010-05-09T13:58:05.453-04:002010-05-09T13:58:05.453-04:00O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels ...O wad some Power the giftie gie us<br />To see oursels as ithers see us!<br />It wad frae monie a blunder free us<br />An foolish notion:<br />What airs in dress an gait wad lea'es us,<br />An ev'n devotion!Robert Burnsnoreply@blogger.com