tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post6910953525487106447..comments2024-03-29T11:24:03.304-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Ab follower / SAT 6-16-12 / Brown drawer / New circulator in 2002 / Youngest member of 1990s girl group / About whom Obama said He is jackass But he's talented / Preprandial performance / Natural Bridges State park locale / Like anatomical anvilsRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger80125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-47315546284238892122012-11-05T05:12:10.721-05:002012-11-05T05:12:10.721-05:00I think it is also the etymology for the thing tha...I think it is also the etymology for the thing that hangs on the neck, holds up boobage and bears arms. <br /><a href="http://www.onlinexcasinos.com" rel="nofollow">new casino players</a>xcasinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06892277028481394592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-69686205699521653932012-07-22T10:04:43.312-04:002012-07-22T10:04:43.312-04:00Doh ... Salts=Sailers ... MARITIME ... I get it.Doh ... Salts=Sailers ... MARITIME ... I get it.Jennifer in CAnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-73685305488713316512012-07-22T02:59:55.366-04:002012-07-22T02:59:55.366-04:00I think this is my first completed Saturday ever! ...I think this is my first completed Saturday ever! HTG only twice and had ZONeS for ZONKS. But otherwise a successful NYT Xword day. NW almost stumped me till I fixed kittYCATS. I'm not sure all salts are MARITIME, and I thought there are "rules" against 57A TEAMED and 33D "All-century team member." But I loved the clues for 19A (Les Mise'rables feature) and 33A (Brown drawer). Brilliant! Almost midnight on the West Coast so I'm sure I'm the last poster of the day. For a week that began weakly, it finished with a bang!Jennifer in CAnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80642011754729976742012-07-21T18:10:07.939-04:002012-07-21T18:10:07.939-04:00Too hard for me without Google help. Clues go beyo...Too hard for me without Google help. Clues go beyond the pale to BEFOG--er, I mean, BEDIM my brain. Really? You can actually use a homonym just to obfuscate? HALTERS do not, in any manner, bear arms. They don't even bare them; they simply don't cover them. The wearer can be said to bare (her) arms by choosing to wear a halter, and that's it. If I were a clue striker on a picket line, my sign would read "UNFAIR!"<br /><br />"Brown drawer?" You don't want to know the image THAT brought (think: "shart")! But right below it, "Puts some black lines on" just makes no sense. LINES? What lines? Oh, you mean, if you have a burger on the grate, I guess. That word is just awful in that clue. CHARring has nothing to do with lines.<br /><br />And, I'm awfully sorry, my Jewish friends (and I DO have some!), but I can't stand the names of your months. Cripes, it's easier to say "months" than most of yours. If I could, I'd banish them all, right along with Roman numerals, as far as crossword appearance goes.<br /><br />Had to look up SANTACRUZ, POSADA, and KANYEWEST, whose description I would end with the word "jackass." Also had one error, forgetting to change ZONeS to ZONKS once MONE made no sense. I'm with @Evil (wow, never thought I'd see myself typing THAT!): Friday beat Saturday this week by a landslide.Spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-25440166341716531352012-07-21T17:41:47.824-04:002012-07-21T17:41:47.824-04:00I stopped considering the spelling of "bear&q...I stopped considering the spelling of "bear" (vs. bare) in the clue the moment HALTER went down. I spent a long time trying to get that HALTER down, and I wasn't about to ruin the moment by challenging the initial image that flashed in my mind.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-74381786634566638632012-07-21T15:02:17.946-04:002012-07-21T15:02:17.946-04:00Wallowed around this one for a while. Like @Smitt...Wallowed around this one for a while. Like @Smitty, found a lot of the clues were not in my wheelhouse. Wanted candle at 1A, California (wouldn't fit) at 5D before realizing San somewhere was wanted. And had to give up on Cal Tech. don't know ITT Tech. Really enjoyed all the challenges,and in the end, it all became, if not clear, at least worked out except for the MONK thing. I had "zoned", couldn't spell West's first name, and couldn't tell you what sport was related to the All Centuy Team, so came here to have all the bright people tell me why a mane was a father figure, sigh!DMGrandmanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80639609929112130502012-07-21T15:00:43.546-04:002012-07-21T15:00:43.546-04:00Halter TOPS my friends ... Halter Tops! A sleevele...Halter TOPS my friends ... Halter Tops! A sleeveless garment worn by women in the summer!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-75319726671402128382012-06-18T14:31:17.531-04:002012-06-18T14:31:17.531-04:00Which Norfolk is SSE of what Erie? If we are talki...Which Norfolk is SSE of what Erie? If we are talking Virginia and Pennsylvania , that a little far-fetched as there is absolutely no relationship between those 2 places. Or is this some English thing ...?<br /><br />(By the way, this "prove your not robot" horses*it is totally illegible! at least to my 66-yearold eyes.)BigSteve46noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91565418487370123432012-06-18T08:42:34.935-04:002012-06-18T08:42:34.935-04:00The term "preprandial" literally means &...The term "preprandial" literally means "before lunch...."<br /><br />Anyone go to the movies before lunch? I guess....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-58353173955850610402012-06-17T18:42:17.479-04:002012-06-17T18:42:17.479-04:00My first run at this yesterday (Saturday) evening ...My first run at this yesterday (Saturday) evening after work produced few answers, none of them right. This afternoon, after my older son left after visiting for Father's Day, I took the puzzle and a vodka and tonic out to the pool deck and started anew. By the time the VnT was finished the grid was about half done, so I went in to feed the dogs, refreshed the drink and took up where I left off.<br /><br />And I "got 'r done" as Larry the Cable Guy used to say - well, almost. BElIeS was just impossible to let go even though I knew the crosses made it wrong. So ultimately I just ZONed out and DNF. <br /><br />I hope all the dads had as happy a Father's Day as I did.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-17972967190447324502012-06-16T23:37:34.886-04:002012-06-16T23:37:34.886-04:00Strangely, I actually found this to be pretty easy...Strangely, I actually found this to be pretty easy for a Saturday, way easier than yesterday's offering -- maybe the NYT mixed them up by mistake? Like a few other other commenters, SOCIAL IQ was my first entry in the grid and it fell almost instantly -- it just made sense. POSADA/OTIC was the last one and it was a very tough cross but I was fortunate to get it right.<br /><br />I was lamenting the fact that last week, I would have broken my personal time record for solving a Saturday NYT puzzle perfectly, but one wrong answer caused that goal to come crashing down (I had the wrong world leader: STaLin when I wanted ST. OLAV -- and all of the crosses, though incorrect, were legit words). I thought that I'd never have that kind of speed on a Saturday again. But today, I smashed last week's solving time <b>and</b> finished with a perfect grid. So I'm feeling pretty good.<br /><br />@JaxInL.A.:<br /><br />I dunno, for some reason I've always done a little better on Barry Silk's puzzles compared to my performance with other constructors -- kind of the reverse experience of you. So I can definitely appreciate how one can click with some puzzle makers when solving their grids and be totally lost with others. It's also possible that I've been improving lately because I've been working through Nathan Last's "Word." The puzzles in that book have some very fresh answers and clues for the younger solvers out there, so they've forced me to think a little bit differently than would most other offerings in the NYT. Even the easy-rated puzzles in "Word." still feel pretty challenging because of their unique flavor.Evanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15440942981870183719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-680286860190389352012-06-16T22:52:05.362-04:002012-06-16T22:52:05.362-04:00As in: oh man, the suspense is killing me!As in: oh man, the suspense is killing me!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10135337816269084272012-06-16T21:36:58.184-04:002012-06-16T21:36:58.184-04:00Sorry, as I am usually cheerier about puzzles, but...Sorry, as I am usually cheerier about puzzles, but I found this one impenetrable. <br /><br />Too many needlessly obtuse clues, like cross-referencing a city with a random direction, and so many others noted here. I like the grid itself very much, nice and Scrabbly on reflection, but so many clues that were just off made this a real grrrrind for me. Maybe someday I will enjoy a Barry Silk puzzle but im afraid I just don't get them now.JaxInL.A.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13792405579998093081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91874245864287309842012-06-16T19:02:10.104-04:002012-06-16T19:02:10.104-04:00@Anon @ 11:16
In a thriller, the SUSPENSE is "...@Anon @ 11:16<br />In a thriller, the SUSPENSE is "killing me"! It is not killing the thriller, it is killing me.<br /><br />Clue confusion, esp on Saturday, is what we're all here for. You might not like the made-up definition for HALTER, but the bare/bear mixup is most typical.Titahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368251255494687496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-13428646559526747912012-06-16T18:53:49.951-04:002012-06-16T18:53:49.951-04:00A lot easier than Friday for me. But even after I ...A lot easier than Friday for me. But even after I finished I had no idea what elul was about. Had to google.<br /><br />Hardest thing about this puzzle is the captchamichaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-65637257669470336842012-06-16T18:14:41.600-04:002012-06-16T18:14:41.600-04:00@anonymous5:23 - Just in case you're wondering...@anonymous5:23 - Just in case you're wondering, I have an old English D on my welcome mat.Znoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-12928472824118098962012-06-16T18:12:01.226-04:002012-06-16T18:12:01.226-04:00@anonymous5:23 - Cobb, Waldorf, Maurice, Caesar, C...@anonymous5:23 - Cobb, Waldorf, Maurice, Caesar, Chef - they all made the all century salad days team. What's a Ty Cobb?<br /><br />@Lindsay and @babslesley - I bow to superior wonketry - and feel less bad about myself.<br /><br />It must be a nice day in Nice as it gets two puzzledom shout outs today.Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-88871326902208062532012-06-16T17:23:11.603-04:002012-06-16T17:23:11.603-04:00You're kidding about the lettuce team I assume...You're kidding about the lettuce team I assume. You did realize it was Ty Cobb?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-20848233857729463732012-06-16T17:22:06.542-04:002012-06-16T17:22:06.542-04:00Dear Rex,
Your confession might be good for your ...Dear Rex,<br /><br />Your confession might be good for your soul but is not convincing to me. Allow me to give you a better example of stupid. Unlike you, I had the two Ps but not the I. I finally had the I when I filled in MARITIME. Even then I did not understand what a PIP had to do with a spot in casinos. So I looked up PIP in Dictionary.com and just as I was starting to read the definition it dawned on me that I knew PIP was what they called one of those dots on a die and I made the connection. Now that is what I call being stupid.<br /><br />But I also looked up stupid and saw this wonderful sentence as an example of stupid:<br /><br />“Right now there are a lot of stupid people in this world and it is not us. “<br /><br />JFCAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8035655722553511232012-06-16T16:46:06.295-04:002012-06-16T16:46:06.295-04:00@anon 1:44pm:
Indeed, let's all throw out our...@anon 1:44pm:<br /><br />Indeed, let's all throw out our dictionaries and go with random search engine results as guides to language.<br /><br />The future is so bright …Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-75687888106899357082012-06-16T16:13:03.649-04:002012-06-16T16:13:03.649-04:00Late today - had to take some folks for a boat rid...Late today - had to take some folks for a boat ride. Great day out there today.<br /><br />Some churches have masses. Many have organs. Some have both, as well as patens, wafers, and a host of other pluralized 5-letter things. How any of this connects to "merchandise" I have no idea.<br /><br />In my experience all MONKs are brothers, and some of them are also priests. One of my best friends is a priest, but everyone in his order uses the title "brother".<br /><br />For me Don Diego started out as EL CID, morphed to CISCO when QUIZNOS showed itself, and ended up as ZORRO.<br /><br />I was ready to go on a tirade about bear/bare arms, but I accept @Evil's point about sentries = HALTERS.Mel Ottnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-59587410652782171732012-06-16T15:39:57.307-04:002012-06-16T15:39:57.307-04:00Only a gimme if you spelled kanye correctly. That ...Only a gimme if you spelled kanye correctly. That cost me a half hour. Other than that jete and halter were reaches but there are always reaches on Saturday, it was funAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-84944004938285654942012-06-16T15:09:51.377-04:002012-06-16T15:09:51.377-04:00As between Friday’s Dr. Diehl and Saturday’s Barry...As between Friday’s Dr. Diehl and Saturday’s Barry Silk it’s a coin flip as to which puzzle was more deserving of the Saturday slot. I’ll take the politic route and claim the coin landed against a chair and it’s a leaner, a tie.<br /><br />There’s nothing like a 9 letter gimme (KANYEWEST) to get things started today, especially when it creates new gimmes in amoeba-like fashion for CANE, ELAINE, KOPEKS and TEAMED.<br /><br />The biggest snarl for me was self-induced at 34 down in trying to get a jump on an answer I didn’t know for “Breaks”, but was keen on assuming it ended in UP. Well, that got me PRETENSE for 56 across and it also made solving miserable until I conceded that there was no way that even Martin could (or would) justify PRETENSE as a “Thriller killer?”. <br /><br />Nice cluing to give us MATINEE, SCHISMS, SUSPENSE, MAIL and the clue “Brown drawer” for Charlie’s SCHULZ was brilliant, Silk spinning at his finest . <br /><br />In the negatives, no love for the “Arms” clues at 3 down and 36 down, (maybe the clues were accidentally switched), and also had to get “Big Chilean export” from the crosses since their main export to my household each winter is not LITHIUM but blueberries. <br /><br />Nice way to end the week!jackjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02699305265544975575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46592984761043556832012-06-16T15:04:46.293-04:002012-06-16T15:04:46.293-04:00Silk operates in gigahertz -- I top out in the hig...Silk operates in gigahertz -- I top out in the high megahertz. Halters, indeed.<br />Elul indeed. Grumble.DigitalDanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11620300502981292088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-82212890867568644062012-06-16T15:04:12.672-04:002012-06-16T15:04:12.672-04:00There's a QUIZNO'S right downtown SANTA CR...There's a QUIZNO'S right downtown SANTA CRUZ, so I had two major toeholds immediately. And for some reason any guess I make on a Barry Silk puzzle turns out to be the correct one. Except for CAL TECH ... . There are other well-known constructors whose wavelength I can find with some effort, but the Silk ones are usually in complete harmony. This one went down in about a third of how long yesterday's took. That had so much discord that I even looked up Coulrophobe in the dictionary -- but it wasn't there. I guess that's not cheating, yet there's sin in the heart.fergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.com