tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post6769077987610078837..comments2024-03-28T12:07:05.624-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Discobolus sculptor / FRI 10-28-11 / People Its Leaders muralist / Filling yarn / Fictional maker earthquake pills elephant bulletsRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-14134367593452128822011-12-03T19:40:44.796-05:002011-12-03T19:40:44.796-05:00Gee, @Spacecraft/Anonymous...
1. can't speak...Gee, @Spacecraft/Anonymous... <br /><br />1. can't speak to this, though there is dissent in the ranks above (not the angels, the earlier commenters)<br />2. doesn't "her" fit?.....<br />3. if one alternative is the safer of two, isn't it the more prudent?<br />4. AAH well.<br />5. see somebody above for three-letter biblical abbreviations.<br />6. I agree (I think) that the plural is awkward.Red Valerianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04638265039015470938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26008407817073482832011-12-03T00:12:26.928-05:002011-12-03T00:12:26.928-05:00Spacecraft here. I have way lots of problems with ...Spacecraft here. I have way lots of problems with this one.<br /> 1. I join the ever-growing chorus of those who must seek blessing, not forgiveness, from their priest.<br /> 2. We say "a run for [insert pronoun here: his, your, one's, etc.] money--" but not, that I've ever heard, "THE." Since HIS is the only one of those that fits, I went with that, causing grievous delays in the north. Nor were the down crosses any better:<br /> 3. "more prudent, say" would be a good clue for SAGER or SANER, but SAFER? Well, you might be safer AS A RESULT of being more prudent, but I just don't see that as a definition. Bad clue.<br /> 4. "Pitch" AFIT? Never heard of it. THROW a fit is what I'm close to doing with this puzzle.<br /> 5. EZR. Sure, we use three-letter abbreviations for four-letter names all the time. Right.<br /> 6. Just how many BAALS are there? Dumb me, I thought there was only the one.<br /> Done, but with numerous writeovers and Googles--and a near Natick when I filled in ANTIGUA instead of ANTIGUN and almost forgot to check the down. To call this easy-medium is ridiculous.<br />AAH well, nevermind.<br /><br />fulan: A production of Mulan performed on April 1st.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45018659981587096032011-12-02T20:14:38.763-05:002011-12-02T20:14:38.763-05:00From the land of better late than never solvers, t...From the land of better late than never solvers, this was the most satisfying solving experience for me in a long time. After my first run through of all the clues produced only a few answers I was sure I would never complete the puzzle, but then an hour later I plugged in the first two letters of ACMECORPORATION and the grid was complete! Any Friday puzzle I finish is a good puzzle; one that makes me grin is a great puzzle!<br /><br />From this blog on 12/2/2006:<br />- "Solving time: 51:34" (!)<br />- "I have it on good authority that Bob Klahn is "pretty much the hardest there is," and after last night's 15-round bout with the Saturday puzzle, I'm inclined to agree. I won the bout, in a split decision, but it was something of a Pyrrhic victory. I'm bruised and bloodied, and partially BOWed. It's especially humbling to look at a completed grid that has just slapped you around for something close to an hour and realize "wait a minute ... this doesn't look that hard. What the hell just happened?" I respect a puzzle that can beat me up with minimal esoterica."<br />- "You'd think with six gimmes in a Saturday, you'd be on the road to victory, and not hell."<br />- "Haven't blogged to jazz saxophone before. It's kind of nice. I don't feel nearly as murderous as I have lately."<br />- "...somehow all of these answers connect, in my mind, to my friend Shaun (female). How? Well Shaun owned at least one SKORT. I know that I learned the word in the 90's sometime because I probably commented, "What the hell are you wearing? I can see up your skirt, but this time it's just no fun."<br />- "And thus the United States survived the Great Depression with a smile. I do think that ALIBI IKE needs to be remade as a modern kid ("this century's Dennis the Menace") who weasels his way out of blame for the increasingly criminal things he does. "That hobo was dead when I got here, ma. Honest!""<br />- "But even when I had the whole puzzle filled in, I couldn't figure out the logic of AUTODEALER or DEE? There are auto dealers on Park Avenue? And what the hell is a GRANDDEE? Of course a "Park Avenue" is a make of AUTO (a Buick) and DEE is the @#$#-ing last letter, or "finale," of "grand." Doesn't help much to discern the logic After the puzzle is over. That's all; I'm off to smoke an EL ROPO (39D: Cheap cigar, slangily) over a tasty meal of SWISSCHARD (5A: Leaves for dinner), followed by a WINECOOLER (16A: Mixed drink?) and AMARETTO (33D: Alabama slammer ingredient) in quick succession - "sweet liquor eases the pain.""<br />- In one of 7 comments @Shaun (see above) said this: Rex sez: "I can see up your skirt, but this time it's just no fun."<br />So in contrast to all the many other "fun" times? Who am I, Britney Spears?"Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-4363433726835627562011-12-02T15:07:45.058-05:002011-12-02T15:07:45.058-05:00Contrary to the previous two posts, consider this ...Contrary to the previous two posts, consider this extract from the St. Thomas Aquinas Forum: <br />The priest will begin the Confession with the prayer of the Sign of the Cross. Make the sign of the cross and say, “Forgive me Father for I have sinned; it has been [blank] days since my last confession. I accuse myself of the following sins.” And I'm not even Catholic!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-76183859383993771762011-12-02T12:38:39.883-05:002011-12-02T12:38:39.883-05:00I'm surprised no one commented on 17across. &q...I'm surprised no one commented on 17across. "Forgive me Father" has not, as far as I know, ever been part of the Roman Catholic rite of confession (or rite of reconciliation, as it is now called). The form has always been "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned." The priest does NOT forgive sins. God forgives, the priest serving as interlocutor between God and sinner.Joe K.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-53056235395241507442011-10-29T02:48:29.955-04:002011-10-29T02:48:29.955-04:00No Catholics here? It's "Bless me, Father...No Catholics here? It's "Bless me, Father" NOT "forgive." really got me stuck. Dang! Otherwise, Good Friday!+wordphanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05693465770426693314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-66612626547603336202011-10-29T01:16:10.431-04:002011-10-29T01:16:10.431-04:00@Andrea, so glad you chimed in, given that you got...@Andrea, so glad you chimed in, given that you got yourself a whole 15mer today! Hope mom's birthday is/was a blast!<br /><br />Wait, wait! You're going to a reception for Liv Ullmann?? Why, how, where? <br /><br />And my apologies to TRACEY Ullman-- She was and REMAINS hilarious. I was just remembering the original show!foodiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13052189131129098616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44988084653243661902011-10-29T00:17:23.797-04:002011-10-29T00:17:23.797-04:00ACMECORPORATION!!!!!!!!!!!!
OK, I started out with...ACMECORPORATION!!!!!!!!!!!!<br />OK, I started out with ACME ammuniTION, but straightened THAT out.<br /><br />Could only think Liv Ullmann at first. Going to a reception for her Sunday night (carrying the puzzle, no doubt!)<br />As for it being TRACEY,<br />Simpson fans should kiss her robe.<br /><br />This puzzle was super easy, even I almost did it in 6 minutes...for some reason I just put in ARUNFORTHEMONEY, FORGIVEMEFATHER without blinking. <br />Rather than my prowess, I suspect it meant that it was perfectly clued!<br /><br />But seriously, what's with DECOCT being in 23 puzzles in a row?<br /><br />Same hEAd / Bananas mistakes...<br /><br />Love GO RANGERS = Hidden fruit theme...why not do it, @Rex?!!<br /><br />I remembered the Sopranos actress DeMatteo's real name is Andrea, so I tried to put in Andi, instead of DREA! Ironic, to say the least.<br /><br />Obviously, tho with ACME CORPORATION I forgive all...tho I was on the EZR (??!!) bandwagon till the erudite william e emba chimed in!drea acmecorporation michaelsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-38917522569192219042011-10-28T22:41:39.911-04:002011-10-28T22:41:39.911-04:00This 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 6:21, 6:51, 0.93, 23%, Easy-Medium<br />Tue 7:08, 8:52, 0.80, 3%, Easy (4th lowest median solve time of 123 Tuesdays)<br />Wed 10:10, 11:49, 0.86, 21%, Easy-Medium<br />Thu 12:01, 19:04, 0.63, 2%, Easy (2nd lowest median solve time of 124 Thursdays)<br />Fri 20:10, 25:40, 0.79, 14%, Easy<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:35, 3:40, 0.98, 44%, Medium<br />Tue 3:55, 4:34, 0.86, 7%, Easy (9th lowest median solve time of 123 Tuesdays)<br />Wed 5:29, 5:51, 0.94, 37%, Easy-Medium<br />Thu 6:21, 9:19, 0.68, 4%, Easy (5th lowest median solve time of 124 Thursdays)<br />Fri 9:36, 12:41, 0.76, 13%, Easy<br /><br />@mac ... there's one Canadian team and about a quarter of the players are from Latin America, but your point is well taken. We Americans are just a tad ethnocentric, aren't we?sanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-75371600174571846272011-10-28T18:57:44.572-04:002011-10-28T18:57:44.572-04:00Struggled with this one, mostly in the middle, alt...Struggled with this one, mostly in the middle, although failing to trust my first instinct on SOCIALDARWINISM slowed me down in the north. <br /><br />Taking the PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE means the opposite if taking the ideal path, so I did not like that clue. <br /><br />Also, I think that "transvestite" is the term for cross-dressers, i.e. males who like to dress as women but go through life in the male gender role. I understand transgender to mean, as noted by @glimmerglass and @Tim C, someone who identifies as the gender opposite of his/her biological birth gender. So, to me, the clue is just wrong.<br /><br />However, neither of these were the reasons I struggled.Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-36752313069838551702011-10-28T18:09:44.593-04:002011-10-28T18:09:44.593-04:00It always baffles me when they call it World Serie...It always baffles me when they call it World Series and there are only American teams.<br /><br />Loved the Tracey Ullman clip!! <br /><br />RI Squasher: a bean is a head or a tete if French is required.machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45689904397035505492011-10-28T17:07:52.201-04:002011-10-28T17:07:52.201-04:00My second day commenting and my post got eaten. O...My second day commenting and my post got eaten. Oh well I guess that happens.<br /><br />Today was my second Friday attempt and when I saw all the really long answers I knew it would be tough for me. The first one I got was ACME CORPORATION but the rest was tough and I ended up quitting with about 1/3 filled. I felt like I was close to getting a bunch of the others but I just couldn't quite crack them.<br /><br />I'm a big sports fan so HAGEN and SLOAN were pretty easy but as a huge Rangers fan I'm ashamed to admit I didn't get 33A. <br /><br />College art history classes helped me get SEAGRAM but didn't help with MYRON.<br /><br />Why is BEAN the answer for 22A?<br /><br />Watched the baseball game with my 16 year old son last night, we couldn't believe what we were seeing. Not the most crisply played game but you can't beat that kind of drama. My squash opponent today told me he watched a few innings of the game. I told him I couldn't believe that in the 9th and 10th the Rangers were one strike away from winning the World Series and he said, "That was the World Series? I didn't know." He's Canadian so I guess he can be excused for not following our national pastime.RI Squashernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-29355177339831079102011-10-28T17:01:25.700-04:002011-10-28T17:01:25.700-04:00I saw a threatening mutant Jack-o-Lantern face in ...I saw a threatening mutant Jack-o-Lantern face in the grid, fitting for this week.<br /><br />Speaking philosophically, I do not think an ideal path would be one of LEAST RESISTANCE.<br /><br />I liked this puzzle a lot, although it took me quite a while and I was unsure of the OROZCO EZRa cross. A very satisfying solve; I am glad I have decided to do late week puzzles on paper.<br /><br />Writeovers: TRACie, ANTIwar, DREi, IPSo, SAgER, SAnER, and worst of all, a mis-spelled rUhbarb before CURRANT. Speaking of pie, now a piece of sour cream raisin sounds awfully good.<br /><br />Always interesting how different our knowledge bases are. NORM was a gimme for me, and BERSERK popped into my head on the first pass, immediately confirmed by K-TEL.<br /><br />A RUN FOR "THE" MONEY sounds best to me. We used to chant this ditty on the school yard:<br /><br />One for the money<br />Two for the show<br />Three to get ready<br />And four to go.<br /><br />Thank you for posting the Wilfred Owen poem, @Rex, it meshes well with the clue "pacific." Now, it would be about IED's instead of gas.<br /><br />Tonight, I will watch the Cards win the series in honor of my Gramps, who was a life-long Cardinals fan where ever he lived. Woe to me if I interrupted him while he was listening to a game on the radio. Plus, I am from the other side of the state (MO), and hatin' on Texas is an old family tradition.CoffeeLvrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16473192190412844538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-62934655022024467672011-10-28T16:28:52.208-04:002011-10-28T16:28:52.208-04:00It is common in Biblical apologetics and criticism...It is common in Biblical apologetics and criticism to abbreviate all the books to three letters. Yes, they refer to <i>Ezra</i> as <i>Ezr</i>. Complaining that it's ridiculous is pointless: it's in the language, and that's all that matters.<br /><br />For your edification, here is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SljSnBdNCVM" rel="nofollow">Hopalong Casualty</a>, the episode where Coyote tricks the Road Runner into eating the ACME earthquake pills. First appearance of the pills is at 2:55. (And at 0:36, there is also a shout-out to REX.)william e embanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-62765662498589626182011-10-28T16:05:00.185-04:002011-10-28T16:05:00.185-04:00Loved the Tracey Ullman clip, Rex. She really nai...Loved the Tracey Ullman clip, Rex. She really nails Rachel Madow.<br /><br />Like several others, for me it was bottom, top, middle, and it may be the first Friday I've completed without a single Google, and it felt like fun. <br /><br />About a month ago, Rex totally changed my attitude toward the stacked long answers, saying how much he loves them, because with a few of the crossing answers, the big answers have a way of coming. I used to be intimidated by puzzles like this, and now I look forward to them.<br /><br />Thanks Tim!Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09709142959535977331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-37337884853834688442011-10-28T16:01:08.517-04:002011-10-28T16:01:08.517-04:00Midday report of relative difficulty (see my 8/1/2...Midday report of relative difficulty (see my 8/1/2009 post for an explanation of my method):<br /><br />All solvers (median solve time, average for day of week, ratio, percentile, rating)<br /><br />Fri 19:54, 25:40, 0.78, 14%, Easy<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Fri 9:58, 12:42, 0.79, 17%, Easysanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-43237377919563757292011-10-28T15:15:00.595-04:002011-10-28T15:15:00.595-04:00@Chip Hilton: a valiant effort on your part! You...@Chip Hilton: a valiant effort on your part! You rightly lay out the reasons why the game was very exciting. <br /><br />But, to take just one example, compare it with Game 6 in 1975: all of the ups and downs, but no errors. And today several players from that game are in the hall of fame. At least one more should be, but isn't. <br /><br />And last night? Nobody but Pujols will be in Cooperstown. <br /><br />It was exciting. But that's all it was.archaeoprofhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17956231727789223463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-16832309654967476402011-10-28T15:12:48.129-04:002011-10-28T15:12:48.129-04:00@LR: Guess I'm just a forgiving person. I agre...@LR: Guess I'm just a forgiving person. I agree EZR is a pretty bad abbreviation for Ezra, but I can tolerate it when I get all those interesting 15's, to say nothing of the 13's, 11's, etc.Mel Ottnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26278420528542170252011-10-28T15:08:10.091-04:002011-10-28T15:08:10.091-04:00@archaeoprof: I agree with Chip Hilton. The firs...@archaeoprof: I agree with Chip Hilton. The first six innings were an error-prone mess -- bad baseball at its best. But the miraculous thing about it is that the teams emerged tied from that sloppiness and then gave us five more innings ... of good baseball at its best.Matthew G.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07957320012395569238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50095045330699852262011-10-28T15:01:00.504-04:002011-10-28T15:01:00.504-04:00Had to get a ways down to find someone who knew th...Had to get a ways down to find someone who knew this was secretly a puzzle about the World Series. But where is the Cardinals love? Where is it, I ask!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-19365067978562916992011-10-28T14:53:49.346-04:002011-10-28T14:53:49.346-04:00@archaeoprof: The errors were a part of the perfec...@archaeoprof: The errors were a part of the perfect symmetry of last night's game. Consider: Act One: innings 1-3. Solid, back and forth build up. Act Two: innings 4-6. Comedic interlude. A chance to relax for a bit and have a giggle. Act Three: innings 7-9. Incredible intensity culminating in the game-tying triple. But wait. There's more! A two inning encore in which the player whose life is a soap opera (Hamilton) becomes the hero only to have it snatched away by The Home Town Kid (Freese). If you wrote this stuff, they'd say too far-fetched.<br /><br />I enjoyed today's puzzle (Way over 6 for me!). Weren't DECOCT and SLOAN recently featured? I too had Lucas for SLOAN at first and Orosco for OROZCO at the end.Chip Hiltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11944056030047563287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-41014643661834575592011-10-28T14:46:25.532-04:002011-10-28T14:46:25.532-04:00Good puzzle. Go Cards!Good puzzle. Go Cards!TimJimnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-1031738050876784792011-10-28T14:17:06.895-04:002011-10-28T14:17:06.895-04:00Really enjoyed those wide stacks today. Fun, fun,...Really enjoyed those wide stacks today. Fun, fun, fun.<br /><br />@Evil: have a Gold Star 3-way, you'll feel much better.<br /><br />I totally disagree about last night's game. Too many errors and elementary mistakes. Exciting, yes. Great? Not even close.archaeoprofhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17956231727789223463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-59606890087879671742011-10-28T14:14:56.685-04:002011-10-28T14:14:56.685-04:00@Mel Ott said...
Wonderful puzzle! So much go...@Mel Ott said...<br /><br /> Wonderful puzzle! So much good stuff I can forgive an occasional EZR.<br /><br />---<br /><br />Sorry, Mel, EZR. as an abbreviation for "Ezra" is unforgivable under any circumstances. The editor must have been asleep or desperate.LRnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-90030505628613632872011-10-28T13:39:03.453-04:002011-10-28T13:39:03.453-04:00Hey Evil, you don't sound so evil. I like that...Hey Evil, you don't sound so evil. I like that you know Teri Polo,an actress I first saw on "Felicity".<br />To tell the truth, I was really wishing to win that book...sorry we both didn't!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com