tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post7226167947458153687..comments2024-03-29T10:17:28.532-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: W.W. II Pacific battle site / THU 1-26-12 / Moore who wrote Gate at the Stairs / Horseshoe-shaped lab item / 1980s sitcom filmed with puppetRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45402706763481407772012-03-02T09:43:51.654-05:002012-03-02T09:43:51.654-05:00Remember ALF? He's back, in pog form.Remember ALF? He's back, in pog form.Mike in STLnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-15329385087969608952012-03-01T19:43:27.249-05:002012-03-01T19:43:27.249-05:00I would never have thought this possible--and on j...I would never have thought this possible--and on just a Thursday! I put in one answer, ALF, and even that was a guess.<br />And th-th-that's all, folks. I could not make another entry on that entire grid. Oh, I suppose I could have Googled a few things here and there, but...well, let's just say I gave my brain the day off. It all just looked like too much. "Could we get started, please?" "Don't look at me!" "Take a hike!" "I'm".....done. Dee en ef.Spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-43424787192528844552012-03-01T17:35:51.636-05:002012-03-01T17:35:51.636-05:00From syndiland, DNF because UTEp was wrong and I c...From syndiland, DNF because UTEp was wrong and I couldn't for the life of me see UTES despite running the alphabet several time.<br /><br />On a brighter note, today is the birthday of my Labs, Lance and Ellie - they're 7. Festivities will ensue.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-63557512237230508162012-02-12T12:29:43.795-05:002012-02-12T12:29:43.795-05:00I'm still learning from you, as I'm improv...<b>I'm still learning from you, as I'm improving myself. I certainly love reading all that is written on your website.Keep the aarticles coming. I loved it!</b><br><a name="ucomment" href="http://sorelwomenshelentundrabothecheapest.blogspot.com/2012/02/sorel-women-cate-great-boot.html" rel="nofollow">Sorel Women's Cate The Great Boot</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-11861557629724047912012-02-10T12:16:02.530-05:002012-02-10T12:16:02.530-05:00I'm very happy to read this. This is the type ...<b>I'm very happy to read this. This is the type of manual that needs to be given and not the random misinformation that's at the other blogs. Appreciate your sharing this best doc.</b><br><a href="https://sites.google.com/a/pricecompare.buygoodorder.objs.biz/best-buy-cocktail-napkins-bar-tools-and-glasses-kitchen-on-sale/special-price-suzy" rel="nofollow">Suzy</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-13012304893865609482012-01-26T19:04:00.520-05:002012-01-26T19:04:00.520-05:00For 57A I confidently wrote ODEum. Combine that wi...For 57A I confidently wrote ODEum. Combine that with the UTEP mistake (my "that doesn't sound right" didn't stop me from writing it down) and the SE took quite a bit of unraveling. A little post solve research uncovered that Wikipedia has a brief entry for "ODEON" but not "ODEUM" while the reverse is true of Merriam-Webster's online dictionary. Anyone out there care to clarify? Are they both acceptable transliterations from the Greek, or is there some subtle difference between the two?<br /><br /><br />gropprob - Work place hazard for JACK THE STRIPPER because Jill is STILL A TEASEZhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-48304269884275150182012-01-26T16:51:00.623-05:002012-01-26T16:51:00.623-05:00@Bird - Rex will not have allow arguements in the ...@Bird - Rex will not have allow arguements in the room. He will post all the rules and will be judge & jury.<br /><br />This is Rexville afterall;)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-16336869589898077152012-01-26T16:28:43.715-05:002012-01-26T16:28:43.715-05:00Only surprise for me was that EVIL DOUG actually p...Only surprise for me was that EVIL DOUG actually paid for the puzzle! The puzzle itself was med Wed.Theoda3rdnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-87757535702142309232012-01-26T16:03:45.422-05:002012-01-26T16:03:45.422-05:00Midday 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 />Thu 16:40, 18:56, 0.88, 28%, Easy-Medium<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Thu 9:08, 9:16, 0.99, 56%, Mediumsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-51093863429748971442012-01-26T15:08:07.740-05:002012-01-26T15:08:07.740-05:00Speaking of "12 Angry Men", really, only...Speaking of "12 Angry Men", really, only 2 or 3 were angry. One wanted to get it right, the rest just wanted to go home. It should have been named "Real Life: 1/12 is moral, 1/4 is irrational, the rest just don't care".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-41148473773932373752012-01-26T14:50:35.993-05:002012-01-26T14:50:35.993-05:00What would happen if we put the regular posters to...What would happen if we put the regular posters to this blog - you know who you are - to contruct a puzzle together. I can just imagine the arguments. PINSON is clued as attaches. No, it should be clued as a baseball player! WOOSNAM? Who the hell is that?! C'mon, he's a famous golfer who won the Masters. TRUK?! You know - the famous WWII battle site.<br /><br />Then there's the spelling variations: TSAR/CZAR, AMEBA/AMOEBA, etc.<br /><br />Makes me think of "12 Angry Men"Birdnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-16749074878370591192012-01-26T14:39:35.888-05:002012-01-26T14:39:35.888-05:00Easy-medium, with the theme clear at the second th...Easy-medium, with the theme clear at the second theme answer. Laughed at aroar and agasp, knew the blog would be atwitter!<br /><br />A little hesitation at 52D: in one or in two. I liked the answer "Oscar" but I thought some might not be happy with the clue.<br /><br />I enjoyed this puzzle.machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-88167017742330060942012-01-26T14:01:39.465-05:002012-01-26T14:01:39.465-05:00@lindsay
You are not alone on UTEp, a downside of ...@lindsay<br />You are not alone on UTEp, a downside of this blog, as I'd never have known made that kind of mistake before.<br /><br />I would have screamed my head off if PINSON had been the baseball player, esp when puzzles get axed or pooh-poohed for a musical or TV reference much less obscrue to 90% of solvers...<br />( yes, a figure I am totally making up!)<br />Now I'm curious if it was indeed originally clued that way!<br /><br />@jberg<br />Sorry to say but TZAR is indeed yet another acceptable variation on TSAR and CZAR...and more importantly, good in Scrabble! Some of you would probably say RATZ to that...<br /><br />@Deb<br />Malapops are particularly delicious when the word appears later in a wholly different context...not just another clue later with a similar meaning, which is often an intentional ruse of late-week constructors.<br />I can't think of a recent actual example, but let's say you had thought of PINSON for a clue about a baseball player clued as "Vida ____".<br /> But there are only four letters, so you write TRUE. But then later in the puzzle is a clue for "attaches" and the answer is PINSON!<br />So it is the wrong word earlier that pops up later. All the more fabulous if the letter count was the same and you had actually written in the wrong word only to have it be right later, like a flash of ESP. I live for those!<br />They were happening a lot, so we coined a word for them.<br />I suggested malapop as a play on malaprop.<br /><br />(It's what I actually do for a living...i name company and products...so I get that the YOU is about "you", I'm just saying it looks ugly and clunky and UTUBE with a hyphen maybe U-TUBE would have been hipper looking (in my mind))<br />But yes, it was probably taken,as everything is...bane of my existence!<br />and b) once something becomes highly successful people are used to seing it that way and then think it's a brilliant name retroactively,regardless of whether or not it might have been initially or still isn't at base ugly...U-gly!<br /><br />But of course, I'd be the first to admit that name enjoyment is wildly subjective, as are crossword themes and constructor styles!<br /><br />@tptsteve<br />STILL A TEASE! Love it!Andrea still a tease michaelsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-86481976411456908842012-01-26T13:47:05.150-05:002012-01-26T13:47:05.150-05:00Not much to complain about this puzzle. TRUK is ob...Not much to complain about this puzzle. TRUK is obscure to me - I thought I knew a lot about WWII - but got it through crosses. I don't like Awords and AGASP/AROAR hurt. I started with AGAZE/CZARS (and smiled because you rarely see the CZ spelling). Had PINSTO then PINSON.<br /><br />Not much to enjoy about this puzzle. I did like JACKTHESTRIPPER and STRIKERSISLAND.<br /><br />I wasn't sure if 33D was KOA, BSA, EMS or REI so I left it blank until crosses were filled.<br /><br />Almost Friday!Birdnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80640558908797946472012-01-26T13:34:55.804-05:002012-01-26T13:34:55.804-05:00Not so easy for me today. The brain just wasn'...Not so easy for me today. The brain just wasn't serving up answers that it might have on other days. Oh, wait. I had a short night of sleep.<br /><br />Going to take a nap...Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09709142959535977331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-2960614435648262672012-01-26T13:23:10.107-05:002012-01-26T13:23:10.107-05:00One of my former assistants once served in the Pea...One of my former assistants once served in the Peace Corps in TRUK, so I had some familiarity with the place.<br /><br />I also liked the puzzle more than Rex, altho I agree there is some shaky fill. And speaking of bad crossings I hated OHO/OJO. Is OJO pronounced OHO?Mel Ottnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-6069717436342363652012-01-26T13:15:03.491-05:002012-01-26T13:15:03.491-05:00@Noam: My favorite "make like a..." cons...@Noam: My favorite "make like a..." construction is:<br /><br />"Make like a shepherd and get the flock out of here!"<br /><br />Hey, I sense a good xword theme...Woodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01366620471331747531noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-68543298110535361562012-01-26T13:06:03.744-05:002012-01-26T13:06:03.744-05:00At 9 AM, I changed my Facebook profile pic from Ch...At 9 AM, I changed my Facebook profile pic from Chevy Chase, aka Santa, to ALF. At 11AM I started the puzzle. Who knew...I didn't!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-81475531159526804282012-01-26T12:43:39.695-05:002012-01-26T12:43:39.695-05:00I didn't get in the rapy until a half hour aft...I didn't get in the rapy until a half hour after I finished the puzzledick swarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15674856192774908651noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-68515806664294813172012-01-26T12:40:46.885-05:002012-01-26T12:40:46.885-05:00I second the praise for the "The Help" m...I second the praise for the "The Help" movie poster.<br /><br />This one was tough for me - just not in my wheelhouse. Actually looked for a rebus at first.<br /><br />Liked STRIKERS ISLAND and STILL AT EASE.JenCThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18290169184354765840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-89163221177045139572012-01-26T11:45:02.632-05:002012-01-26T11:45:02.632-05:00@Rob C Thanks, re TRUK@Rob C Thanks, re TRUKJohn Vhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10557037910799243636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-35423124127635459372012-01-26T11:19:14.085-05:002012-01-26T11:19:14.085-05:00First had "Begone!" for 45D:BEAT_IT, so ...First had "Begone!" for 45D:BEAT_IT, so when fixed it looked like "Be a tit!". Make like a bird and ... ?<br /><br />—NDE<br />(captcha = reathess = "Breathless! No B..l!")Noam D. Elkiesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50708029077758832722012-01-26T10:46:20.310-05:002012-01-26T10:46:20.310-05:00@Evan. Thanks for the clarification. I finished ...@Evan. Thanks for the clarification. I finished successfully according to Mr. Pencil, but could not figure out what in the world "in the rapy" was. Oh my...sadly, I work in mental health and work very closely with therapists...one word.Alffannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-84870007202053641052012-01-26T10:35:20.345-05:002012-01-26T10:35:20.345-05:00I don't time myself but this felt like the fas...I don't time myself but this felt like the fastest Thursday ever.<br />Rex's write-up was more fun than the solve. Abarf indeed! Rex studies pop culture magazines to help his solving? No wonder I get hung up by that crap. I cracked up at the fake movie poster for The Help. Too funny.<br />I hope tomorrow is a challenge.<br />Days like today make me feel smarter than I actually am.Two Ponieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06896743444873087885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-58145753307889447792012-01-26T10:23:44.983-05:002012-01-26T10:23:44.983-05:00So-so Thursday.
Vada PINSON, centerfielder for ...So-so Thursday. <br /><br />Vada PINSON, centerfielder for the Reds in the 60's, is certainly crossworthy late in the week. He was a fine player, and his first and last name can both work.<br /><br />In my crossword class we're trying construction. Students are amazed how hard it is. I'm working on that country music puzzle again...archaeoprofhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17956231727789223463noreply@blogger.com