tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post7160467391126147572..comments2024-03-28T12:40:30.397-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: George who was first president of A.F.L.-C.I.O. / MON 5-10-10 / 2006 boorish film character from Kzakhstan /Rex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger81125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-5832165770383696582010-05-11T18:58:23.712-04:002010-05-11T18:58:23.712-04:00I've been enjoying this blog for weeks, and ju...I've been enjoying this blog for weeks, and just noticed the comments section. <br />I see you are much younger than I am... you don't seem to know, as everyone my age probably does, that Schnozzola was the epithet of Jimmy Durante, "The Nose."BASSTUBAnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-40066592931803622812010-05-11T01:09:18.023-04:002010-05-11T01:09:18.023-04:00@lit.doc-
I have a similar position on Googling. ...@lit.doc-<br /><br />I have a similar position on Googling. I do not Google to get an answer; I only Google after the fact - to "cofirm and learn", so to speak.<br /><br />I don't think there is an official position on the subject of Googling. When I was a young solver in the late 50s and early 60s, I haunted dictionaries, encyclopediae, our family's rather impressive library, and any other source material available to me to solve the puzzles.<br /><br />I don't think to Google is to cheat at all, If you don't know an answer and have to look it up, more power to you. Anything to increase your knowledge!edith bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12048817959846956992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-73926395719739080792010-05-11T00:01:19.083-04:002010-05-11T00:01:19.083-04:00This week's relative difficulty ratings. See m...This week's relative difficulty ratings. See my <a href="https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=35115061&postID=3588389571383499624&isPopup=true" rel="nofollow">7/30/2009 post</a> 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 7:30, 6:55, 1.08, 73%, Medium-Challenging<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 4:10, 3:41, 1.13, 82%, Challengingsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-58406292542879160412010-05-10T23:19:11.927-04:002010-05-10T23:19:11.927-04:00@sanfranman59, thank you for mentioning the death ...@sanfranman59, thank you for mentioning the death of Lynn Redgrave -- I'd missed that news, very sad. i adored her in "Georgy Girl" years ago, and was sorry she didn't get the Oscar for that role though she was nominated. Ironically, she was up against her sister Vanessa as well as Elizabeth Taylor, but Liz won...<br /><br />∑;(ArtLvrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03869528391374878601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-4587059483040029192010-05-10T22:48:16.404-04:002010-05-10T22:48:16.404-04:00Hey @Lit.doc
@deerfencer here thinks we should ha...Hey @Lit.doc <br />@deerfencer here thinks we should have a stiff drink and relax.<br /><br />Well ... I will drink to that, Cheers!Tinbenihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14661395078047234853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-84935565887628983682010-05-10T22:28:21.228-04:002010-05-10T22:28:21.228-04:00You guys are really pretty amusing.
-Stan, in Roc...You guys are really pretty amusing.<br /><br />-Stan, in RochesterLong-time commenter, first-time lurker.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8744881143515910272010-05-10T22:26:10.192-04:002010-05-10T22:26:10.192-04:00The fact that SMAZE showed up in the OED in 1952 p...The fact that SMAZE showed up in the OED in 1952 puts this matter to rest IMO (Thanks Martin). The crotchety crowd needs to take a stiff drink and relax. <br /><br />Kudos to RS for a great Monday puzzle!deerfencerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05185773504451380520noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-2773874313274501702010-05-10T22:20:55.385-04:002010-05-10T22:20:55.385-04:00@Sfingi, your philosophical question is a good one...@Sfingi, your philosophical question is a good one. Here's my current totally chickenshit stance on it. If I check an answer for comfort and I'm right, I didn't google for the answer. The first time I check one and I'm wrong, I consider myself to have googled.lit.dochttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06729199575329286046noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-59165492392118912372010-05-10T21:54:28.056-04:002010-05-10T21:54:28.056-04:00@sfingi
Well heat does cause problems.
First off,...@sfingi<br />Well heat does cause problems.<br /><br />First off, in the summer it's HOT. Hot like I am getting my preview to Dante's Inferno HOT!<br />Where folks up North rarely open there windows in the winter, here "BY LAW" they are sealed from June 1st until Sept.15th. <br />Without A/C, Florida would probably have the population of Alaska.<br />It's why we like the beach way too much, skin cancer be damned!<br /><br />And I consider myself to be an "exceptional" crazy and lazy person ...Tinbenihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14661395078047234853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-82381395618335722522010-05-10T21:36:56.872-04:002010-05-10T21:36:56.872-04:00@Steve J -- if you lived in Los Angeles in the 200...@Steve J -- if you lived in Los Angeles in the 2000s you missed the Golden Age of smog and smaze, before the govt got serious about regulating air quality.<br /><br />Back when certain people were in elementary school and junior high school in the 1960s, there were many days in which the government issued Stage 1 Smog Alerts that banned outdoor activity by children. <br /><br />Here's how bad it was: Back then, a Stage 1 smog alert was issued when airborne particulate matter hit 1 part per million. Today that would be the cause of a Stage 3 alert, which would cause the government to declare a stage of emergency! ... Current Stage 1 smog alerts are announced when the air hits 0.2 ppm.<br /><br />The first genuine advancement to improve the air in cities like L.A. and Denver was an EPA rule in 1975 requiring catalytic converters on cars to reduce toxic tailpipe emissions.Falconernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-20508643711238894002010-05-10T21:06:11.995-04:002010-05-10T21:06:11.995-04:00@Jesser - KP used to mean Kitchen Police in the ar...@Jesser - KP used to mean Kitchen Police in the army. Everything is Police or Policing. Policing the perimeter could mean picking up debris. And whenever I hear potato, I think Dan Quayle since he couldn't spell it. That's all. I kind of live in a stream of consciousness. This happens to some oldsters. It's just like being on weed.<br /><br />@CrazyCat - I didn't explain because I did that once before. Well, you wash 'em, hang 'em in the window, where they apparently absorb the acidic air. You put them on and are ok until you sit down in the subway - then - right across the knee. No one wears 'em anymore, which is a blessing. No one wears skirts anymore!<br /><br />@Michael - all young entertainers (the ones who call themselves "artists") new movies, reality tv, all hip hop because it has no melody, no other reason. That's a start for what oldsters don't know.<br />As far as SMAZE, that's geography. So you learn a new one. I just have the philosophical question - if you get the word and Google it after to be sure, does that count as a Google?<br /><br />@Tinbeni - heat makes people crazy and lazy. (You're an exception, of course!)<br /><br />@Steve - here's a great Toile (Pr. twall). <a href="http://visualingual.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/harlem-toile.jpg?w=500" rel="nofollow">Harlem Toile</a>Sfinginoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-71478302427652408452010-05-10T20:44:01.162-04:002010-05-10T20:44:01.162-04:00Oh, wow, thank you @Andrea Smize Michaels for the ...Oh, wow, thank you @Andrea Smize Michaels for the heads up on Will Shortz being on "How I Met Your Mother." I came here right when the show was coming on and left to watch. How much fun to see our editor "acting." I think he was great, obviously just being himself. He was referred to more than once as being the Editor of the New York Times. Very cool.johohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12708487230515532492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-60594291510584852892010-05-10T20:25:02.441-04:002010-05-10T20:25:02.441-04:00Will Shortz has a pretty large part on "How I...Will Shortz has a pretty large part on "How I met your Mother" this evening. He is even singing! <br />Now I will go back to reading the comments.....machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-35091533122519678232010-05-10T19:49:59.965-04:002010-05-10T19:49:59.965-04:00@Tinbeni - It's true that LA does have more th...@Tinbeni - It's true that LA does have more than it's fair share of KOOKS. I had WACKS before KOOKS.<br />@Glitch Whatever.... : )CrazyCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00245025301434920905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-32776344542095525792010-05-10T19:31:01.114-04:002010-05-10T19:31:01.114-04:00It might be interesting to see which particular cl...It might be interesting to see which particular clue-answer combinations are particularly hard and particularly easy for different age groups. Some (such as George Meany) might be obvious [no problem here!], but my guess that others would be less easy to guess.<br /><br /> Seems that smaze is not an answer for which age makes much difference. But apparently geographical location isn't a much better predictor. It had to be right (and I should have figured out its origins), but I just looked at it and was befuddled/confused/astonished. On a Monday!?michaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61987002679595295292010-05-10T19:24:45.742-04:002010-05-10T19:24:45.742-04:00To all the Angelinos who never heard of SMAZE:
Wh...To all the Angelinos who never heard of SMAZE:<br /><br />Why should you?<br /><br />1) The clue never mentioned location, much less LA.<br /><br />2) The earlier post I made, and Martin's additions, plus others, would seem to indicate the LA basin is one of the least likely places to experience SMAZE.<br /><br />It's unlikely you would have seen it it through the smog :)<br /><br />.../GlitchGlitchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14940000404613329056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-77741055121180388612010-05-10T19:16:36.038-04:002010-05-10T19:16:36.038-04:00@CrazyCatLady
Any city (LA) that would put up with...@CrazyCatLady<br />Any city (LA) that would put up with my brother ... has to be wacky.<br />Of course, with me living in Dunedin, Florida the term would apply here, too.<br />At least we both live where the Sun sets into the water. Those people on the East Coast of Florida are really wacky!<br />They say "Oh, the Sun rise is Soooo beautiful!"<br />Yeah, right! Like I'm up everyday at sunrise. NOT!<br />But I do toast my sunset ... it's an Avatar thing.Tinbenihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14661395078047234853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-29257242974869515952010-05-10T19:16:01.720-04:002010-05-10T19:16:01.720-04:00@Dovid ... Thanks for letting us know of the passi...@Dovid ... Thanks for letting us know of the passing of Lena Horne. What a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/10/arts/music/10horne.html?ref=obituaries" rel="nofollow">remarkable life</a> she led. Rest well, Ms. Horne. Lynn Redgrave ... Lena Horne ... should we be expecting news of the demise of a third A-list entertainer soon?sanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-18441505469092087102010-05-10T19:10:07.806-04:002010-05-10T19:10:07.806-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.sanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-3618223891217313802010-05-10T18:39:44.141-04:002010-05-10T18:39:44.141-04:00Oh no, LENA Horne has died! I'm calling an APB...Oh no, LENA Horne has died! I'm calling an APB on "2 Down: Late Horne." Don't let me down, Will...<br /><br />...neither cnn.com or nyt.com mentions the word "crossword" in the obit.<br /><br />I would say more, but with all honesty and humility, I know her only from the little boxes.Dovidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08022948640294177114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-69208178888692780382010-05-10T18:14:52.627-04:002010-05-10T18:14:52.627-04:00@chefbea
you right...ELEVEN Ps! I missed the one...@chefbea<br />you right...ELEVEN Ps! I missed the one in IPO, no wonder I'm still so poor!<br /><br />@Fikink<br />Thanks...but I'd like to share that quip award with @sethg's "SMist/smouds"...hilarious!<br /><br />And also, for fellow "America's Next Top Model" watchers (or those who will admit to it) there is Tyra's "Smize" which is "smiling with your eyes"!!!!!!!! Great modeling tip!!!!<br /><br />Oh, oh! Speaking of guilty pleasures...Will is on "How I met Your Mother" tonight!!! CBS 8pmandrea smize michaelsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-60803315907815589282010-05-10T18:09:42.703-04:002010-05-10T18:09:42.703-04:00@Steve J, I think CLICHEs, rather than merely bein...@Steve J, I think CLICHEs, rather than merely being phrases that are overused/stereotypical primarily demonstrate a lack of originality. Thus, you can have a CLICHE performance on stage, a CLICHE treatment of grieving, a CLICHE solution to a problem.<br />The first man/woman who uttered "old as the hills," was probably an original thinker whose turn-of-phrase became a CLICHE through others' repetition. <br /><br />Much of our culture speaks in CLICHEs, writes in CLICHEs and thinks in CLICHEs. The latter is called MacThink, itself derived from the ubiquity of MacDonald's restaurants.<br /><br />But, perhaps, as my father would have opined, I am "picking the fly-shit out of the pepper."fikinkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06324570637549775751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26111193563165051672010-05-10T16:36:37.294-04:002010-05-10T16:36:37.294-04:00@foodie: The idea that Eskimo/Aleut languages have...@foodie: The idea that Eskimo/Aleut languages have a bunch of words for snow is a bit mythical. There are numerous scholarly citations at the end of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eskimo_words_for_snow" rel="nofollow">Wikipedia's article</a> if anyone's really interested. In short, they have roughly the same amount of base words we have for snow. The difference comes in numerous variations. Which starts coming down to the idea of what is a word (e.g., are snow, snowing, snowed, snows all different words, or different forms of the same word). <br /><br />Re SMAZE: I lived in LA 2002-2009, and I don't recall ever hearing the term (heard a lot of "June Gloom," however). But, I have run across the word somewhere along the line before today. I think it's kind of a carppy word, but it's legit for a puzzle.<br /><br />Quibble of the day: CLICHE's clue. "As old as the hills" is a simile. Similes, of course, can be cliches, but this is simply an expression that's been in the language a long time. I don't think that it really fits the idea of a cliche being something that's stereotypical or excessively overdone. It's just an expression. Clue's not wrong, since whether it's a cliche is going to be a matter of opinion, but there would have been many better ways to clue it using things that are widely considered cliches.<br /><br />Hangup of the day: Got stuck with MOPPETS for an unacceptably long time. My brain just wouldn't pull it out of storage, so I was left with MOPPE-S, and I don't know TOILE, so all I could think of was MOPPERS. Which clearly isn't right.Steve Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15185067739452052656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50068324762186470052010-05-10T16:35:53.296-04:002010-05-10T16:35:53.296-04:00@sfingi how does smog cause one's pantyhose to...@sfingi how does smog cause one's pantyhose to split? Also there are subways in LA now. It just seems they don't go to the places that most people want to go, so everyone still drives.<br />@Tinbeni - who you callin' wacky?<br />@DavidMedosa Love the Inuit snow words. They do, as Chef said, sound like captchas. Funny!CrazyCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00245025301434920905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-40152116813073234702010-05-10T16:32:34.065-04:002010-05-10T16:32:34.065-04:00Midday report of relative difficulty (see my 7/30/...Midday report of relative difficulty (see my <a href="https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=35115061&postID=3588389571383499624&isPopup=true" rel="nofollow">7/30/2009 post</a> for an explanation of my method):<br /><br />All solvers (median solve time, average for day of week, ratio, percentile, rating)<br /><br />Mon 7:30, 6:55, 1.08, 73%, Medium-Challenging<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 4:11, 3:41, 1.14, 82%, Challenging<br /><br />So far, the online solve times slot this one as a tough Monday or relatively easy Tuesday puzzle.<br /><br />I come down on the anti-SMAZE side of today's discussion. I've lived in California for coming up on 14 years now (albeit in the Bay Area where our air tends to be better than that down south) and don't recall ever hearing the word. Even aside from that, I thought the puzzle felt more like a Tuesday than a Monday. My own solve time was skewed by not knowing for sure what letter to enter for the SMAZE/CORTEZ crossing. My knowledge of Spanish history on our continent is obviously not up to snuff since I didn't pick up on Cortez' given name, although I don't know what I was thinking could go in that square if it wasn't an S or a Z.sanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.com