tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post8187503703573804029..comments2024-03-29T05:08:37.783-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Motor oil letters / SAT 9-1-12 / Big name in taco kits / 1980s Cosby co-star / Ricky Martin's springboard to fame / Gondoliers girl / Victors of 1879 Battle of IsandlwanaRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger72125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91056183920393996252012-10-06T21:57:16.648-04:002012-10-06T21:57:16.648-04:00@DMG - it was doing the (syndicated) Sunday puzzle...@DMG - it was doing the (syndicated) Sunday puzzle that got me hooked on the NYT Crosswords and brought me to this blog. I hope you'll reconsider skipping the Sunday puz because they are (usually) a lot of fun and well worth the extra time it takes to fill in the expanded grid. If you can tackle a Saturday puzzle, then Sunday should be a piece of cake!Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-62703107119770384692012-10-06T20:47:00.738-04:002012-10-06T20:47:00.738-04:00My apologies to those who went to my blog yesterda...My apologies to those who went to my blog yesterday looking for the link to the "empty seat" monologue delivered by Clint Eastwood at the RNC convention. If you are still interested you can view "The Daily Show" coverage here": http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/fri-august-31-2012/rnc-2012---the-road-to-jeb-bush-2016---invisible-obama?xrs=share_copy.<br /><br />It's well worth watching.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-76962093947091553852012-10-06T19:55:05.633-04:002012-10-06T19:55:05.633-04:00Well, apparently I AM a robot, because I finished ...Well, apparently I AM a robot, because I finished this one very early in the day--for me--and was the first Syndi-blogger.<br /><br />Not.<br /><br />Where it went I haven't the foggiest, but in a nutshell, This one was almost as much fun as yesterday's. Near-Naticked in the NE, I knew it had to be either AB- or AD-INITIO. RABE or RADE? Wait, my Latin prefixes (thank you, Miss Lippi!)! AB means from. In the SW, a true triple-Nat. Didn't know the acrosses at 50, 59 OR 66. So I had LEN somebody (someone said this was a GIMME???) I wound up putting in the A, L and N on pure guesswork. I was right! Go figure. LENAOLIN. Sounds like something you put on your kitchen floor.<br /><br />@anon 11:17: Footnote to "ZULU!" filmed about Rorke's (Roarke's?) Drift: This was the film debut of one Michael Caine, who made a remarkable transformation from spoiled aristocrat who wouldn't soil his hanky to uber-courageous soldier fighting for his life. The picture was, IMO, vastly underrated; luckily, Michael was not.Spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-55370887823167374272012-10-06T15:09:00.269-04:002012-10-06T15:09:00.269-04:00Wow. Somehow the Captcha word(a?) inserted themse...Wow. Somehow the Captcha word(a?) inserted themselves into my comment about the Captcha! How weird is that?!DMGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-86448061827617002242012-10-06T15:04:10.483-04:002012-10-06T15:04:10.483-04:00Like @Hazel I found this one to be a crossing of t...Like @Hazel I found this one to be a crossing of the diabolical with the unknown. Strangely, after two days of solving all but the SE, that was the only part of today's poser I completed on my own! Everywhere else showed my ignorance of everything from PEACEOUT to RABE. Often skip Sunday's, they seem to come from a different planet, so looking forward to Monday to help me realize I'm not a robot. Speaking of which, why does Captcha ask us to "type the two words"?? I only see one word. 2 condutdoAs I understand it, that other thing is called a number. See you Monday.DMGrandmanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-11708909410765285182012-09-13T15:42:33.167-04:002012-09-13T15:42:33.167-04:00Ayrshire is the county, Ayr is the town. Ayrshire is the county, Ayr is the town. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-89544180285175269862012-09-01T23:17:34.780-04:002012-09-01T23:17:34.780-04:00The Battle of Isandlwana was followed immediately ...The Battle of Isandlwana was followed immediately by the Battle of Rorke's Drift, where a ridiculously outnumbered British garrison successfully held off repeated attacks by victorious ZULUS fresh from Isandlwana. Rorke's Drift was dramatized in the film "Zulu", while Isandlwana itself gets a gruesome, comic treatment in "Monty Python's Meaning of Life". Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-23557825309795153522012-09-01T20:47:53.713-04:002012-09-01T20:47:53.713-04:00@Deb: congratulations! Enjoy that event.@Deb: congratulations! Enjoy that event.machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-17194003854868864982012-09-01T20:21:41.558-04:002012-09-01T20:21:41.558-04:00In the end there was just too much I didn't kn...In the end there was just too much I didn't know so I wound up with a few blank squares when I finally quit after my self-imposed two hour/two bourbon limit. But I had fun in my failure and I learned some things, and that still defines a good puzzle for me.<br /><br />@Deb - congratulations on your son's impending nuptials. My older son was recently married but he eloped to Germany for a civil ceremony, though he promises a formal celebration of the marriage next Spring with friends and family in attendance - I guess I'd better get a passport. Happily for me, my tan is well established so I will not have to contend with sun-burned buttocks (or heels) when I go.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-78753421209078637882012-09-01T20:05:09.072-04:002012-09-01T20:05:09.072-04:00Thanks to @Acme for parsing HI-C!
Had I not read y...Thanks to @Acme for parsing HI-C!<br />Had I not read your comment, I'd still be thinking that there's a weird brand out there named HIC!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-89576311229319267902012-09-01T19:27:55.488-04:002012-09-01T19:27:55.488-04:00I got this slowly, but finally was able to finish....I got this slowly, but finally was able to finish. Couldn't get Urbana until the very end even though I drove through there and stayed for a night with friends two weeks ago.<br /><br />The captchas are almost as hard as the Saturday puzzle...michaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-79657092453229708822012-09-01T18:54:21.460-04:002012-09-01T18:54:21.460-04:00DNF--a few blanks on the right hand side. The fru...DNF--a few blanks on the right hand side. The frustrating thing is I had ATIT, URBANA and REB but erased chunks of them to clear my vision. Thought of NOBEL as an industrialist. Had RaaB before RABE. Looked him and LENA OLIN up in my Maltin book.<br /><br />Yesterday, CUNYTV had a show on Beniamino Gigli. Beautiful voice. Have a good long weekend.Sparkyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11149915526159432838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-48421236957104944142012-09-01T18:32:05.815-04:002012-09-01T18:32:05.815-04:00I am not a robot, though I'e found it impossib...I am not a robot, though I'e found it impossible of late to prove this. I'm going to try again now, as I don't want to miss the opportunity of thanking Mr. Croce for a terrific puzzle. The MATAHARI clue gave me the giggles. Schadenfreude, I suppose.miriam bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506593846362044050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24806611373175755052012-09-01T17:18:42.920-04:002012-09-01T17:18:42.920-04:00A plug for a different type of Xword pleasure, don...A plug for a different type of Xword pleasure, done by a small group, two to four perhaps. It's up to four after our Friday walking group, each of us with a different range of knowledge. <br /><br />We struggle, we brainstorm, one's error becomes another's trigger for the correct word. We are all each other's heroes when we ultimately look at the completed grid.<br /><br />That mutual high five when we succeed is a delight, as we go over our venture in playful symbiosisAl Rodbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05993709026872288071noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-6279164251648959252012-09-01T16:56:08.438-04:002012-09-01T16:56:08.438-04:00@Nick: we like random trivia.
Medium-challenging ...@Nick: we like random trivia.<br /><br />Medium-challenging to me, mainly because of the SW. SAE and ONTHE did me in, with the help of stupor.<br /><br />I like Loren's format, so here were some of my write-overs:<br /><br />short order for smooth jazz<br />stupor for torpor<br />St. Paul for Urbana<br />Boers for Zulus<br />sneeze - snivel - shiver<br /><br />Mata Hari was a gimme, but I did think of Isadora Duncan. Not an execution, though, but more of a dancer.<br /><br />A real Saturday puzzle, thanks Tim C! <br />machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-16669002161420815652012-09-01T15:48:08.708-04:002012-09-01T15:48:08.708-04:00If a third of your fill is random trivia, shouldn&...If a third of your fill is random trivia, shouldn't you just start over?Nicknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-49749928827325913542012-09-01T15:36:47.427-04:002012-09-01T15:36:47.427-04:00Just to set the record straight, Ed Koch was not e...Just to set the record straight, Ed Koch was not elected eight times as mayor. He served three four-year terms as mayor and before that was a congressman.ksquarehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06181873595483296089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9270672406322728922012-09-01T15:23:05.320-04:002012-09-01T15:23:05.320-04:00Whew. Absolutely had to Google too much. Puzzles...Whew. Absolutely had to Google too much. Puzzles like this keep me humble. Really liked the clues for POTATO and PDA...Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09709142959535977331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-71479011777278130862012-09-01T15:10:03.971-04:002012-09-01T15:10:03.971-04:00I've been thinking that there's a tense pr...I've been thinking that there's a tense problem with GETS USED TO. However, if Rex GETS USED TO Pangrams was the headline for a news story, the first line of the story might well be Rex IS NO LONGER FAZED BY pangrams.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-43356906760649816322012-09-01T14:32:34.778-04:002012-09-01T14:32:34.778-04:00@Loren
Usually you'd be able to tell that &quo...@Loren<br />Usually you'd be able to tell that "we raise our..." might be wrong because it's a long partial that when you step back and look at the grid can not stand alone.<br />If "glasses" was in the puzzle (eg "With 43A, the start of a toast") then it would be ok.<br /><br />That's the only reason he got away with ONTHE in the grid, which as I said, does not look good, esp since the ROAD is above it, not below.<br /><br />It's also the same reason I was confused as to whether I should write in ONEO CAT as opposed to ONE OCAT. <br />I think that's why many constructors try and avoid too many partials or annoying cross references, but I suspect there is a part of Tim Croce (whom I don't know) who actually delights in this kind of thing, which is a turn off to me as a solver.<br /> ( I'm sure some anon will now take that as an opportunity to dredge up a past puzzle where I've done that exact thing... But I'm just trying to illuminate why it's not often done and what "the rules" tend to be, on the chance that helps with either your solving/constructing.)<br /><br />And again, I've never made a Saturday in my life. Sometimes Patrick Berry inspires me to try, but usually I'm not tempted as it's a totally different bear.<br /><br />It may be interesting to note that you get paid the same whether it's a Monday or a Saturday puzzle!<br /> I don't honestly know which gets more solvers...as those who can tackle a Saturday NY Times puzzle is a tiny percentage...yet many Saturday folks don't bother with early week puzzles.<br />On the other hand, thousands ONLY do Monday and Tuesdays, or thru half of Wednesday , if I'm to extrapolate from folks I've interacted with.<br />But it's still hard to measure because Monday solvers, including many newbies would probably not be solving on line, so harder to count.<br />(On the other hand, perhaps students who are being introduced to the puzzle are only doing it on line, so there can be an easier way to count later.)<br />Or Sanfranman59 could figure it out...and yet, again, the stats might be skewed or meaningless if early week solvers are either the kind to whom it would never occur to speed solve and post on line... or the exact reverse...ie late week expert solvers who ONLY do early week for speed practice.<br /><br />It also seems like some commenters today still had trouble, as I had initially, parsing Hi-C the drink.<br />(HIC being the sound you make afterward if it's been laced with alcohol or you chugged it too fast!)<br /><br />Others seem unfamiliar with PEACEOUT, which again strikes me as one of those phrases that I'd only heard on MTV wannabe shows years ago...and that by the time it hits the NY Times it's already fallen into disuse, except perhaps ironically...or by an older white guy misguidedly going for hipness a year or two or three too late.<br />We've got lots of those here in San Francisco!<br />For half a second I thought @thebard was going to cite it in a quote!<br /><br />How I wish I were in St Paul with @dk watching others eat things on a stick!!!<br />Plus Semisonic is playing the MN State Fair this weekend!!! (The drummer, Jake Slichter, is from Champaign-Urbana which is how i avoided the St Paul trap, tho until this second googling, ii thought it was Champagne-Urbana)<br />Happy Labor Day Weekend all!Acmenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-76998993145892057082012-09-01T14:29:39.770-04:002012-09-01T14:29:39.770-04:00The highlight for me was getting CETACEAN, having ...The highlight for me was getting CETACEAN, having just learned/read that word last night in a story in Edith Pearlman's wondrous short story collection Binocular Vision.<br /><br />Otherwise, there was a whole lot of too-diabolical-for-me crossing lots-of-crap-i-don't-know, as is the case for me sometimes on Saturday. <br /><br />I'll be interested to see those early week puzzles!!hazelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04627015904603641109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-81041817073285965732012-09-01T14:19:12.747-04:002012-09-01T14:19:12.747-04:00@Hot type
I do see your point, but what about eg
...@Hot type<br /><br />I do see your point, but what about eg<br /><br />A spoiled child GETS USED TO lots of attention.<br />A spoiled child IS NO LONGER FAZED BY lots of attention. ??<br /><br />I don't know. I'm asking.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-39706009933008498082012-09-01T13:52:43.961-04:002012-09-01T13:52:43.961-04:00@Norm
When you're right, you're right!
...@Norm<br /><br />When you're right, you're right! <br />PB is a perfectionist, and I was hoping you wouldn't notice ;)Sandy Knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-42471961056698185152012-09-01T13:47:27.922-04:002012-09-01T13:47:27.922-04:00Wanted STP for the motor oil because I couldn'...Wanted STP for the motor oil because I couldn't remember SAE. Remembered it instantly once it was revealed by crosses.retired_chemisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13181126754941899228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-27971663177511430452012-09-01T13:46:23.586-04:002012-09-01T13:46:23.586-04:00TimC.@9:19AM-
Good to learn; waiting with poised ...TimC.@9:19AM-<br /><br />Good to learn; waiting with poised pen.jackjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02699305265544975575noreply@blogger.com