tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post8259386418516802964..comments2024-03-28T07:33:16.316-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Chief Theban deity / TUE 7-5-11 / Lead pumper in old slang / Lanai ladies / Winemaking province of Italy / Former Polish capitalRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger88125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-79687764667142346222011-08-09T20:14:47.096-04:002011-08-09T20:14:47.096-04:00@Deb: When the Montreal Gazette stopped publishing...@Deb: When the Montreal Gazette stopped publishing the name(s)of the NYT puzzle constructors some months ago, I complained to them by phone and - lo and behold - they relented and started printing their names again. So, maybe a call to the Post by you might just set things right.<br /><br />In terms of the title, though, I believe only the Sunday puzzle actually has one.Waxy in Montrealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04395751487137805245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80190206117815125022011-08-09T19:04:59.983-04:002011-08-09T19:04:59.983-04:00As is often the case, reading the comments about t...As is often the case, reading the comments about this one was as much fun as doing the puzzle, and - sorry, ACME - the best of today's (for me) are the comments about wash day. Like @quilter, @chefwen and @sfingi, I have memories of WASH day, when my mother would use a mangle to wring the sheets and pillowcases, then fold them and put them in humongous Tupperware boxes and freeze them... to be brought out the next day to be ironed (usually by me). This was in the early sixties and sounds laborious now, but nothing compared to the days of boiling your laundry and scrubbing it over a washboard! <br /><br />Also @ACME, your point is well taken about your work being uncredited (and underpaid). The Denver Post doesn't print the names of the constructor(s). They also don't print a title on the dailies, which seems equally unsporting.Debhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16675331024091722316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24751370417580566552011-08-09T16:25:39.726-04:002011-08-09T16:25:39.726-04:00@Anon 3:41pm: Actually here in Quebec, a predomina...@Anon 3:41pm: Actually here in Quebec, a predominately French-speaking province, it's almost always spelled LYS! On the other hand, to spell St-DENIS with a Y would be a real rarity ici.Waxy in Montrealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04395751487137805245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67619173116555168802011-08-09T15:41:52.378-04:002011-08-09T15:41:52.378-04:00OH SAY, the first cross I looked at made me SCOWL....OH SAY, the first cross I looked at made me SCOWL. Fleur de LYS?? Never in all my life have I ever seen it spelled that way. It's "fleur de lis." You may introduce hyphens if you wish--but NOT a "Y." Next thing that gave me fits was 9d, which naturally wanted OUTTAKES. For the longest time, I couldn't figure out what "Capitol ____" would take that ended in U. This was further complicated by my putting in SUV instead of ATV. Eventually I abandoned the area and began working the middle and up from there. 22a OPIATE was a gimme, which led to the proper rework.<br /> Liked GOGOL, GHETTO and KRAKOW; didn't like ALER (didn't we just have that?) and the overworked XERS. But, Andrea YOGA Michaels and friend, nice TEAMWORK!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-49230631780857336422011-08-09T14:51:50.467-04:002011-08-09T14:51:50.467-04:00Well, I guess there are advantages to NOT being a ...Well, I guess there are advantages to NOT being a seasoned solver who is therefore able to dissect the themes and construction to the nth degree. I do these puzzles because I enjoy them and I really enjoyed this one. I thought the themes were good - loved the SPEEDO one! - and the fill was interesting.<br /><br />I thought it was fairly easy for a Tuesday and made me smile as I did it.<br /><br />@Rex - thanks to you I spent almost two hours watching clips from the Carol Burnett show - it was always one of my favourites and the ones with Harvey and Tim were hysterical. Tim was always able to crack everyone up on set, especially Harvey, and those were some of the funniest moments.<br /><br />@sfingi - I would love to find the misguided neighbour who feeds peanuts to squirrels here - they all come to dig up MY garden to bury them and it is a constant battle to protect my plants!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-19195432104775715762011-08-09T11:23:34.372-04:002011-08-09T11:23:34.372-04:00Could've done without DIRTY ROTTEN EGGO, perha...Could've done without DIRTY ROTTEN EGGO, perhaps in favor of KIDNAPPING RINGO (which happened three times in <i>Help!</i>).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-82115315028466306992011-07-07T09:01:14.782-04:002011-07-07T09:01:14.782-04:00I am behind on the puzzle this week, and so I just...I am behind on the puzzle this week, and so I just did Tuesday today. I love you Rex. I'm so happy to be doing yoga with you again.<br /><br />There is no specific need for a mat to do raja yoga. Mats are a modern invention for asana (physical) practice. So I'm with Rex here.Elisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06331208281601088324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-23805567088371320742011-07-06T12:35:44.814-04:002011-07-06T12:35:44.814-04:00@martin...thank you for the explanation on scoring...@martin...thank you for the explanation on scoring...interesting.WesIslandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17663927123295954424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-75419428647232711272011-07-06T00:50:00.371-04:002011-07-06T00:50:00.371-04:00Lots of options with PACIFICO or OREO, but the bes...Lots of options with PACIFICO or OREO, but the best other option I can think of is probably CARIB BEANO QUEEN.SethGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13753036404140901368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-75644939601801925302011-07-05T23:39:33.988-04:002011-07-05T23:39:33.988-04:00hi hi...finally chiming in!
Busy day, not licking ...hi hi...finally chiming in!<br />Busy day, not licking my wounds as some suspected! <br /><br />I agree that AGON/CHUG might have bettered AMON/CHUM... and at some point in our 359 emails back and forth, it was brought up that 3 of the 4 were brand names, so we searched for a fourth that was fifteen so we could have four fifteens, which as you know is tough to do early week. Somewhere along the line we fell in love with SNOWBALLINHELLO (hey there is a They Might be Giants song, so good enough for us!) and I think just plain forgot!<br /><br />Yes, tons of fun constructing...<br />I think the germ of the idea was Joho's UNSAFE AT ANY SPEEDO which was 17 letters.<br />I thought that was hysterical and puzzle-worthy...culled it back to FULLSPEEDOAHEAD (15)<br />to make it a daily-size not a Sunday.<br /><br />We then generated hundreds of + O words.<br />For the record, our original clue was "European beach warning?"<br />nothing to do with chubby, chubbies or whatever!!! Perhaps too risque...<br />(Had to explain at Amy's blog that the chubby clue is not one we wrote, nor were we making a fat person joke, god forbid, when the discussion got derailed over there...)<br /><br />And yes, IXION too hard (but again, constraints of four fifteens and IXION, in a ddition to his X, seemed like an interesting character, tied to a wheel, and all.)<br /><br />NE corner was the only one changed...WASH was originally WUSS.<br />NYT "cleaned" it up to (on a Monday, I guess! I never heard of Monday = wash day and had my feminist hackles all up, but I think that corner was better...<br />and I'm so glad someone provided that poem...but that's why the WASH clue and the ASEA clue were not our style; but 98% is intact.<br /><br />Thought @Rex would appreciate all the K's and putting BLOG in there, and yes, OHSAY was a nod to the theme(as was RINGO) and yes it's hard to criticize or be criticized by friends, but we can take it! <br />He didn't like certain things...I GUESS he's entitled! But we thought there would be lots more he would love. We were wrong!<br /><br />@evildoug<br />Re: You always bring this up, so may I finally say, one man's insistence that a signature word is narcissism and self-promotion is another woman's small wink and a smile and a reminder of all the years constructors went uncredited (and still do in half the syndicated papers...)<br />but yes, no ACME this time around, bec JOHO and I were indeed co-conspirators; so thrilled that others looked for it and found TEAMWORK!<br />:)um, acmenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-21225081960146341982011-07-05T22:40:21.741-04:002011-07-05T22:40:21.741-04:00@Anon1020 - Don't be squirelly - come out of h...@Anon1020 - Don't be squirelly - come out of hiding!Sfingihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06903616949048940858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-23369110614580895842011-07-05T22:20:28.062-04:002011-07-05T22:20:28.062-04:00@Sfingi - Well, at least one nut :)@Sfingi - Well, at least one nut :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-38819708475203414782011-07-05T22:18:13.760-04:002011-07-05T22:18:13.760-04:00@PurpleGuy - love that mandowed. Can't wait to...@PurpleGuy - love that mandowed. Can't wait to use it.<br /><br />I liked the theme, except that SPEEDO, LEGO, and EGGO are products, and HELLO isn't. <br /><br />Never heard of IXION or LIEV Schreiber, or the Wall Street Journal called WSJ, but if I get my new words/names by crosses, all is well. <br /><br />My squirrels are spoiled; peanuts daily and the occasional piecrust.<br />I sing to them, "Peanuts, ohohohohohoh, you're my squirrel, love ya and I'll never let you goho," and they know the nuts are there. <br /><br />@Quilter - my mom loved ironing. She even had a Mangle taking up half the kitchen.Sfingihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06903616949048940858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-57750723896264946452011-07-05T22:15:38.648-04:002011-07-05T22:15:38.648-04:00@chefbea - I was drinking, not pouring! (Sobered ...@chefbea - I was drinking, not pouring! (Sobered up a bit now - sentiment would be the same but maybe not expressed the same way.)Bob Kerfufflehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02615811802419025933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-4586887929613107362011-07-05T21:49:10.510-04:002011-07-05T21:49:10.510-04:00@ chefbea - that's effen funny!@ chefbea - that's effen funny!retired_chemisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13181126754941899228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-69910861045430073382011-07-05T21:25:42.354-04:002011-07-05T21:25:42.354-04:00@Bob Kerfuffle what brand of vodka did you have?...@Bob Kerfuffle what brand of vodka did you have???chefbeahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15195945085405126511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-29230053147301577952011-07-05T21:09:36.446-04:002011-07-05T21:09:36.446-04:00(So late in the day . . . everything has been sai...(So late in the day . . . everything has been said . . . but I will post anyway . . . )<br /><br />Did this one at the beach today, talk about FULL SPEEDOS - (well, actually, like mac, I was near a beach where some wore no Speedos at all . . .) And I had a couple of vodka Collinseses after the beach . . . <br /><br />And I'll admit, when I filled in WALNUTS, I thought those were some high-living squirrels! And I really thought it was DENIS, not DENYS, until I could see it was a YOGA mat.<br /><br />But unlike Rex, I have no claim to objectivity, so really all I can say is XOXOXO to ACME (literally) and to joho (figuratively, futuristically?)Bob Kerfufflehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02615811802419025933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-15020237997780670192011-07-05T20:44:23.502-04:002011-07-05T20:44:23.502-04:00Rex,
I just want to say how much I appreciate you...Rex,<br /><br />I just want to say how much I appreciate your candor even when you are commenting on a puzzle constructed by friends. I don't think it can be easy when you have critical comments to make in such a situation--at least it wouldn't be for me if I were in your shoes.santafefrannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-3461710433546878362011-07-05T20:06:47.696-04:002011-07-05T20:06:47.696-04:00Oh, and yes, I too would love to hear some of the ...Oh, and yes, I too would love to hear some of the back-story!Vegahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01893157908004486201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-54201640648893451602011-07-05T20:00:50.695-04:002011-07-05T20:00:50.695-04:00"Religion, to the masses, per Marx." Bet..."Religion, to the masses, per Marx." Between the commas and the "per," it makes me laugh every time I read it.<br /><br />And how great is it that places like this exist where I can talk about going back and re-reading clues that make me laugh and know that I'm in good company.<br /><br />I agree: I was looking for the signature, and found it at TEAMWORK. Very cool.Vegahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01893157908004486201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-84437348516024428532011-07-05T19:52:31.558-04:002011-07-05T19:52:31.558-04:00Thanks, @Joho for commenting today. More, please!...Thanks, @Joho for commenting today. More, please! You know how we all love to hear how these puzzles come into being.<br /><br />Was RINGO originally one of your ideas for a theme answer? (Something like THIS DIAMOND RINGO, but alas, 16 letters...)<br /> <br />Hope to hear from ACME today, too.<br /><br />Congratulations to you both!nanpillahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05548473809500612699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44615401964495803022011-07-05T19:33:58.982-04:002011-07-05T19:33:58.982-04:00@Joho, great to hear from you! I hope you and/or A...@Joho, great to hear from you! I hope you and/or Andrea are willing to tell us a bit more about how this started, the inspiration for the theme, the trials and tribulations of constructing for the first time, etc. <br /><br />I'm so glad you're happy! Only a few of the Rexites have converted-- from commenters to NYTimes constructors, that is. It's wonderful to see, and it must be a thrill to have accomplished it! <br /><br />I'll raise my Prosecco to you and Andrea tonight!foodiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13052189131129098616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-42659032503112964022011-07-05T19:16:46.434-04:002011-07-05T19:16:46.434-04:00@ joho - congratulations on your debut!
@ Andrea ...@ joho - congratulations on your debut!<br /><br />@ Andrea - congratulations too!<br /><br />The puzzle- medium-challenging here. Agree there is a little raggedness to the theme. some of the other fill is a bit tougher than I expected for a Tuesday:BAHN, IXION, DENYS (unusual spelling).<br /><br />You got one by the grey lady with "chubby" - see Urban Dictionary, definition 1.<br /><br />But a fun solve. Thanks both.retired_chemisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13181126754941899228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10419880707699133802011-07-05T18:28:22.693-04:002011-07-05T18:28:22.693-04:00@Rex, as joho I have to say I don't agree with...@Rex, as joho I have to say I don't agree with your take today (Big surprise?!!) But I do thank you for this glorious blog where I have learned so much over the past three years not only from your comments but from the whole community. All invaluable. <br /><br />Plus this is where I "met" Andrea who is incredible to work and laugh with. As I said over at "Wordplay" she is as smart as she is funny.<br /><br />As Johanna I want to thank everyone for the kind comments. This was supposed to be fun and if we succeeded in bringing a smile to your face, I'm happy. Oh wait, I'm happy anyway!johohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12708487230515532492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-35598159500822817352011-07-05T17:12:31.956-04:002011-07-05T17:12:31.956-04:00You said "(who probably didn't bother to ...You said "(who probably didn't bother to check the site or would have tried the correct query". <br /><br />What were you talking about?claudenoreply@blogger.com