tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post7709491863358424664..comments2024-03-28T10:47:09.173-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Child actress Jones of Family Affair / SAT 12-3-16 / Noted Volstead Act enforcer / Giverny backdrop for Monet / Bill of 1960s-70s Weather Underground / Refined nutritional ingredient in many cereals meat products / Start of news story in journalism lingoRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger103125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24625116960127095812017-01-07T19:09:06.855-05:002017-01-07T19:09:06.855-05:00LEDE - Back in the good ole days when newspapers w...LEDE - Back in the good ole days when newspapers were laid with metal pieces of type, the space between the lines of copy were filled in with blank strips of lead. If you wanted more space between the type, then you added more lead. Hence the typographic term “leading” to indicate vertical space between type.<br /><br />If an editor writes on a proof sheet that an article has a bad “lead” — meaning the first sentence to the news story, then that could easily be confused with bad “lead” — the space between the type. So, some brilliant newspaperman long ago changed the spelling of “lead” to “lede.” Now everyone always knew whether the editor is referring to the first sentence or to vertical spacing.fakt chekkernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-85301754675500249992017-01-07T19:03:14.543-05:002017-01-07T19:03:14.543-05:00On the matter of lead/lede, here is a great piece ...On the matter of lead/lede, here is a great piece from 1990 in the late William Safire's famous NYT column "On Language":<br />http://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/18/magazine/on-language-hed-folo-my-lede-unhed.html<br />Sailorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05185068601066087185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-7844745355765548402017-01-07T18:54:08.096-05:002017-01-07T18:54:08.096-05:00@rain forest:
Concerning "lead" and &qu...@rain forest:<br /><br />Concerning "lead" and "lede", somewhere, some time ago, I picked up on "lede" as newspaper-ese. Never learned when or why the odd spelling was adopted.<br /><br />Could be to distinguish the first sentence or two of a news story from other kinds of "leads" or even other parts of the story. The substance and structure of a "lede" consists of the basic who, what, where, and when of the story to follow. <br /><br />Just guessing.<br /><br /> <br /><br /><br />leftcoastTAMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10402714507870879352017-01-07T18:40:56.350-05:002017-01-07T18:40:56.350-05:00Hey @Rondo - Once on a golf trip to Port Townsend,...Hey @Rondo - Once on a golf trip to Port Townsend, I was in a supermarket where the express line sign said "12 or less items". I pointed out to the cashier the incorrectness of the sign, and, lo and behold, the following year they had changed the sign to "12 items or less". Can't win for losing.rain forestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-11438246642729166232017-01-07T18:25:30.582-05:002017-01-07T18:25:30.582-05:00@rainy - re: less vs. fewer. My foreign-born and -...@rainy - re: less vs. fewer. My foreign-born and -raised wife points out the misuse of less/fewer in this country all the time, especially in advertising, and reminds me of the rule. Fewer goes with "countable" things and less with "uncountable": fewer chairs and less furniture.<br />Energizer batteries has it half right with "Use less batteries, create less waste"; I buy their product grudgingly. About 5 years ago the MASTERCRAFTSMeN at Mercedes (of all people) were crowing about their new sport model having "Less Doors". Poor, poor English. To this date I have not purchased their product. <br />So I guess that NOTASMuch for less and NOTASMANY for fewer are words to live by. For at least four years as some SEEIT.rondonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-27347735586292359892017-01-07T17:34:54.419-05:002017-01-07T17:34:54.419-05:00Started this earlier this morning, then had to go ...Started this earlier this morning, then had to go shovel the driveway, and then drive my son to the airport. Too bad, because I got off to a blazing start with MCVIE, ARENT, SExTO, and MASTER CRAFTSMAN, of which I was very proud. That whole north stackathon fell quickly, once I corrected the "x".<br /><br />Coming back to the puzzle much later, I laboured long and hard, but eventually got'er done. I've heard the phrase, "don't bury the LEad", or at least I thought it was "lead". Is there a reason why the spelling changed? Also, both "juneteenth" and EMANCIPATION DAY were entirely new to me, and so I had to get a lot of crosses to get those stacks down low. <br /><br />I continue to not understand the aversion to seeing ONE'S in the grid. Doesn't bother me in the slightest. However, I'm glad to say I *know* when to use "less" and "fewer", thus was spared a tutorial by someone unclear on the concept.<br /><br />Liked this one a lot.rain forestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-86785761861238491292017-01-07T15:45:01.295-05:002017-01-07T15:45:01.295-05:00I was writing a post when our power went momentari...I was writing a post when our power went momentarily out. Too bad - it was glorious.<br /><br />Had a dnf due to too many unknown PPPs in the bottom half. <br /><br />Stormy Sunday coming our way.<br /><br />Diana, LIWDiana,LIWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67901883414942178772017-01-07T14:09:15.945-05:002017-01-07T14:09:15.945-05:00One of the easiest puzzles I've seen in many a...One of the easiest puzzles I've seen in many a Saturday, and I don't mind that at all.<br />Grid spanners almost filled themselves in with a few down crosses.<br /><br />But I BOOTed it at the TARDIS/LINDT cross with a "U" instead of an "I". Just a bad guess. ANISSA, unknown to me, fortunately showed up at the POND crossing. Wanted to see Alissa or Alyssa, of course.<br /><br />Nothing to RANT about here.leftcoastTAMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-5936678088065008262017-01-07T13:37:27.951-05:002017-01-07T13:37:27.951-05:00STERN RANT
In NED'S ARTSTUDIO the MASTERCRAFT...STERN RANT<br /><br />In NED'S ARTSTUDIO the MASTERCRAFTSMAN sculpted a PANDA,<br />NOSY critics MUSEDOVER making the CREATUREFEATUREs faster.<br />From the ONSET, he CRIEDABOUT those SPIES and propaganda<br />yet AFTA an ETERNITY you SEEIT still ENDEDINDISASTER.<br /><br />--- ANISSA RAE SANDOVALBurma Shavenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-74519964360158605062017-01-07T13:07:42.573-05:002017-01-07T13:07:42.573-05:00@Spacecraft - from the Merriam-Webster Official Sc...@Spacecraft - from the Merriam-Webster Official Scrabble Player's Dictionary, 5th Edition: LEDE: the introductory section of a news story. 5 points. I agree it makes no sense, but there it is.Sailorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05185068601066087185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-38979004867333657032017-01-07T12:51:32.271-05:002017-01-07T12:51:32.271-05:00Huh? Easiest? Wasn't in my wavelength. At all....<br />Huh? Easiest? Wasn't in my wavelength. At all. Rejected.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-89013374906163091442017-01-07T11:35:01.488-05:002017-01-07T11:35:01.488-05:00Half an hour only because I couldn't/wouldn...Half an hour only because I couldn't/wouldn't let go of LEad for the longest time, but knew ATEE had to be right. That top stack went quickly because of the PPP gimme-ness of MCVIE, TATE, RUDNER, AFTA, and NESS. The WOF instincts kicked in and off to the races. Also helped knowing the PANDA SANDOVAL in the bottom stack.<br /><br />The Juneteenth thing was easy as they have a big celebration in the old Rondo neighborhood in St. Paul, where I kinda lived for ten years. No, my nickname did not come from there, though in the 70s I was one of those guys sporting AFROS.<br /><br />Rita RUDNER might not be every ONE'S yeah baby, but I could SEEIT for me.<br /><br />Nice Sat-puz that could have ENDEDINDISASTER if I had not changed the LEDE.<br /><br />rondonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-15092415789452937542017-01-07T11:23:28.881-05:002017-01-07T11:23:28.881-05:00I also knew MCVIE right off--though for my money y...I also knew MCVIE right off--though for my money you can keep Christine and give me some Stevie Nicks, please. In fact, after making that upgrade I hereby install Ms. Nicks as DOD.<br /><br />This was easy-medium for me; the stacks went down OK, but some of that shorter stuff! LEDE?? Seriously? LEDE??? Is that supposed to be a "word?" Don't try that one in Scrabble, 'cause you'll lose your turn. I'm here staring at MOLaY ("With De, a Masonic youth club") and ATEd (...no, I'm not even gonna try a clue) and wondering where the H-E-double hockey sticks I went wrong. I finally convinced myself to repair the acrosses, but really doubted myself looking at that ridiculous LEDE. This is a penalty-grade violation.<br /><br />And in that same section, just below, we have yet another rap/hip hop whatever. This time gets a pass because of the obvious sdrawckab gnilleps of "Drummers." Just to be in that genre is enough nonsense; why do they feel the need to compound it with these inane names?<br /><br />Besides the painful LEad/LEDE writeover, I had one at RaDNER (no, you idiot, I said to myself, that was Gilda!). Rita is of course RUDNER, RUnNER-up for DOD. Also IteS before ISTS. Bill of 47-down should have formed a band--then we could call it AYERS Rock!<br /><br />Well, I've CRIEDABOUT this one enough. Woulda been a par without 22-down: bogey. Hey, a penalty stroke is a penalty stroke. spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-59778442839925909822016-12-04T10:58:44.145-05:002016-12-04T10:58:44.145-05:00ANISSA lined up as a gimme thanks to my 60s-70s ch...ANISSA lined up as a gimme thanks to my 60s-70s childhood. Family Affair, in which Anissa Jones played Buffy, was pretty popular during its first run, then in syndication. Sadly, many remember after the series end Anissa's troubled adolescence and untimely death at age 18. Yes, easy fill for me, except around the LINDT/TARDIS area, which I simply didn't know and didn't infer properly.Jeff Kellerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18149484444898213281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-40802507971396096312016-12-04T09:14:28.692-05:002016-12-04T09:14:28.692-05:00Anon at 3:38. The puzzle you solved is not the act...Anon at 3:38. The puzzle you solved is not the actual NY Times puzzle, but an advertisement. Keep searching the rest of your paper and you will find the real puzzle.kitshefhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10014225555838850414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-3436146793763408332016-12-04T03:38:58.416-05:002016-12-04T03:38:58.416-05:00I chimed in before 10 A.M. yesterday morning to re...I chimed in before 10 A.M. yesterday morning to report that the puzzle in the NYT newspaper is different from the online version.In the paper the grid is headlined, The Hardest Puzzle. It took a lowly soul,such as I,about 5 or 6 minutes to solve,because I print very neatly and the clues were absurdly long. Did anyone else do that puzzle? Perhaps it was only printed in Boston and/or in my newspaper. I am less inclined to believe that, but then, I have had fewer than three hours sleep. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-43285646948672514032016-12-04T01:38:33.022-05:002016-12-04T01:38:33.022-05:00Based on my own record, it looks like July 9, 2016...Based on my own record, it looks like July 9, 2016 was easier that this one. But this was ridiculously easy for a Saturday. It's like somebody just phoned it in. Freddy Murcksnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-36282493776571130112016-12-03T23:27:34.448-05:002016-12-03T23:27:34.448-05:00Time, money, distance, and weight are often listed...Time, money, distance, and weight are often listed as exceptions to the traditional “can you count it” rule because they take less, but when you use the “singular or plural” rule, time, money, distance, and weight all fall in line. Although a thousand dollars is certainly countable—a bank teller will do it for you gladly—we routinely ignore that fact and think of them as singular amounts: <br /><br />He believes $1,000 is a lot of money.<br />She says that 50 miles is a long drive for ice cream.<br />We think 12 hours is too much time to spend on the road. <br />They’re singular and they take less:<br /><br />We had less than $1,000 in the bank.<br />We’re less than 50 miles away.<br />I can fix the roof in less than 12 hours.For What It's Worthnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-71317013515640191542016-12-03T23:06:32.279-05:002016-12-03T23:06:32.279-05:00@dolgo Yes Yes Yes!@dolgo Yes Yes Yes!lynnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13703790943594389859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-7819274315665213852016-12-03T22:51:24.466-05:002016-12-03T22:51:24.466-05:00@Mike B, ETO is sometimes clued as Ike's or Ei...@Mike B, ETO is sometimes clued as Ike's or Eisenhower's command. You might find this useful in the future.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-69740090971858199402016-12-03T22:46:59.124-05:002016-12-03T22:46:59.124-05:00Guess I'm one of the TARDIeSt ONES today. Can&...Guess I'm one of the TARDIeSt ONES today. Can't ever remember what that time-traveling phone-booth is called. Maybe I'll think of a mnemonic, for next time.<br /><br />Didn't think this took me <i>an</i> ETERNITY to solve till I read @Rex, but I'm pleased I had that much more time to enjoy it, though I had NOT AS MANY gimmes. Must say I also got a few less laughs at the few less than serious comments that clue prompted.<br /><br />Trip-stacks and quad-stacks used to give me the willies: used to be I wouldn't even read the Across clues till I'd done all I could with the Downs. Things got much better after I broke that habit, and today, the Downs got me the Acrosses up top, while things worked in reverse down below. Being in the camp unfamiliar with the term Juneteenth, I was glad it didn;t turn out to be EMANCIPATION ERA.<br /><br />Despite the much-vaunted ease, I managed some errors: 'start up, in a way' sounded pretty good for BOLT, in several ways, and I was willing to consider SLY PROTEIN as a way to sabotage a rival's carbo-loading regimen. <br /><br />Elsewhere, I thoughtlessly entered LEAD, though I've seen @Z's use of LEDE often enough. Until today, I'd no idea it was such a topic of concern in journalistic circles. Scratch that: I'd no idea it was a topic, period. Anyway, with LEAD in place, that left me running the alphabet for 32A, and couldn't come up with an 'old-fashioned' --LAY. By, the way @FredRom, MOLDY isn't all bad for ageism: we have all those antibiotics and stinky cheeses on our side.<br /><br />Speaking of chocolate, there's that tasty intersection of LINDT with the DOVE bar, but I hate to tell the white chocolate truffle lovers (@kitshef, better than true love?? mmphmf), them ain't chocolate, them's oil&sugar truffles.<br /><br />btw, I'm surprised nobody mentioned Lily (of the opera) PONS paired with Lily (of Monet's Giverny) POND. I thought that downright elegant. <br />Now the white truffle lovers can tell me I'm being weedy.<br /><br />So I thought this was In Like Flinn, DEFT from S.T.E.M. to STERN, and only de Flight of de Bumblebee ENDED IN DIS ASTER.<br />Leapfingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14243620614139990887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-63309361549407938402016-12-03T21:29:57.790-05:002016-12-03T21:29:57.790-05:00My enjoyment of the blog is directly proportional ...My enjoyment of the blog is directly proportional to the number of times @Nancy posts. mathgentnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10714782389570573722016-12-03T20:43:32.528-05:002016-12-03T20:43:32.528-05:00I think @evil d (12:17) is a real gentleman for an...I think @evil d (12:17) is a real gentleman for answering European Theater of Operations with no rant attached.Random Passerbynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-82055917155961120802016-12-03T20:26:00.920-05:002016-12-03T20:26:00.920-05:00@Nancy 1012,
'If you can count the items, yo...@Nancy 1012,<br /><br /><br /><i>'If you can count the items, you use "fewer".'</i> You know, you could have stopped right there. But you went on to provide four (count them, <b>four</b> examples. You could have gotten by with fewer examples if you thought @Tita was less of a dim bulb.Random Passerbynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-59670461365242503052016-12-03T19:02:24.996-05:002016-12-03T19:02:24.996-05:00@Nancy, the troll at 3:05 was simply demonstrating...@Nancy, the troll at 3:05 was simply demonstrating to you that your explanation of "fewer" was incorrect. It was supposed to be humorous but you missed it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com