tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post7913814868962454418..comments2024-03-29T08:57:48.742-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Belgian treaty city / MON 3-24-14 / Rick's love in Casablanca / Pop Singer Carly Jepsen / Where many digital files are now storedRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-19916606785963069972014-04-28T16:39:39.568-04:002014-04-28T16:39:39.568-04:00I ran out of empty squares before I ran out of clu...I ran out of empty squares before I ran out of clues - that never happens, not even on a Monday.Oh, I had a mis-spelling or two along the way - USHuRED - really? - but the crosses cleaned those up for me. I recently read a piece that distinquished between "The Rich" and "The Filthy Rich" in political terms and it actually made a certain amount of sense.<br /><br />I guess I'm not allowed at the table today.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10655841402696889952014-04-28T14:32:35.903-04:002014-04-28T14:32:35.903-04:00My kind of Monday. I finally remembered ILSA with ...My kind of Monday. I finally remembered ILSA with an "I", and the pop singer filled from the crosses. What more can I ask? I even got a full house, 8's and 5's. DMGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-73360839653713209532014-04-28T12:33:35.935-04:002014-04-28T12:33:35.935-04:00Just for fun I thought I'd time myself today, ...Just for fun I thought I'd time myself today, then an interesting segment happened on the CBS morning news and I forgot about the puzzle. Oh, well, maybe another time.<br />I agree that this was a pretty clean puzzle. And who doesn't love SPLITPEA soup at a GREASYSPOON? ANYONE? And we have the old CDROM versus THECLOUD.<br /><br />Capcha: odiuita. Little smelly things? Solving in Seattlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04249420848844874936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-3681953268121915022014-04-28T11:22:17.950-04:002014-04-28T11:22:17.950-04:00The fill, though better than average for earlyweek...The fill, though better than average for earlyweek, is not totally DIRT-free. I didn't much like ARETOO and other jejune shouts the first time, but when they appear over and over... hey teacher! Get out there and break it up already! If they keep at it too long, excessive stress will leave them ACNED. ACNED?? By golly, it's a word! Blemished, or, how Jeff Dunham mouths the name of his dead terrorist (can't do the "m" because of lip movement).<br /><br />But minus those two, some nice work. I particularly like ARGYLE. Theme is fine, three long examples and a revealer. Not overly dense, but I'd say average. I'll give it a thumbs-up.<br /><br />Two low pair again, I'm out.spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-78824096811503631972014-03-26T04:57:08.578-04:002014-03-26T04:57:08.578-04:00Magmic
Yes problem with update
When in it just us...Magmic<br />Yes problem with update<br /><br />When in it just use airplane mode or go off line some how<br /><br />Troublesome but not as much as the download freeze.<br /><br />IPad airplane mode is in bottom lift up screen<br /><br />I read the clue and filled the answer . Fast as i can do it and still takes me 14 minutes.<br /><br />Haven't a clue how to do it faster than that. I must be a slow readerPhilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-54747677095873584332014-03-24T22:10:23.148-04:002014-03-24T22:10:23.148-04:00This week's relative difficulty ratings. See m...This week's relative difficulty ratings. See my 8/1/2009 post for an explanation and my 10/15/2012 post for an explanation of a tweak I've made to my method. 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 5:18, 6:13, 0.85, 2%, Easy (4th lowest ratio of 221 Mondays)<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:31, 3:58, 0.89, 4%, Easy (8th lowest ratio of 221 Mondays)sanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-14958707101875833422014-03-24T21:27:47.732-04:002014-03-24T21:27:47.732-04:00Hope to find out why those words were hi-lited whe...Hope to find out why those words were hi-lited when I check back tomorrow morning. G'nightchefbeahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15195945085405126511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-34842738816829741492014-03-24T18:30:18.567-04:002014-03-24T18:30:18.567-04:00@LanguageMeaningSpecialist - I like this example i...@<b>L</b>anguage<b>M</b>eaning<b>S</b>pecialist - I like this example in Wiktionary, "So out with your whinger at once, and scrag Jane while I spiflicate Johnny." Since the quote is from 1837 I very much doubt that it means what it looks like it means (<b>A Clockwork Orange</b> wasn't published for another 135 years after all). The OED tweet said it was used in the 19th century.Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-19762593112935964862014-03-24T16:44:36.732-04:002014-03-24T16:44:36.732-04:00Midday 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 and my 10/15/2012 post for an explanation of a tweak to my method):<br /><br />All solvers (median solve time, average for day of week, ratio, percentile, rating)<br /><br />Mon 5:18, 6:13, 0.85, 2%, Easy<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:35, 3:58, 0.90, 5%, Easysanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91621636251502984072014-03-24T16:23:28.284-04:002014-03-24T16:23:28.284-04:00Easy, fun, and you can count me with those who lik...Easy, fun, and you can count me with those who liked it a lot. perhaps my view is colored by this being my fastest ever NYT solve, and my first under four minutes. <br /><br />Thanks, Mr. Pepper. I do have the urge to call you Dr. or Sgt. but I shall abstain.retired_chemisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13181126754941899228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-69773275956168991812014-03-24T16:06:34.065-04:002014-03-24T16:06:34.065-04:00@Kim Scudera – great story about the Dumbo comma!!...@Kim Scudera – great story about the Dumbo comma!! I'm wearing a t shirt as I type that says<br /><br /><b><i>Let's eat grandma!<br />Let's eat, grandma!<br />Punctuation saves lives.</i></b><br /><br />@mac – "this means you." Now that's a funny sign!<br /><br />@danp – you should check out this site<br /><br /><a href="http://www.engrish.com/category/menus/page/2/" rel="nofollow">I'll have the "Barking deer meat fried breast Agency." Can Chef broil it, or does it have to be fried?</a><br /><br />@Bob – Yep – you, Tom, and I were the only ones game enough to face the wind and cold in Brooklyn. Nice lunch. Two very nice guys. Good food, good time.<br /><br />@Gareth – I almost sprayed my water at PF with your "spawn" suggestion. I may try that one out! Wait 'til you have teenagers. . . .<br /><br />@Z – I had meant to try to form some kind of Cockney" hackneyed" ACNED quip but I forgot. Thanks for your comment! And I had to run look up <i>spifflicate</i>. Thanks! I would try to use it casually in a sentence but am at a loss.<br /><br />@Tita – for your enjoyment:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qssWO8NSq0" rel="nofollow">Does Anybody Know What Time IT IS?</a><br /><br />@Gareth, I don't know why, but after your post my mind was drawn back to the Old English SHEEPDOG. I did point out to his owner, Mrs. Dotson (supremely exotic with her fancy updo, heavy make-up, Shalomar perfume, and coffee-flavored candy on the coffee table in her living room), that "Bede" would have been a more appropriate name as Chaucer's works were Middle English. . .but, well, actually I was only in about third grade, so even the humor of the name "Chaucer" was lost on me. My inner smart-ass had not yet spawned. Been spawned. How the heck do you use that word as a verb?Loren Muse Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05308030011870397977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9186124302313142882014-03-24T15:32:58.120-04:002014-03-24T15:32:58.120-04:00Thanks, Tom Pepper. I would have liked one more di...Thanks, Tom Pepper. I would have liked one more dirty word---like mucky muck. Very clever puzzle. It made my day.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-5854932477100981592014-03-24T14:49:42.427-04:002014-03-24T14:49:42.427-04:00Dick Swart: I beat you by two years; there's n...Dick Swart: I beat you by two years; there's nothing wrong with a mind that can finish a Saturday puzzle - no matter how long it takes! We may be slower than the (kids), but that also means we enjoy things longer. I got caught with the eye and makeup thing too, and I was a teacher who wears glasses!Fred Romagnolohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11994837736408182418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-43030941793999545642014-03-24T13:42:10.390-04:002014-03-24T13:42:10.390-04:00Am I the only person who enjoyed the timeliness of...Am I the only person who enjoyed the timeliness of "CEDED" as an answer for 33 Across?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56320744195716377592014-03-24T12:59:23.193-04:002014-03-24T12:59:23.193-04:00@ palomarP
That is what mine is doing as well exc...@ palomarP<br /><br />That is what mine is doing as well except I have to re-boot my ipad completely when it hangs. On Sunday it acted up for no reason when I was about 80% through. Luckily, it saved my already entered data!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-23640472840483058892014-03-24T12:55:14.675-04:002014-03-24T12:55:14.675-04:00@wreck, didn't know there was an update recent...@wreck, didn't know there was an update recently but yes, my Magmic has been acting up. Keep getting a "loading" box and have to close the app fully and reload to get it to work correctly, but it only seems to happen when the puzzle is finished. Don't know why those guys can't seem to get it together, went 3 months last year back and forth with them about my subscription which they canceled by mistake even tho I've been a subscriber since it first camy out in 2010 or 2011....<br /><br />Easy Monday here too, two passes to fill in and no woes. <br /><br />@evil, good to see you back. <br /><br />Tom, thanks for the puzzle and stopping by. <br />palomarPuzzlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09123936283363326051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56679083356497653702014-03-24T12:37:32.605-04:002014-03-24T12:37:32.605-04:00rexrexLewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09709142959535977331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-57582100864050583532014-03-24T12:36:11.608-04:002014-03-24T12:36:11.608-04:00@solid Monday -- thank you, Tom!
@rec -- if this ...@solid Monday -- thank you, Tom!<br /><br />@rec -- if this were a Boggle grid, the puzzle also has a couple of tits and a dong.Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09709142959535977331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-79134340079718719482014-03-24T12:33:52.447-04:002014-03-24T12:33:52.447-04:00Trust me, it's hard enough for me just to fill...Trust me, it's hard enough for me just to fill a puzzle with Monday-level words. Adding in hidden diagonal theme words is way beyond my skill level. And what are BOLT and LESS anyway?tom peppernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-1317661917556800352014-03-24T12:27:19.632-04:002014-03-24T12:27:19.632-04:00Super easy and mostly fun -- just wish the clue fo...Super easy and mostly fun -- just wish the clue for CD-ROM had been preceded by the word "bygone", particularly in a puzzle with "the cloud".Nicknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-43882452925978065312014-03-24T12:24:37.904-04:002014-03-24T12:24:37.904-04:00Now, at eighty, I love a Mondau that I can do from...Now, at eighty, I love a Mondau that I can do from square one to filling in the last bottom square, last. It reassures me my mind is still there. It usually takes some time on Saturday and Sunday.<br /><br />But this one was too easy and started off with all crossword clichés.<br /><br />Still, I am reassured but I wish I had to puzzle out one or two answers.Dick Swartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-65006784813414222872014-03-24T12:15:55.427-04:002014-03-24T12:15:55.427-04:00Easy peasy. Only complaint--TP and/or WS could hav...Easy peasy. Only complaint--TP and/or WS could have made some clues less obvious, even for a Monday, to have the solve take a bit longer. Take PEPE, for example, which did not need the extra help "of cartoons", or HEDGE, with not one, but two giveaway clues. Ludyjynnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24431097896291424122014-03-24T12:11:27.627-04:002014-03-24T12:11:27.627-04:00@wreck: I solve on Magmic, no hang ups, but I was ...@wreck: I solve on Magmic, no hang ups, but I was unable to download and install the latest update, I think it's IOS 7.1. Now I shall avoid doing so, thanks for the warning. I think it's all a plot to try and make us buy new i-devices. And speaking of conspiracy theories, add me to the ones asking for clarity re BOLT LESS POO ASS PIE! I looked for other hidden diagonal words, but didn't see any. (As if across and down aren't enough directions...)<br />About the non-meta puzzle: liked it, second fastest for me, which is about Rex's time, x 4 or 5... And it's always special when the constructor drops in. Thanks, Mr. Pepper!Jisvanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09195053073057452069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-1483772015829785432014-03-24T12:07:45.563-04:002014-03-24T12:07:45.563-04:00I agree the fill today was solid, very low on junk...I agree the fill today was solid, very low on junk or arcana; easy, like a Monday should be. I feel a little uncomfortable saying it was too easy, considering that the Sunday puzzle took me from Saturday evening until this morning to finish. So I'm not exactly an ace solver, despite the 34 years of training, but I like a little more challenge. That's why I never used to do the early-week puzzles until I started coming here. <br /><br />Oh, those highlighted words in Rex's grid: made it all okay. I'm not sure if BOLTLESS actually means something, but POO and ASS PIE definitely qualify as dirty words. Thank you @Tom, for a nice clean puzzle. Thank you @Rex for bringing it down to my level. <br /><br />p.s. Speaking of ILSe/eLSA, did I tell you that I finished reading <i>A Bell for Adano</i>? It ended better than I feared it would, despite a surfeit of morons in high office. Just a lovely novel, completely worthy of its Pulitzer, and now I spell the damn town. Ellen Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00473445503706985149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-58164171362307076152014-03-24T11:49:35.655-04:002014-03-24T11:49:35.655-04:00@Tom Pepper - aka King of Mondays...
Loved it - a ...@Tom Pepper - aka King of Mondays...<br />Loved it - a great start to the week.<br />You had me at GOCOMMANDO, and you haven't let me down since.<br /><br />Liked clue for LOGO, and really love how are brains are so resistant to extricating two words who are so hard-wired - like eye makeup. That you recognize that, nad use it to torture us, is notable!<br /><br />Puzzle-related tangent:<br />When someone asks me "What time ISIT?", i will sometimes ask them back, about 2 minutes later - "Hey - what time ISIT???"<br />99/100 times, they won't know.<br />Because...<br />When you ask, you don't really care what time it IS - you care what time it is NOT.<br /><br />You care if it's time to leave for the airport, for your favorite show, for your next meeting.<br />So if it's not that time, you discard that tiny bit of now useless info.<br /><br />At least, that's what happens to me.<br /><br />Hmmm - ISIT lunchtime yet?<br /><br />Thank you Mr. Pepper!!!<br />Try it - Titahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368251255494687496noreply@blogger.com