tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post6224132188852174223..comments2024-03-28T04:40:27.172-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: SUNDAY, Oct. 21, 2007 - Brendan Emmett QuigleyRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8395955347372513632008-06-25T19:49:00.000-04:002008-06-25T19:49:00.000-04:00This ouzzle ruined my day. None of these clues le...This ouzzle ruined my day. None of these clues led me to a right answer, so I gave up and came here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-66528792052535555742007-11-09T18:59:00.000-05:002007-11-09T18:59:00.000-05:00Weak theme takes the fun out of it.I'm with you, R...Weak theme takes the fun out of it.<BR/>I'm with you, Rex. I refuse to use google or other aids. When i give up, I check your blog and love your comments. Thanks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31722874618328916422007-10-30T10:52:00.000-04:002007-10-30T10:52:00.000-04:00loved it. used all my xword dicsloved it. used all my xword dicsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-88766029827183894052007-10-28T17:48:00.000-04:002007-10-28T17:48:00.000-04:00One week late. This was a four cup slog for me. I ...One week late. <BR/><BR/>This was a four cup slog for me. I asked my wife Hanne about ETAMINE, and she showed me our heirloom cross-stitched table cloth of ETAMINE, a 50/50 plain tabby weave that keeps cross stitched embroidery perfectly square and symmetrical. (assuming you don't mis-count)<BR/><BR/>I did not get the theme (exactly) till Rex "clarified" it. <BR/><BR/>Certainly not an elegant puzzle today.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-30627828326693360932007-10-24T10:45:00.000-04:002007-10-24T10:45:00.000-04:00This puzzle stunk all the way around. I agree, ca...This puzzle stunk all the way around. I agree, can't remember one this challenging in a while. Love your blog!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-88059342210140646222007-10-22T20:33:00.000-04:002007-10-22T20:33:00.000-04:00Rikki, you're probably thinking of Penelope Pitsto...Rikki, you're probably thinking of Penelope Pitstop from that old Hanna Barbera cartoon. That was the first cartoon to feature Dick Dastardly, as I recall, who later got his own show with Muttley. (All the baby boomers out there, sing the theme with me! "Stop the pigeon, stop the pigeon."<BR/><BR/>I didn't mind the theme too much. "Chicken league" was actually the clue that made me get the theme, and I actually liked "pastry sheaf" and "Simon seize."<BR/><BR/>However, I'm one of those guys who likes cute little plays on words, so I'm probably biased.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-47626661179518210602007-10-22T14:23:00.000-04:002007-10-22T14:23:00.000-04:00Craig K: Thanks for your input on the diagramless...Craig K: <BR/>Thanks for your input on the diagramless. Your work definitely suffered from the hangover effect (as you so deftly stated). Looking it over again WAY after the fact, it really was pretty good.<BR/><BR/>I suspected it would be a pictograph as soon as I saw that it was going to be assymetrical, so that wasn't lost on me (but still didn't help me solve because I couldn't figure out what the pic was until after I already had the theme).<BR/><BR/>Eileen the Crossword Queen (sometimes)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9926965172048916012007-10-21T23:07:00.000-04:002007-10-21T23:07:00.000-04:00Glad I checked in here because I had a bear of a t...Glad I checked in here because I had a bear of a time with this puzzle; nice to know it wasn't just me.<BR/><BR/>The New England, New Jersey area was tough enough without me insisting that NECKTIES were the haberdashery items hinted at.<BR/><BR/>I am another who actually liked the OLEO clue. Thought ANTE and ARKS had the best clues and BAZAAR was my favorite clue/answer pair.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-6025382451831114442007-10-21T21:30:00.000-04:002007-10-21T21:30:00.000-04:00Michael,O/c Amin was a monster...he died in exile ...Michael,<BR/><BR/>O/c Amin was a monster...he died in exile in Saudi Arabia a few years back... I do not enjoy seeing his name in a puzzle either... I guess "IDI" can be clued as "giant from Norse mythology".. or "alternate name for highest peak on Crete"... but I had to look those up... I wouldn't have know them straight off the bat... <BR/><BR/>I did ask "what can you do"... I guess I meant what can puzzlemakers do if they paint themselves into a corner and the only word that fits is something offensive like the name of a dictator... <BR/><BR/>I think I may have seen STALIN once ... not sure if it was in the Times... but I wonder where the line is drawn... I'm pretty sure I've also seen "POLPOT"... again, not sure where...<BR/><BR/>Maybe I'd be happier if it said "brutal dictator" in the clue when they have to resort to using one of these names...<BR/><BR/>But that is opening another political can of worms isn't it???Which of today's world leaders would be considered "brutal dictators"??? <BR/><BR/>A RHETORICAL QUEESTION THAT I'M NOT LOOKING FOR ANYONE TO ANSWER! <BR/><BR/>:-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-53263890927322393042007-10-21T20:16:00.000-04:002007-10-21T20:16:00.000-04:00The diagramless was a real consolation today--enjo...The diagramless was a real consolation today--enjoyed it like the others who commented. Once you get 6 down, things start to fall into placeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67992136255398447622007-10-21T19:01:00.000-04:002007-10-21T19:01:00.000-04:00Wow Wendy. That is really - I don't know what to ...Wow Wendy. That is really - I don't know what to say just really a bad situation for you. Oh Dear!<BR/><BR/>Thank God you turned out so great~ And I mean that in the nicest way. Take the best of care.....<BR/><BR/>I LOVE the book idea.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-75474511623973866572007-10-21T18:51:00.000-04:002007-10-21T18:51:00.000-04:00"Margarine is an abomination" - oh truer words wer..."Margarine is an abomination" - oh truer words were never spoken. I grew up in a house where my sister and I were second-class citizens when it came to certain food items, thus we were served OLEO, as my mother referred to it, while she and my father enjoyed real butter. To this day I'm scarred by it. I've often talked of writing a memoir entitled "Not Good Enough for Butter."wendyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06899889818724088564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-37567462791445747792007-10-21T18:45:00.000-04:002007-10-21T18:45:00.000-04:00I too thought this puzzle the worst in awhile. At ...I too thought this puzzle the worst in awhile. At least the comments here inspired me to tackle the diagramless, first one I've tried in awhile. Enjoyed that one...thahks!skua76https://www.blogger.com/profile/15450051465313263422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-42152653136689952372007-10-21T18:41:00.000-04:002007-10-21T18:41:00.000-04:00Google report: the very first hit when I googled "...Google report: the very first hit when I googled "clarified margarine" was a page called "Margarine is an Abomination." Nuff said.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56748065671853005802007-10-21T18:37:00.000-04:002007-10-21T18:37:00.000-04:00Clarification: anything to *do* with clarificatio...Clarification: anything to *do* with clarification.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-48750369547062350172007-10-21T18:36:00.000-04:002007-10-21T18:36:00.000-04:00Ugh. Despised this puzzle. Clunky, choppy, unple...Ugh. Despised this puzzle. Clunky, choppy, unpleasant. And let me be the 444th person to raise hell about "oleo." Clarified BUTTER. Maybe if the answer was "butter" you could go into some clarification business: "it may be clarified"-- but margarine doesn't have anything to with clarification, to my knowledge. I'll have to go googling to make sure, but I stand by my outrage whatever the result.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-5980357648935323082007-10-21T17:56:00.000-04:002007-10-21T17:56:00.000-04:00I feel better about myself, now. All you eggheads ...I feel better about myself, now. All you eggheads out there who struggled with this one make me realize I must not be so ignorant after all. Still, the puzzle STUNK, but that's only a lowly Med.Tech.'s opinion.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-82831771517791214092007-10-21T17:41:00.000-04:002007-10-21T17:41:00.000-04:00Agree with most all comments. Tough and obscure an...Agree with most all comments. Tough and obscure and not a great "theme." (What the heck is etamine, anyway?) <BR/>After completing it, still didn't get 48A--Part of a dash (tach), but hubby just explained it. I guess the car guys out there had no problem. I was thinking running race (100 yd dash?), or punctuation (two hyphens make a dash?) (duh!) DASHBOARD never occurred to me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10236172414006811782007-10-21T16:57:00.000-04:002007-10-21T16:57:00.000-04:00I quite enjoyed the puzzle and the theme - not ver...I quite enjoyed the puzzle and the theme - not very easy to come up with entertaining theme entries like SIMON SIEZE. Did think that changing presseD to priesT was unlike other entries, but oh well - it was fun.<BR/><BR/>Really liked absentia, reinvest, and struggled for a long time to get q-ratio!<BR/><BR/>nitpickerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26693655088272302002007-10-21T16:50:00.000-04:002007-10-21T16:50:00.000-04:00DEREG will definitively not happen if Hillary gets...DEREG will definitively not happen if Hillary gets elected....QPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09735954150325912750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-55995486953763987612007-10-21T16:40:00.000-04:002007-10-21T16:40:00.000-04:00I'm with Ulrich. Never finished, didn't care to.V...I'm with Ulrich. Never finished, didn't care to.<BR/><BR/>Victor PAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9899719744325860752007-10-21T15:58:00.000-04:002007-10-21T15:58:00.000-04:00Took the whole Maple Leafs game to figure this out...Took the whole Maple Leafs game to figure this out and still needed the blog to to get the messy EZER, ALEC, box. Need a real palette cleanser...Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10389790318218161090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50085556530679851852007-10-21T14:47:00.000-04:002007-10-21T14:47:00.000-04:00Fun puzzle! This puzzle is to be praised for its ...Fun puzzle! This puzzle is to be praised for its dearth of film references. Although, I suppose, as a constructor, the void left by not using actors is readily filled with the names of athletes. <BR/><BR/>favorite clue: resting places = tombsChip Ahoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12597726289890879627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-54632511990646759312007-10-21T13:54:00.000-04:002007-10-21T13:54:00.000-04:00On the diagramless -- I quite enjoyed it. I was i...On the diagramless -- I quite enjoyed it. I was initially apprehensive given the comments here, and the you'll-get-no-help-from-symmetry bit, but it fell pretty steadily for me. I did have to use the margins three times to sketch out some answer blocks before I knew where to place them properly in the grid, but that's a diagramless. I was probably lucky to have guessed the theme having three of the first four letters in 6-Down and three of the last six in 22-Across. Without getting the theme, it'd be hard to make any headway in the whole bottom half of the puzzle, since two of the theme answers are the natural entry points to the bottom.mellocathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10637828760951248690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-42963096170287772492007-10-21T13:41:00.000-04:002007-10-21T13:41:00.000-04:00Hey I just found this site today and am I comforte...Hey I just found this site today and am I comforted by everyone's misery! I too disliked this puzzle, especially coming from Mr. Quigley who gives me fits every time. Best clue in my opinion : blue chip.BlondBrainyBitchTitshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06395461733518140552noreply@blogger.com