tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post8168809837570697744..comments2024-03-28T17:36:31.347-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: FRIDAY, May 16, 2008 - Kevin G. Der (OPPOSITE OF AGITATO)Rex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger77125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-16917389735081590192008-06-27T18:12:00.000-04:002008-06-27T18:12:00.000-04:00As usual for late in the week, it took me a long t...As usual for late in the week, it took me a long time to get started, with various guesses around the grid. <BR/><BR/>The most interesting thing is that I looked at the Emmerson line, and decided that the most logical answer was HATE. I still think it is a better answer, as even a Mensa member can get run over by a bus. <BR/><BR/>As for visionaries being Quixotic, I am an authority in that.<BR/><BR/>Over the last 20 years I have developed a comprehensive community Land-use and Transportation plan that would solve most, if not all the problems, and be self funding. Our dysfunctional local government continues to ignore me while spending literally millions (three, at last count) on navel gazing with the help of "experts" from outside the community. <BR/><BR/>Peter Legere DEwDS<BR/>Consulting Visionary/Guerrilla PlannerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-76644694557282486782008-06-27T17:30:00.000-04:002008-06-27T17:30:00.000-04:00Six weeks later. I didn't think of this puzzle as...Six weeks later. I didn't think of this puzzle as easy, but OTH I did complete it with no outside assistance. Since that is a rare Friday for me, it must have been easy. I cracked the SE first and went CCW from there. The SE was causing all kinds of grief for a while, getting Stowe (when I was thinking Peter Cottontail's author for Topsy and couldn't pull that name) cracked squawk. From there the SE fell into place. Enjoyable puzzle for me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56113609831010520672008-06-27T15:04:00.000-04:002008-06-27T15:04:00.000-04:00England always had Mars bars and Milky Ways when I...England always had Mars bars and Milky Ways when I was there, and they are the same as in Canada. Are they different in America? Also, has anyone tried the English delicacy of deep-fried Mars bars? The idea turns my stomach, but then I have never met anyone who has eaten this popular (so I am told) delicacy!<BR/>Glad someone already answered my question about AMBS - it's been driving me nuts.<BR/>Penj.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-51603999581561816122008-06-27T07:42:00.000-04:002008-06-27T07:42:00.000-04:00My day starts with coffee and crossword on the pat...My day starts with coffee and crossword on the patio! Then if I get stuck, I contact the web for assistance, then go to Rex to read his comments. Love it! You're the best, Rex! KPC<BR/><BR/>PS Have you all discovered viewzi.com?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-84945293365303883202008-05-19T01:13:00.000-04:002008-05-19T01:13:00.000-04:00Enjoyed this one - solved in full in 37 mins, prob...Enjoyed this one - solved in full in 37 mins, probably my best effort for a Friday NYT. Surprised to see no mention of what gets called a 'pangram' in the UK - all letters of the alphabet appearing in the grid. This helped me at the end as I'd not seen Jacuzzi (considered 'massage' for a while), and thought 1D would be some ancient football star. Liked the absence (mostly) of 'unfathomable US stuff - poli. and milit. abbrevs, small towns, actors/actresses.xwd_fiendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01290578300623523697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-51265196070356540522008-05-16T23:40:00.000-04:002008-05-16T23:40:00.000-04:00Somebody said it was 97 fahrenheit yesterday, but ...Somebody said it was 97 fahrenheit yesterday, but that seems overblown. And it IS whiny of me to complain, as I am from D.C. and this is really nothing. But somehow I am truly uncomfortable. Damn you and your ocean breezes Fergus.<BR/><BR/>Orange, I don't know if I can click on your link. The thought is enough to give my theoretical grandchildren nightmares via a sort of legacy DNA of horror. Two more beers and I'll have the courage.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Mac--I do a short skit where I reenact a day at Disney World. I just stand there and move three inches every five minutes. And yeah, I must have mentioned the girlness at some point. Although the eagerness to marry Orange or the willingness to enter a POLY relationship with puzzlegirl and orange may have thrown you off. I AM in California, though.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-52765031777417278522008-05-16T23:24:00.000-04:002008-05-16T23:24:00.000-04:00Problem with finishing so late in the day is that ...Problem with finishing so late in the day is that it's all been said. Enjoyed this one -- especially seeing Doreen from my childhood. The east came easy to me, then I picked away til the NW fell, and finally, last the SW.<BR/><BR/>Agree with all who found POLY to be their TEXAS U for the day. <BR/><BR/>@ Wade: yeah what's up with the @ sign? I just do it because I see everyone else doing it. Guess that makes me a victim of peer pressure.Barbara Bolsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06520568012674731813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80475041105622490012008-05-16T21:56:00.000-04:002008-05-16T21:56:00.000-04:00I don't know, but maybe she said so.I don't know, but maybe she said so.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-11445731716504906662008-05-16T21:42:00.000-04:002008-05-16T21:42:00.000-04:00Good to see your slice here, O. It was sort of a t...Good to see your slice here, O. It was sort of a tedious day. We didn't sparkle the way we normally do....machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-77183165934738647122008-05-16T21:39:00.000-04:002008-05-16T21:39:00.000-04:00Mantis, "slap a clown" sounds way better than clow...Mantis, "slap a clown" sounds way better than <A HREF="http://www.somethingawful.com/d/horrors-of-porn/clown-porn.php" REL="nofollow">clown porn</A>.Orangehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12433254398377357737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-28410276940803054662008-05-16T21:35:00.000-04:002008-05-16T21:35:00.000-04:00Where's Orange?@ulrich: I think it was Gertrude St...Where's Orange?<BR/><BR/>@ulrich: I think it was Gertrude Stein who said, probably about Alice Toklas, that good cooks are usually overweight and overtired. I think that doesn't mean really fat.<BR/><BR/>@green mantis: I think clowns are scary, and all the characters at Disney World with masks on as well. I was very happy to leave DW, having done my duty of taking our son there - he never asked for a repeat. Lots of masks, lots of lines, cold, had to buy sweat shirts we would never wear again, and don't get me started on the food.<BR/><BR/>@bill from nj: I said before, I felt the same way.....<BR/><BR/>@fergus: how do you know green mantis is a female?machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-34802965201992226902008-05-16T20:29:00.000-04:002008-05-16T20:29:00.000-04:00Ms Mantis, As is typical after a bit of heat in Sa...Ms Mantis, As is typical after a bit of heat in Santa Cruz, the wind rips in off the ocean and wipes all the stagnant air away. Right now it's gone down to 23 degrees, or about 72 Faerenheit. It got hot here. How hot in your part of San Francisco? A woman from Florida said to me at a party last weekend that it was quaint when Californians complain about the heat. <BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>(rp - the coastal, not Fresnan)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-545908714322848912008-05-16T20:28:00.000-04:002008-05-16T20:28:00.000-04:00Nice puzzle, but like others -- I don't like "poly...Nice puzzle, but like others -- I don't like "poly" sci -- it's poli sci. I know lots of people do this, but it really makes me cringe.<BR/><BR/>Like Frisco for San Francisco or TexasU for UT.Michael Chibnikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04700426644898924644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-13497109270528355292008-05-16T20:08:00.000-04:002008-05-16T20:08:00.000-04:00@kathy: Favorite Dorothy Parker "My vision of my ...@kathy: Favorite Dorothy Parker "My vision of my past is clouded by the smoke of my burning bridges."dkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17317008233459295376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-70431594178144104392008-05-16T19:49:00.001-04:002008-05-16T19:49:00.001-04:00Badly wanted 'stalkers" for the clowns, even thoug...Badly wanted 'stalkers" for the clowns, even though it doesn't fit. There's a site out there whose only purpose is to provide a satisfying outlet for those of us with the desire to slap a clown. Its sister site is Slap a Mime.<BR/><BR/>Fiji was a super gimme because I once wrote a rather elaborate paper arguing that the Truman Show was a garden of Eden allegory, what with the omnipotent guy in the control booth, etc. Anyway, I believe I found a farfetched way to link Truman's longing for Fiji to a desire to live an unfettered (by a controlling God) life with Eve via a super-stretchy Fiji-Fuji apple flight of reason. Mmm, apples. <BR/><BR/>Fergus, are you roasting too? My brain cells are set to saute.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24339400416674270882008-05-16T19:49:00.000-04:002008-05-16T19:49:00.000-04:00As the father if a 17-year-old girl and a 14-year-...As the father if a 17-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy, I try to stay conversant with the argot of the day so I felt a little twinge when I read Rex's review of todays' puzzle.<BR/><BR/>Like parshutr, <B>Prufrock</B> flitted across my mind.<BR/><BR/>I think the lines<BR/><BR/><I>I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each<BR/><BR/>I do not think they will sing to me</I><BR/><BR/>are the most heartbreaking in all poetryBill from NJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10103923612595508277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67342166870646817622008-05-16T18:29:00.000-04:002008-05-16T18:29:00.000-04:00@miriam b: Funny that you feel the need to mention...@miriam b: Funny that you feel the need to mention that you are not "fat" (your word)--I would have never assumed that b/c when I look at the people I know, the people who love to eat (and only eat) good food are never "fat"--they are just too picky for that. As opposed to the people who simply love to eat--whatever is put in front of them (and then think they are doing themselves a great favor by ordering a diet pepsi to go with their 2000+ cal dinner!)Ulrichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02086202853174403008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80414046872829779882008-05-16T18:22:00.000-04:002008-05-16T18:22:00.000-04:00Well, I'm neither under 50 nor over, but made a ri...Well, I'm neither under 50 nor over, but made a right dog's dinner out of this one. What an UNKEMPT grid I have -- nearly the entire western half is written over, sometimes two or three times. This, by the way, is often the mark of a really good puzzle, though.<BR/><BR/>Some mistakes: Agnew for ADAMS, Collect for COMPILE, Silence for AT PEACE, Net User for NETIZEN, TOW Boat for LINE, Cast Iron or Iron-clad for NON-STICK, ... the list goes on.<BR/><BR/>I was doing the puzzle in the teachers' lounge and someone was looking for ideas about philosophical literature and I suggested Emerson. A minute later I saw the clue and we had a go at the four bank spaces. Half a dozen attempts, including her guess at LOVE, and we were nowhere near our FATE. <BR/><BR/>When I was a teenager I was quite entertained by my English uncle and his friends, who would pull out the A. A. MILNE after a few gin and tonics and regale each other with some of their favorite passages. This is just so British. To relive the torture of one's youth with such genuine fondness, albeit somewhat mawkishly under the spell of the juniper berry.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-28493085923435400922008-05-16T17:56:00.000-04:002008-05-16T17:56:00.000-04:00@david- think of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicol...@david- think of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat"Doc Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12540112168511893896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-14222865155561316372008-05-16T17:51:00.000-04:002008-05-16T17:51:00.000-04:00Felt certain that this one would get a Relative Re...Felt certain that this one would get a Relative Rex Rating (RRR) of "medium". <BR/><BR/>I was wrong about that just as I was wrong about pump numbers = OCTAVES (as in the instrument pump organ). I didn't make much sense even then but I clung to it still.Kimbopolohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05702789278570839179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-29701614952425516792008-05-16T17:30:00.000-04:002008-05-16T17:30:00.000-04:00Just didn't feel like a Friday puzzle, difficult b...Just didn't feel like a Friday puzzle, difficult but not in a satisfying way, too many references to time on Earth cultural experiences, but that's just my POV. One thing I am certain about, having sampled the taste provided by Rex, whatever you want to call Merl Saunders music, you may not call it Jazz, this is Jazz! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmhP1RgbrrYLadelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00822660581698301611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-64148138127464014512008-05-16T17:27:00.000-04:002008-05-16T17:27:00.000-04:00Can someone explain Technicolor Vibrant? Seems to...Can someone explain Technicolor <> Vibrant? Seems to violate the word form rule - as the only use I know for the former is "in glorious technicolor". My dictionary entry just says "trademark - used for color motion pictures".<BR/>And "Visionary" for Quixote??? Doesn't that clue need SOME qualifier even on a Friday to indicate that the answer is a very specific example of the very categorical clue? Would "President" be an acceptable clue for "degaulle" for example?<BR/>This one was depressingly hard for me - gave up on the SW finally and just went to my favorite NETIXEN (a term I have NEVER heard in my life) Rex.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9511257480315637012008-05-16T17:14:00.000-04:002008-05-16T17:14:00.000-04:00Kevin rocks! (Are folks over 40 allowed to say th...Kevin rocks! (Are folks over 40 allowed to say that?!) <BR/>I'll dig up a cute pic I have of him from the ACPT that perhaps Rex will include in his round-up. He is not a teen, but, yes, could play one on TV.<BR/><BR/>Nice pangram, dude...and not just one Z but 3, two J's, 4 K's!<BR/><BR/>@wade<BR/>Odd, I had the exact same time as you, but I was watching a "Farmer takes a Wife" tape (my latest guilty pleasure) at the same time, does that count?<BR/><BR/>I originally had GAROTTES for GAVOTTES, you know, that part when you are doing the minuet and you suddenly strangle your partner with a thin piece of wire...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-6330232896718041052008-05-16T16:53:00.000-04:002008-05-16T16:53:00.000-04:00@kathy (hey, what's the deal with the "@" in addre...@kathy (hey, what's the deal with the "@" in addressing posters, by the way?), funny you bring that up. I've railed against Pooh on this board before, and had written another diatribe for today but it didn't get posted because blogger or something screwed up (I didn't resurrect it for the post that did make it onto the board, above.) That Pooh crap is insipid. When I'm forced to read it to my kids I skip about 3/4 of the twee dialogue.<BR/><BR/>puzzlegirl, if something plays hard to get, I take my ball and go home. To mix my metaphors and single entendres.<BR/><BR/>sethg, my dad can beat up your dad.RodeoToadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03374112725461339067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-51880315406347958972008-05-16T16:46:00.000-04:002008-05-16T16:46:00.000-04:00Okay, not to resurrect Dorothy Parker again, but t...Okay, not to resurrect Dorothy Parker again, but the A.A. Milne answer made me laugh out loud. Dorothy did book reviews for Vanity Fair way back when, titled "Constant Reader." This is what she said about an A.A. Milne book:<BR/><BR/>"Tonstant Weader fwowed up" <BR/><BR/>Think it was a Winnie-the-Pooh book. I would have loved to have a few drinks with her at the Algonquin!<BR/><BR/>KathyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com