tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post7130338631300086521..comments2024-03-29T10:29:48.789-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: El Amazonas, e.g. / SUN 3-8-15 / Subject of a prophecy in Genesis / Israeli diet / English author Blyton / One end of the hotline / Betide / Beast imagined in "Beasts of the Southern Wild" / Smith of "Downton Abbey"Rex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger112125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46474818690631841312015-03-17T01:58:46.036-04:002015-03-17T01:58:46.036-04:00Thanks, Burma Shave, that was smoooth.Thanks, Burma Shave, that was smoooth.Bill Boardnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-19052792259170088242015-03-15T22:32:57.043-04:002015-03-15T22:32:57.043-04:00My solving this was PITTiful! I won't become a...My solving this was PITTiful! I won't become an egomaniac after this Sunday for sure.<br />I feel like a hare's PITToot after getting the rebus. I was befogged and proceeded with angst. Adding the tts across was a crapshoot for me, at best. I'm irritable, I know I've been checked and that's the PITTs! Seriously though to say tt looks like pi is a stretch!<br />I kind of look like Cameron Diaz with tits, but Brad Pitt wouldn't tout me!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56538890336481872822015-03-15T17:12:36.073-04:002015-03-15T17:12:36.073-04:00Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), o...Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), opposed the Protestant Reformation, in particular the theology of Martin Luther and William Tyndale. He also wrote Utopia, published in 1516, about the political system of an ideal and imaginary island nation. More opposed the King's separation from the Catholic Church, refusing to accept him as Supreme Head of the Church of England, and what he saw as Henry's bigamous marriage to Anne Boleyn. Tried for treason, More was convicted and beheaded.<br /><br />More worknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67223390239578161132015-03-15T16:26:32.947-04:002015-03-15T16:26:32.947-04:00Me too! The only thing I don't get is why utop...Me too! The only thing I don't get is why utopia is more work. Devon Hanahanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04478667110376633647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-55479442627672955812015-03-15T14:16:55.540-04:002015-03-15T14:16:55.540-04:00COMINGS
I’m IRRITABLE with my DATE,
she has LETHA...COMINGS<br /><br />I’m IRRITABLE with my DATE,<br />she has LETHAL EGOMANIA.<br />Many GUILTRIPS for me AWAIT,<br />HOWIWISH there’d be UTOPIA.<br /><br />And ICOULDCALCULATE<br />how many TIMES I was LYINGON her,<br />STILLER ANGST I could not SATE.<br />I tried to PLAYER, but nearly RECTOR.<br /><br />--- MAGGIE AUGURS NELSON<br />Burma Shavenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-38343298264965350702015-03-15T14:07:34.041-04:002015-03-15T14:07:34.041-04:00Didn't feel the same love as so many for this ...Didn't feel the same love as so many for this puz.Probably because of all thos 3s, and a stack of 5 of them in the PI FILLING. And a shipload of 3s across the top. Buzzkill.<br /><br />Our office full of engineers celebrated with pie on Thursday. I had small slices of lemon, apple-cherry, peach and blueberry.Yum.<br /><br />BEFOG. Huh. Agree with @Spacey re: AUTO YARD. That's junk, actually.<br /><br />Not much more to say. Happy Ides!<br /><br /><br />rondonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-30162896758414390512015-03-15T11:50:11.898-04:002015-03-15T11:50:11.898-04:00Love @LMS's pinch-hitting grid. Perfect! Today...Love @LMS's pinch-hitting grid. Perfect! Today is an anomaly in that for us syndilanders, it appeared the day after PI day: the ides of March. Why it was published real-time on the 8th is a whole nother puzzle.<br /><br />I enjoyed this one; it was chock full of , well, PI FILLING. Not too easy but not too tough, either; I'd say between medium and medium-challenging.<br /><br />Started, actually, with the FILLING in the middle. Went astray, quite understandably, with junk instead of AUTO YARD. Who says "Auto yard?" Answer: nobody. It's a junkyard, you dog. Let's pop the hankie out for that one. Auto yard. Terrible.<br /><br />I had no idea about a mnemonic for a string of numbers (?), not even getting the concept for a while. The first part I got was in the east: PIEASILY. Huh? So then I PROCEEDed to the west wing (great show!) and found HOWIWISH. Then's when it hit me. 3.14. We're supposed to count the letters in each word of the mnemonic. 91 across!<br /><br />My next venture was to the SW, where I had everything filled in except the rebus square. Pretty hard not to get what was going on after that!<br /><br />Last to go was the entire north. I met resistance all along, finding a way in. It certainly didn't help that I tried IRasciBLE where IRRITABLE belonged, but eventually I got in by OSMOSIS, found two more delicious pieces of PI, and was done.<br /><br />Another thing that (almost) no one says is 47 down. The lone exception is a great moment in classic film:<br /><br />CAPTAIN (James Caney): [screaming] Who threw my palm tree overboard?<br /><br />ENSIGN PULVER (Jack Lemmon): ITISI, Ensign Pulver! Now what's all this crud about no movie tonight?<br /><br />Thus ends the hilarious "Mister Roberts." spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-5966069516999006432015-03-11T03:28:23.374-04:002015-03-11T03:28:23.374-04:00I've seen ERUCTation in print, a few times. B...I've seen ERUCTation in print, a few times. By the way, if you want to be totally humbled about your meager vocabulary, read The Magus by John Fowles. I'm a big reader and an English Lit grad, but that novel contains several hundred words I don't know. (Didn't think it was a very good story, actually, but the vocab was amazing).<br /><br />I just found out, by googling, that many (classier?) junk yards use AUTOYARD in their name. paulsfohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07721639286466422944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-35453262967188089922015-03-10T08:01:36.358-04:002015-03-10T08:01:36.358-04:00".. but nary a rapper. Hope you enjoy it!&quo...".. but nary a rapper. Hope you enjoy it!"<br /><br />Do you have any idea how this makes you sound? It's like one of those radio stations that advertise "all the soft hits, none of the rap!"<br /><br />I'm not saying everyone has to like it, or that you should be forced to have clues referring to hip-hop, but as a fan of both puzzles and hip-hop, I appreciate the occasional nod to my experience growing up. If you have a non-inclusionary approach to puzzles where you think the solver should share your knowledge of Frank Sinatra or something, that's fine, but I'm totally judging you for it. There is no "default setting" when it comes to people's experiences.mortality piehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17618281765289020978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-21625968981810625292015-03-10T04:46:28.899-04:002015-03-10T04:46:28.899-04:00@Carole Brown, whichever square the cursor is on w...@Carole Brown, whichever square the cursor is on will be red. In the completed grid, the red square is the last one filled.Leapfingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14243620614139990887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-21648379716953252692015-03-09T20:27:28.000-04:002015-03-09T20:27:28.000-04:00I did well enough. Learned the hard way that aug...I did well enough. Learned the hard way that augur has two "Us" and that it was Tokyo Bay that Admiral Perry visited in 1853. (Now I'm ready the next time that comes up in conversation.)<br /> My question, however: Why is the "F" of FILLING in red in the completed puzzle above????Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16424805390729551710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-79028146134329276822015-03-09T18:37:17.405-04:002015-03-09T18:37:17.405-04:00those who read "A Confederacy of Dunces"...those who read "A Confederacy of Dunces" should have had no trouble with ERUCT - it is the only other time I've ever seen it in print.mtnmattnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-62070402193096351182015-03-09T14:26:52.172-04:002015-03-09T14:26:52.172-04:00Thomas More wrote "Utopia."Thomas More wrote "Utopia."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-48514055603011833972015-03-09T14:06:59.959-04:002015-03-09T14:06:59.959-04:00@Anon 11:33 - The number of letters in the words i...@Anon 11:33 - The number of letters in the words in the mnemonic translates to pi. <br /><br />HOW I WISH I COULD CALCULATE PI EASILY gives you <br />3 1 4 1 5 9 2 6, pi =3.1414926Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-87096016418610133192015-03-09T11:33:35.874-04:002015-03-09T11:33:35.874-04:00Could someone please explain to me simply the mnem...Could someone please explain to me simply the mnemonic, because even after reading your comments I still don't understand how the words equal the numbers. Nice puzzle, no googling required. Nobody answered Puzzle Girl's query about "666", which was a gimme for me: during the Christian era in this country, who would have wanted wanted their Social Security Number to begin with the number of the Antichrist -- see the Wikipedia article entitled "Number of the beast" for an explanation.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-54275711188338741392015-03-09T09:59:47.921-04:002015-03-09T09:59:47.921-04:00Almost forgot - THANKS Puzzle Girl and again THANK...Almost forgot - THANKS Puzzle Girl and again THANKS 'mericans In Paris.Hughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02534114117788875905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-58741830702735205782015-03-09T09:57:55.757-04:002015-03-09T09:57:55.757-04:00Spent a LONG time not liking this as I was thinkin...Spent a LONG time not liking this as I was thinking all this just for a an unknown (to me) mnemonic for the first handful of digits for Pi. Finally got the rebus at 23A and 26A almost simultaneously (ROTTEN EGG and MAD HATTER). I knew it would be "pi" going down but took me the longest time to get TYPICALLY and RAPID FIRE (really liked that one).<br /><br />The others fell pretty quickly after I got it - I know there were a lot of question on 105D (UTOPIA) but thought the cluing was very clever there.<br /><br />Also liked:<br /><br />74A - "I Strain" - EGOMANIA<br />29A - Yes, GUILT TRIPS is a verb :o)<br /><br />Like a couple of others had KNISHES before KNESSET.<br /><br />ERUCT?????<br /><br />Not bad not great but enjoyable once I got it.<br /><br />Hughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02534114117788875905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-49778252744230649682015-03-09T09:18:14.305-04:002015-03-09T09:18:14.305-04:00Thankyou for that. I had no idea.Thankyou for that. I had no idea.Mary Rosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17296752281744690831noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91271130704591450652015-03-09T04:04:12.166-04:002015-03-09T04:04:12.166-04:00Enjoyed mneny of the blog contributions today. Aft...Enjoyed mneny of the blog contributions today. After reading same, would suggest that some put their mneney where their mouth is.<br /><br />Just a cashual suggestion.<br /><br />Cseri Pajnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-25972466986049503732015-03-09T00:44:29.426-04:002015-03-09T00:44:29.426-04:00Loved! My birthday is PI dayLoved! My birthday is PI dayElle54noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-84534037940872131672015-03-08T23:52:52.167-04:002015-03-08T23:52:52.167-04:00P.S. Did anybody here already note the nice touch ...P.S. Did anybody here already note the nice touch that the puzzle's title "3.1415926..." gives exactly as many digits as the mnemonic?<br /><br />—NDE<br />Noam D. Elkiesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-78321161008293104552015-03-08T23:21:11.840-04:002015-03-08T23:21:11.840-04:00Just barely squeaking under the wire today, but I ...Just barely squeaking under the wire today, but I wanted to say I loved this Sunday puzzle so much. As great puzzles go, this was the real McCoy!Hartley70https://www.blogger.com/profile/00557118655188472450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-55535612631081412432015-03-08T22:59:26.872-04:002015-03-08T22:59:26.872-04:00That was a very enjoyable multi-layered π; thanks ...That was a very enjoyable multi-layered π; thanks to McCoy & Shortz!<br /><br />Thanks for the review too. One comment that hasn't been made yet is that the FITB clue for 43A:THERE'S shouldn't contain THAR, since that's a form of THERE; the other alternatives are fine, but I had no complaints about the actual "______ no doubt" either.<br /><br />Since the natural Sunday for this puzzle would have been March 15 (so subscribers would get the puzzle on π Day itself), does this mean we have an Ides of March theme to look forward to next week? (Maybe the theme entries will be in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesar_cipher" rel="nofollow">Caesar cipher</a>?<br /><br />—NΔENoam D. Elkiesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-40775134622325184832015-03-08T21:05:26.445-04:002015-03-08T21:05:26.445-04:00It was 75 and beach weather in the bay area today....It was 75 and beach weather in the bay area today... Beach Weather! <br /><br />I had the TT part long before I realized the second part of the rebus... Since it took me a while to get, I considered it a clever ploy and decided to like it. Fun little bit of sunday crosswordese.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04874185559549923884noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8170246401702161572015-03-08T19:28:04.334-04:002015-03-08T19:28:04.334-04:00omg - Halley - Hayley - PI - it's all connecte...omg - Halley - Hayley - PI - it's all connected!!Titahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368251255494687496noreply@blogger.com