tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post8142032159700458469..comments2024-03-28T09:29:17.902-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: MONDAY, Aug. 17 2009 — Nobel Prize-winning U.N. workers' grp. / Mark slightly longer than hyphen / Norwegian coastal featuresRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44952432363744513032009-09-22T04:09:51.404-04:002009-09-22T04:09:51.404-04:00I always screw up HADJ, as I'm used to spellin...I always screw up HADJ, as I'm used to spelling it HAJJ<br /><br />Loved that I got to use my AP art history knowledge in this one though<br /><br />Albrecht Durer is my buddy. So are OGEE arches. :DUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15559847805035966808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-40592341268870854532009-09-21T14:22:51.990-04:002009-09-21T14:22:51.990-04:00From syndication land (also known as the future) -...From syndication land (also known as the future) - commenting on this site is kind of addictive :)<br /><br />As for this puzzle I got completely tripped up in the awkwardness of the cluing of 26A "With 51-across, roles for 17-, 38- and 62- across". Being a Monday I tried to hurry through it and didn't even try to understand what it was asking. So I came to believe they were all roles played by Heath Ledger - yes, even AFTER getting Cesar Romero. I was thinking maybe Heath played some ancient Roman once in an obscure movie. Then I went on to google "roles for Heath Ledger" looking for Jacksich Olson, maybe in Brokeback Mountain??? (I had CLASS for 25-d). Another big derp for me. I liked seeing ONZE, and oddly, OUTOFGAS, though.Whitneynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-23862072308242294772009-08-20T23:18:56.998-04:002009-08-20T23:18:56.998-04:00Much harder than a typical Monday.Much harder than a typical Monday.Nebraska Doutnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-22745364075897677692009-08-20T16:50:23.775-04:002009-08-20T16:50:23.775-04:00the hadj/hajj decision threw me.the hadj/hajj decision threw me.سريةhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03032475217244184979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-77717327843537263272009-08-20T15:27:57.173-04:002009-08-20T15:27:57.173-04:00Discovered something very interesting when I looke...Discovered something very interesting when I looked up Is-sur-Tille...it's the French crossword puzzle championship capital!! Could it have been a subliminal clue. Hooray for let "mots croises"Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13105650106116394873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-43409606370193941432009-08-18T16:13:57.950-04:002009-08-18T16:13:57.950-04:00There actually is Unicode for the rarely used &quo...There actually is Unicode for the rarely used "irony/sarcasm mark": ⸮, which is supposed to look like a small backwards question mark, but it will probably look like a bit of trash on your computer. The reason is because it was stuck in the Amharic part of Unicode, and if you don't have that loaded, you won't see the actual symbol.<br /><br />On the stupid side, Wikipedia reports, in all seriousness, that the symbol is actually used in Ethiopic languages. Way cool if it were true, but for some reason, they don't cite any examples.william e embanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-72243480511908502892009-08-18T11:53:20.480-04:002009-08-18T11:53:20.480-04:00As a kid, I cracked my head open watching a racque...As a kid, I cracked my head open watching a racquetball game (actually playing with a toy car under the seats). So, I guess racquetball is a dangerous sport!Mattnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-13656365552634020562009-08-18T01:21:24.943-04:002009-08-18T01:21:24.943-04:00This 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 7:32, 7:02, 1.07, 72%, Medium-Challenging<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:47, 3:43, 1.02, 59%, Mediumsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46135587607755462022009-08-17T23:56:15.772-04:002009-08-17T23:56:15.772-04:00I did it in 12:04, pretty typical for my Monday, s...I did it in 12:04, pretty typical for my Monday, so I don't think it was harder than usual. I admit I didn't know who CESARROMERO <i>was</i> --I was willing to believe he was the one who invented the salad--but I had heard of him. I initially had purple OOZE, thought that ALL of the elephant was big, and for some reason I always like Js in the crossword. I guess I admire the constructor for working them in.Aviatrixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13634111275860140084noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-34545357230946345882009-08-17T22:02:57.030-04:002009-08-17T22:02:57.030-04:00@Glitch: but Rex talks about things I'm intere...@Glitch: but Rex talks about things I'm interested in! And he never told me he hated Hillary Clinton.machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-48224785159770704362009-08-17T21:56:10.221-04:002009-08-17T21:56:10.221-04:00@mac
RE: [Kurt Andersen]... followed his blog for...@mac<br /><br />RE: [Kurt Andersen]... followed his blog for a bit, then found him becoming opinionated and dogmatic.<br /><br />... and you still follow Rex? <br /><br />;-)<br /><br />.../GlitchGlitchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14940000404613329056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-16480002020180153172009-08-17T21:53:26.980-04:002009-08-17T21:53:26.980-04:00Not at all hard, but definitely too hard for a Mon...Not at all hard, but definitely too hard for a Monday. I agree with Andrea Michaels -- Tuesday.<br /><br />endash<br />carafe<br />tyr<br />tea rose<br />onze <br />hadj<br />ilo<br />carob<br />altimamichaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-75652974410770429512009-08-17T21:49:41.070-04:002009-08-17T21:49:41.070-04:00@Ulrich and Andrea Celeste Michaels: those French ...@Ulrich and Andrea Celeste Michaels: those French elephants are Babar and his family!<br /><br />@fergus: I met Kurt Andersen and his wife (who wrote a half-interesting book called "Going Gray") and liked him, followed his blog for a bit, then found him becoming opinionated and dogmatic.machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-13551785061702312812009-08-17T21:10:11.307-04:002009-08-17T21:10:11.307-04:00Good puzzle. Much harder than a usual Monday.Good puzzle. Much harder than a usual Monday.John Hoffmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07357699268976237292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-22252602504211482432009-08-17T20:04:00.550-04:002009-08-17T20:04:00.550-04:00re Tuesday -
O.E. Tiwesdæg, from Tiwes, gen. of ...re Tuesday - <br /><br />O.E. Tiwesdæg, from Tiwes, gen. of Tiw "Tiu," from P.Gmc. *Tiwaz "god of the sky," differentiated specifically as Tiu, ancient Gmc. god of war, from PIE base *dyeu- "to shine" (see diurnal). Cf. O.N. tysdagr, Swed. tisdag, O.H.G. ziestag. From:<br /><br />http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Tuesdayretired_chemisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13181126754941899228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-19472097889367551962009-08-17T19:08:21.457-04:002009-08-17T19:08:21.457-04:00@rex
speaking of cluevoyance, on the trivia show I...@rex<br />speaking of cluevoyance, on the trivia show I sub-hosted last night<br />(www.KALW.org if anyone knows how those podcast links work it's under "Minds Over Matter")one of the callers called in to ask who/what Tuesday was named after!!!<br /><br />@ulrich<br />French elephants!!! Hek hek hek!!!andrea ccc michaelsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-18528927735570211922009-08-17T19:00:52.391-04:002009-08-17T19:00:52.391-04:00Hi! Too late to the party, but thanks for all the...Hi! Too late to the party, but thanks for all the laughs today!!!!<br /><br />This was definitely not a Monday. I ain't the editor and<br />I really liked the puzzle, but I guarantee you, Will is short on Mondays, bec this screamed Tuesday all over it...<br />the theme is too specific for a Monday (just ask anyone not Elaine who Cesar Romero is/was) plus there were five themes (godforbid five is the new 3!)<br />and ILO, ONZE, TIM (as clued), ALTIMA, FERMI, CHALICE, TYR, ENDASH, AKINTO, perhaps even REDDY and ARCED would have been sent back to ME as a rewrite.<br />I'm jealous!!!<br /><br />And as @joho pointed out, just P&Q short of a pangram. I guess he didn't mind them (insert ale discussion here)<br /><br />@ZJ<br />hey! Let's get on it! You are half way there! <br />EARTHAKITT 10<br />HALLEBERRY 10<br />JULIENEWMAR 11<br />damn, MICHELLEPFEIFFER is 16<br />But wait! Holy Kitkat, batman,<br />CATWOMAN 8<br />PFEIFFER 8<br /><br />:)andrea penguin michaelsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80626781955303555592009-08-17T18:48:37.409-04:002009-08-17T18:48:37.409-04:00Recently read Kurt Andersen's "HEYDAY.&qu...Recently read Kurt Andersen's "HEYDAY." Thought it was a great book for the first two thirds, then it got to be achingly trite. Raising the question: who's primarily a journalist that has managed to write a good novel?fergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50852220550699422912009-08-17T18:48:12.974-04:002009-08-17T18:48:12.974-04:00Am w @hazel and @fikink...this one was at least a ...Am w @hazel and @fikink...this one was at least a medium for me for a Monday. Liked FJORDS, CLANS. But ETCH for "draw like Albrecht Durer is awful clue. If you told Durer he was "drawing," I think he would have poked you with the sharp point of his etching utensilsCharles Boglehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15667976595355657752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-948520682611776172009-08-17T17:19:29.904-04:002009-08-17T17:19:29.904-04:00dk: Awesome! When I first set foot in the US in 69...dk: Awesome! When I first set foot in the US in 69, the friends I was staying with in Somerville, MA had just returned and were still awestruck. I had to console myself with watching the movie later.<br /><br />High spirits all around today here--goes to show what a satisfying puzzle does for the soul.<br /><br />Which reminds me: Late last night, an anonymouse posted what may be stupidest comment of the year. Upset about the negative comments yesterday, the mouse squeaked "If you don't like puzzles don't do them, find a new hobby." It would presumably tell someone who doesn't like a specific bottle of wine, "If you don't like wine, don't drink it..."Ulrichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02086202853174403008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-55590809823220248212009-08-17T16:42:31.665-04:002009-08-17T16:42:31.665-04:00Monday midday report of relative difficulty (see m...Monday 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 7:32, 7:02, 1.07, 72%, Medium-Challenging<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:54, 3:44, 1.05, 67%, Medium-Challengingsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-2337477283106316202009-08-17T16:21:40.216-04:002009-08-17T16:21:40.216-04:00Yikes, funny stuff today -- can't even list al...Yikes, funny stuff today -- can't even list all the comments I found amusing.<br /><br />dk: You saw JH at Woodstock??! Epochal. I did see the Clash show on the cover of 'London Calling' but it doesn't quite compare.<br /><br />Oh, the puzzle: certainly a good one all around. Showed that easy does not need to be boring.Stanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02681342234536407419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-83731222018005515702009-08-17T16:14:31.587-04:002009-08-17T16:14:31.587-04:00ens and ems are printers' measures with the fo...ens and ems are printers' measures with the former being half the width of the latter. These are two more words that I learned from doing crossword puzzles.<br /><br />There were some pretty obescure words (including the proper names) in this puzzle for a Monday. Fortunately there were enough gimmes to make the obscure words discernable fairly quickly.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-73536507682604106832009-08-17T15:53:05.333-04:002009-08-17T15:53:05.333-04:00@Elaine
Take your pick ;)
ILO: A port city in so...@Elaine<br /><br />Take your pick ;)<br /><br />ILO: A port city in southern Peru. It is the largest city in the Moquegua Region and is the capital of the Ilo Province.<br />en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilo<br /><br />ILO (International Labor Organization) – Founded in 1919 with the objective of promoting social justice, it is the only of the UN System Agencies with a tripartite structure, in which the representatives of employers and employees have the same rights as the government.<br />www.fundacaobunge.org.br/eng/citizenship_dictionary/<br /><br />.../GlitchGlitchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14940000404613329056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-5479877106637266102009-08-17T15:29:25.975-04:002009-08-17T15:29:25.975-04:00Tsk, Rexxie,
Always with the OLD people referenc...Tsk, Rexxie, <br /><br />Always with the OLD people references! I admit I'm old-- but not quite dead yet. I watch the local news, and then the network news. Every night. Maybe I should protest the 6:30 part of the clue as "Zone-ist;" OUR national-news time is 5:30. Think of it as the Early Bird Special.<br /> <br />(You see, boys and girls, there just wasn't enough room in the desirable and superior Eastern Time Zone, so all the OLD people were driven across the Central Time Zone line, in a trek known as The Trail of Walkers. All of the old people were relocated in Assisted Living Reservations and given free drool bibs. And televisions tuned to the network news.)<br /><br />It was an easy puzzle, although I put down Rest Stop--(we STOP at all of them;) ditto Purple Rain--(the only rock album/song title I actually know;) and I still don't know what ILO stands for.Elainehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13195458656221202202noreply@blogger.com