tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post63545915649831542..comments2024-03-28T20:49:13.267-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Rough loosely woven fabric / SAT 3-26-16 / Mechanism for making things disappear in 1984 / Calligrapher's grinding mortar / Irish revolutionary Robert / Jimbo's sidekick on South Park / 458 488 on road / Fictional dog owned by Winslow family / Yellow-flowered primrose / Drug company founder of 1876 / Clusters of mountains / Fraternal patriotic org / Crooner with 1978 album You Light Up My LifeRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-12211328660289245002016-04-30T18:33:17.085-04:002016-04-30T18:33:17.085-04:00Thanks, @Rondo and @LIW. Was no way thinking about...Thanks, @Rondo and @LIW. Was no way thinking about old westerns. "Heat" wasn't slang for guns back in that day. I'm reminded of Irving, Allan Sherman's Jewish folk hero, the "142nd fastest gun in the west."<br /><br />"Now a hundred and forty-one were faster than he<br />"But Irving was looking for one-forty three!"<br /><br />Gotta love it.spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-89894497115251944082016-04-30T16:13:34.601-04:002016-04-30T16:13:34.601-04:00Had about 50% with no help except asking Mr. W (ca...Had about 50% with no help except asking Mr. W (car guy) to verify the FERRARIS. Then, off to look up some of the names that refused to come to my MEMORYbank. Then went on to finish, but I cannot accept the finisher's t-shirt. Hope I can tomorrow!<br /><br />@Spacey - By the time this is published you'll most likely have heard this many, many times. If you pack heat (wear a gun) you might draw (produce) it if you were so inclined. I shall do neither. I'm a lady. (BTW, you can always look up definitions on Bill Butler's NY and LY Times blogs.)<br /><br />Speaking of Bill Butler, on his blog he states he had a Natick (he didn't use that word) at MASSIFS/SAR. AND he took 28 minutes. If BB can dnf, I don't feel too bad. <br /><br />Off to the Convention Center to pick up my "race" number. More like my stroll number. Well, at least it's not a troll number.<br /><br />Diana, Lady-in-Waiting for CrosswordsDiana, LIWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-68158140331967121542016-04-30T16:01:40.696-04:002016-04-30T16:01:40.696-04:00@spacey - good one for Demi. Musta been sleepin...@spacey - good one for Demi. Musta been sleepin' instead of thinkin' of proposals indecent. As far as DRAWS - guns are sometimes called "heat", so if you produce a gun . . .rondonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-20503605502850353752016-04-30T11:40:11.208-04:002016-04-30T11:40:11.208-04:00Okay, guys, I give up. Maybe I'm a TOTALIDIOT,...Okay, guys, I give up. Maybe I'm a TOTALIDIOT, but I cannot for the life of me see how "Produces heat?"--even with the "?"--leads to DRAWS. Somebody is gonna have to shine the light for me. Thus the NW did not fall so easily over here; still, crosses allowed me to get out of there unscathed.<br /><br />Nor would I call any of the other areas "easy," and I once again rail against these ridiculous solving times. 8 what? 10-minute periods? Yeah, that's a lot closer to reality. Stop it, FL. Just stop it.<br /><br />As for liking the puzzle, I do. Had to chuckle at the clue for CETERA; Mr. G. must have felt that cluing it via Peter would give us one too many rockers. Hand up for tuLIP.<br /><br />@Rondo, how could you miss the luscious Demi MOORE, a Damsel of the Day if there ever was one? When she yells down that stairway, "Come back up here and finish what you started!", baby I'm climbin'! I also wouldn't mind a chance to INKSTONE on "Ink Wars." A-.spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-22402033181378983522016-04-30T10:19:52.553-04:002016-04-30T10:19:52.553-04:00I wouldn’t call it easy, especially with key write...I wouldn’t call it easy, especially with key write-overs at TOTALloser and the save/quIT/EXIT thing going on in the tuLIP/OXLIP area, notwithstanding RATtan. Those things had me STYMIED for a while, but still finished in +/- 45 minutes, which is acceptable for me. On Saturday. But what an inkfest.<br /><br />Seeing LA MESA gets me wondering about Ron Diego. I miss his wit.<br /><br />Seems like a dearth of yeah babies of late. Have to stretch for DELLA Street as portrayed by Barbara Hale. No MEDUSA she. Sorry WILLA.<br /><br />FERRARIS? Nope. Maybe a Nissan MAXIMA, if I get a raise.<br /><br />Sometimes I think my MEMORY DRIFTed into that HOLE and I FEEL like a TOTALIDIOT. But I liked this puz and now I will make my EXIT.<br />rondonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-1777410744583310032016-04-30T09:48:10.537-04:002016-04-30T09:48:10.537-04:00FEEL STYMIED?
So you COLUMN a TOTALIDIOT for usin...FEEL STYMIED?<br /><br />So you COLUMN a TOTALIDIOT for using SATINSHEETS for COVERS?<br />He’s CASTANET for DELLA’s butt, and now they’re INCAHOOTS as lovers.<br /><br />--- AJAX MAXIMA<br />Burma Shavenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-16108105097592076052016-03-26T22:04:21.488-04:002016-03-26T22:04:21.488-04:00Average Saturday. Which means, hard, but not demon...Average Saturday. Which means, hard, but not demonically so. For a while I thought I might be heading to a major DNF when nothing was coming easily. The key was WILLACATHER from xIxmxCxTxxR (the m being from dEEm,which I had before fEEl).<br /><br />I know nothing about WILLACATHER. Could not tell you what field of endeavour she was (or is) in, nor her nationality. But it is a name I've heard, and once that went in it was like tipping that first domino. <br /><br />I loved the SE that @Rex so despised. ATILT is bad, but MEMORYHOLE, DELLA, ESPYS, DAE, OXLIP AND LILLY are all top-notch.<br /><br />A ton of overwrites, of which my favorite was beethoven before MARMADUKE. <br /><br />LAMESA/LETHERCRY were a pair of WoEs, but L seemed to be the only letter that could reasonably fit there.kitshefnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-20627523106528736482016-03-26T20:07:13.995-04:002016-03-26T20:07:13.995-04:00@Sonia S:
Oi! Welcome aboard! Wave that Union Ja...@Sonia S:<br /><br /> Oi! Welcome aboard! Wave that Union Jack, or are you from "Down Under?" Irish? Being "bolloxed" is part of this whole Yank experience! Looking forward to your input in the future! Chaos344https://www.blogger.com/profile/08901221000538028472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-5255085704544668952016-03-26T17:28:36.581-04:002016-03-26T17:28:36.581-04:00Not bad for me (as in, I'm somewhat new to the...Not bad for me (as in, I'm somewhat new to the NYT puzzle, and I was able to solve a Saturday at all, so waving my little flag over here), but IN CAHOOTS took me forever. <br /><br />MATHIS bolloxed me for a good bit, but there's no path for me to a Saturday finish that doesn't involve a lot of guessing & erasing. I try to think of this as mental flexibility training.Sonia Shttp://www.copyblogger.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-13979496535772257082016-03-26T16:29:25.943-04:002016-03-26T16:29:25.943-04:00@Chaos344 -- good catch; INKSTAND in my earlier po...@Chaos344 -- good catch; INKSTAND in my earlier post was either a typo or autocorrect (not sure). I had STONE which seemed to fit the grinding mortar part of the clue, and INK seemed like a good guess for the calligraphy portion. <br /><br />Principle of restricted choice, when two guessed crossing answers--neither of which one is particularly confident in--jibe with each other, then the likelihood that they are both correct goes up greatly.George Baranyhttp://www.chem.umn.edu/groups/baranygp/puzzles/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-36543178871151114562016-03-26T16:22:08.411-04:002016-03-26T16:22:08.411-04:00@Z 12:12 PM: Agreed Z. Fenech and Windsor are just...@Z 12:12 PM: Agreed Z. Fenech and Windsor are just trying to fill space with all the Chicken-Little ink. I go to the FREEP first thing every morning, but only to read the Tigers news. V-Mart may be back Tuesday and there are no serious injuries in the pen. JV looked pretty good today against Philly, but not great. Looked like he was having trouble with the big hook? It wasn't breaking too well. Either that, or he was just tinkering with stuff?<br /><br />@David In CA: I see your point and its valid. There is a lot of ambiguity in the clue as written. I believe its a matter of constructor intent or rather his somewhat inept attempt at misdirection. Does the constructor mean to use the word "guard" as a verb or a noun? If he is speaking of the actual position as in right guards or left guards, then blockers would be the correct answer. Having said that, the guards primary responsibility on a pass play is to protect the quarterback, or, put another way, "cover his ass" from charging defenders. As you know, guards are never used for pass "coverage." If he was using the word guard as a verb, the correct way to write the clue would have been "Guards against on the gridiron." Hence the ambiguity of the clue. One thing we know for sure though. The constructor definitely wasn't thinking of TARP! I'd like to see the ground crew that could roll that sucker out in a minute or less! ROTFLMAO!<br /><br />I agree with your reply to puzzlehoarder in regard to the PPP factor. Its the percentage, not the obscurity.Chaos344https://www.blogger.com/profile/08901221000538028472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80596668738981989672016-03-26T16:00:34.896-04:002016-03-26T16:00:34.896-04:00I was in the MASSIFS most of the time and needed G...I was in the MASSIFS most of the time and needed Google to find my way out. The ROTORS turned very slowly. But, appreciated the wit of many of the clues, those for FERRARIS, DELLA and CASTANET especially. RATINE, though, I find beyond obscure. Never heard it, seen it. Struggled with RATTAN for a while. That made sense to me.LindaPRmavennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-30090607607818984892016-03-26T15:44:15.178-04:002016-03-26T15:44:15.178-04:00As a HUGE Perry Mason fan, Street with an office w...As a HUGE Perry Mason fan, Street with an office was my favorite clue ever!Vancouver Nanahttp://comcast.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-60063345948496225942016-03-26T15:04:37.193-04:002016-03-26T15:04:37.193-04:00For once, I was faster than Rex! 7:20 or so. I l...For once, I was faster than Rex! 7:20 or so. I liked most of the puzzles. SAR was rubbish, but MASSIFS is a great answer. TSETSEs is fine. I had no problem with all the ERS, either.da kinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10291006601316234458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-75682069462291647142016-03-26T15:03:08.304-04:002016-03-26T15:03:08.304-04:00@puzzlehoarder - One person's obscurity is ano...@puzzlehoarder - One person's obscurity is another person's gimme. AJAX would have been far easier for me clued in some Greek warrior fashion than as a lemony cleaner, but I got it. But when PPP are piled up like MORMON, EMMET, AJAX, NED crossing MARMADUKE the chances of someone being STYMIED goes up. Lots of solvers found this easy, but that's the thing with PPP, if you know it you can fly through the puzzle. What about people for whom Hootie is old school and Johnny MATHIS is a WOE? I'm guessing they aren't breezing through the SW. Personally, I like a puzzle that is tough due to word play or trickery, not puzzles that are tough because I am not familiar with suburbs like Edina or LA MESA. If some 30 year old DNFs in the SW I put that on the puzzle.Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-58691519945081812562016-03-26T14:36:01.964-04:002016-03-26T14:36:01.964-04:00@Chaos344 : re. guards - been a long time since I ...@Chaos344 : re. guards - been a long time since I paid attention to football, but I don't ever remember hearing "guard" in that sense. the Guards block, they protect, they guard (e.g. "against the pass rush"), but "cover" was always what was done against receivers.<br /><br />@puzzle hoarder : re. PPP - gotta agree with Z, it is the percentage PPP not the obscurity. Every PPP answer takes away a possible piece of English language wordplay, which is what Xwords are about for me. A whole bunch of well known (to me) PPPs just make a puzzle too easy - like this one was for many (not me).<br /><br />WILLACoTtER, LoMESA, and MATtIS all seemed like reasonable names to me - no way to puzzle them out.David in CAnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-52384301269065000552016-03-26T13:55:56.654-04:002016-03-26T13:55:56.654-04:00BTW - I recommend @DJG's link. Interesting met...BTW - I recommend @DJG's link. Interesting metaphor and the constructor "pans" many of the same things OFL does. @DJG is with me, though, on MASSIFS.Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-52040591640554642422016-03-26T13:51:17.347-04:002016-03-26T13:51:17.347-04:00I had a slow start in the NW. RODEO should have be... I had a slow start in the NW. RODEO should have been obvious but just wasn't. Hitherto taken out of context baffled me. DFIFT, SNL and ROSIN Sat there unsupported until I came back in from the middle. Yes I felt like a big dip.<br /> There was a lot of POP trivia in this puzzle. I handled it alright until the SE. That was the one part of the puzzle I couldn't finish. 35D could be tip, lip or hip. I chose the latter. My dictionary notes tell me that we just had 43D back in January. As enthusiastic as I am about solving, that kind of trivia doesn't make much of an impression on me. I guessed the much more common RAE. As for the street clue my thinking wasn't even in the ballpark. I really thought I should be looking for some obscure street associated with an obscure capital like an exotic version of Downing street or Pennsylvania avenue. Ironically I was recently doing some Googling on Erle Stanley Gardner and learned he was the source of Perry Mason. I've seen the character in a puzzle before it turns out. My Webster's has a note at the top of page 1166 telling me so. It's dated 7/20/10. I'm sure I haven't looked at it since.<br /> @Z I think the PPP grousing has more to do with the obscurity of it's content than the overall percentage of the puzzle it represents. West Jordan is in the Geographical Names section of Webster's but until today I was unaware of it. Luckily it was out in the open with more crosses and it references a common word. Those corners are where trivia can really kill you.puzzle hoardernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67840541405939539422016-03-26T13:28:39.620-04:002016-03-26T13:28:39.620-04:00Currently rereading CATHER's "The Song of...Currently rereading CATHER's "The Song of the Lark". So t'was the first fill-in and only gimme. Not easy, several googles, some do-overs: Blades/ROTORS, resin/ROSIN (doh), burlap/RATINE. <br /><br />Fav of the day - CAHOOTS. Good mouth FEEL, no?<br /><br />Agree with @LMS on SATIN SHEETS. Silly, slippery things.<br /><br />COVERS made me crazy. Tarp, maybe. I guess it's allowable. Grr. And LILLY practiced frauds that probably had old Eli spinning. What is it with the drug companies these days? Sorry to see that Shkreli is an alumnus of Hunter, a senior public college in the great CUNY system. Fund it, dammit, Cuomo!<br /><br />My MEMORY HOLE is expanding. Like the universe.Maruchkanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-79609842175204796732016-03-26T13:20:15.338-04:002016-03-26T13:20:15.338-04:00Ridiculously easy for a Saturday (6:39 with no goo...Ridiculously easy for a Saturday (6:39 with no googling needed). Will Fnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-66822609011739400472016-03-26T12:12:44.623-04:002016-03-26T12:12:44.623-04:00Reread and found two typos. I can't even blame...Reread and found two typos. I can't even blame autocorrect, so I blame Bond.<br /><br />@jsquared - do you say "any is" or "any are?" I'm thinking, "Any members of the United Nations are 'states.'"<br /><br />@Chaos344 - I see the Freep sports writers are in a panic over V-Mart and the backend of the pitching staff. I swear it is starting to be more and more like living in Philly or New York. Sports radio seems to believe that the way to better ratings is going Chicken Little before the first pitch. Fortunately, I barely listen to sports radio. Of course, it could be worse. I could be a White Sox fan.Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-58288067207292987722016-03-26T12:08:31.630-04:002016-03-26T12:08:31.630-04:00jsquared: what makes you think "any" ha...jsquared: what makes you think "any" has to be singular?<br /><br />For example, "Any of you guys coming with me?" <br /><br />--<br />For no good reason, DRAWS came to mind almost immediately, and the whole puzzle went like that for me. I was definitely on the same wavelength as the constructor this time.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15339432172410182520noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-22085418291258573842016-03-26T11:57:43.415-04:002016-03-26T11:57:43.415-04:00Indian laughs: INCA HOOTSIndian laughs: INCA HOOTSFred Romagnolohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11994837736408182418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-38620214412310080352016-03-26T11:42:37.465-04:002016-03-26T11:42:37.465-04:00If a fictional family had a dog, wouldn't it b...If a fictional family had a dog, wouldn't it be, by definition, also fictional? So the clue should have been "dog owned by the Winslow family"<br /><br />ASSHOLE & Me didn't fit, I went with Moore. Plus I actually saw the POS when it came out. Why I have no idea<br /><br />Fortunately all I had to do for "458 and 488 on the road" was look in my garage. not.<br /><br />And would have loved to have seen OBAMAS Mistress. A sure fire horror picture.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-28171039665380982682016-03-26T11:36:54.986-04:002016-03-26T11:36:54.986-04:00Hootie and the Blowfish!?!?!? Please. I had coinci...Hootie and the Blowfish!?!?!? Please. I had coincidentally been washing the dishes immediately before I started this and I was using, yes, lemon-scented AJAX. So that went in, then MOMJEANS and with a stumble here and there, proceeded clockwise quickly. There is, by the way, nothing wrong with MASSIFS. It's a perfectly cromulent word familiar to anyone who has ever climbed a mountain or read a Jon Krakauer book.cwfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02139294102199197879noreply@blogger.com