tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post8357041033125241916..comments2024-03-29T03:22:09.826-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Strawberry, for one / SAT 2-1-14 / "The Wizard of Oz" farmhand / He wrote of a "vorpal blade"Rex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger84125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24092527359395602232014-03-08T12:30:49.966-05:002014-03-08T12:30:49.966-05:00"And as in uffish thought he stood..." a..."And as in uffish thought he stood..." and pondered what in Wonderland Uno has to do with OLIVEGARDEN...apparently somewhere (that I've NEVER been!) there's an Italian restaurant called "Uno's." Luckily, I DESERVE to get that on crosses.<br /><br />The cluer tried to BEFOG us with "Gets to a seat" for LEADSIN. Yeah, I've seen the explanation and (just barely) buy it, but I still need to open a door for the DRAFT. The spacecraft flag fluttered, but stayed put.<br /><br />For the second time in one puzzle, DESERVE bailed me out; I had EMILNOL_E and was thinking about a T--maybe an ancestor of Nick?--but when I got DESERVE it had to be D. Is this guy Mr. Obscurity 2014, or am I hopelessly non-intellectual? Ne. Vah. Hoidofim.<br /><br />Hand up for taking a while to get MEW; brilliant, fun clue. Gives YOU plenty of chance to MISDO.<br /><br />No problem with ERLE, who finally gets a NON-Gardner clue. This puzzle, looking typically Saturday-tough at first, seemed to yield somewhat more quickly than most. I'm not gonna give it an "easy," but maybe a medium-to-easy. Once well started, the entries just sorta plopped in.<br /><br />Pretty good effort, a little heavy on the proper names, yet the 11-stacks only contain one (olive garden can just be a thing, y'know). Thumbs up.<br /><br />4's full of 5's, but if you let me use the short side I can table four 4's. No? Didn't think so.spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-62305540772198312522014-02-02T15:48:18.225-05:002014-02-02T15:48:18.225-05:00Only sorta for me. Should have been takes to a sea...Only sorta for me. Should have been takes to a seat sayAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-55890704628460241602014-02-02T14:58:17.189-05:002014-02-02T14:58:17.189-05:00flowed relatively easy once BARBARA BUSH went in b...flowed relatively easy once BARBARA BUSH went in basically first...until the lower mid - kept calling Daryl an NYMET, and the shift-ing was gobbledygook for too long, but EXMET came and finished off...Persian language awesome clue, although maybe better MEOW, no MEW..yesterday hammered me for too long (VOYAGE, broke ice) and seemed too hard...reminder of the obselesence of the BETAMAX struck me fine...and finally WAKE & ERIKA, at he k was somehow confounding, but love the aftermath clue.KMSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-6452624940244006142014-02-02T13:49:56.442-05:002014-02-02T13:49:56.442-05:00Rushed through this to get off to Connecticut in t...Rushed through this to get off to Connecticut in time Saturday morning, thought I would have to leave it unfinished, but everything fell into place so beautifully, just one write over (shared with @Z), 34 D, LAB before LOT.)<br /><br />Had circled the clue for 49 A for possible comment - wonder if Mr. F liked Beets and Eels?<br /><br />@lms - I always thought the four-letter Wizard of Oz guy was TOTO. Was a time he seemed to be in every puzzle, but haven't seen him lately.Bob Kerfufflehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02615811802419025933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-11523560256835150872014-02-01T20:08:54.488-05:002014-02-01T20:08:54.488-05:00@LaneB 6:22pm, you asked: "What does MEW have...@LaneB 6:22pm, you asked: "What does MEW have to do with the Persian language anyway?" Has anyone mentioned, or have you figured out on you own, that the Persian in the clue is a cat? MEW, MEW - pretty cute, no?Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10028787620914061252014-02-01T19:20:15.451-05:002014-02-01T19:20:15.451-05:00The Great Rift Valley is in Africa. Being the visi...The Great Rift Valley is in Africa. Being the visible aspects of a tectonic feature (according to Wikipedia, a compilation of features), it extends to AQABA and beyond.Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-78837853433917678332014-02-01T19:08:21.189-05:002014-02-01T19:08:21.189-05:00@cascokid san
You and I approach these puzzles in ...@cascokid san<br />You and I approach these puzzles in quite the same way, and our experience level [insofar as solving is concerned] appears to be similar. Without Google in the latter part of the week, I'm not likely to make a lot of progress. I am also in awe of many of the bloggers who race through the toughest ones without seeming to break a sweat. Sometimes it is disheartening, however, to hear how "easy" an edition is after spending a few hours struggling to finish. I was more or less buoyed by the comment of @jae regarding the impact that 10000 hours might have in honing one's expertise in such matters. There is hope---with this caveat in my case: Since I will be 81 in a few months, If I spent an average of 3 hours a day, 365 days a year starting today, I'd be very close to 90 before achieving real competence.. Of course, assuming I made it that far, I'd probably be INcompetent, wandering around assisted living quarters with the Onion rather than the NYT.<br /><br />I do enjoy reading your comments and others as well, particularly those of the irrepressible [and quite beautiful it turns out] lms.<br /><br />This blog makes my day.LaneBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-14270041613477220152014-02-01T19:02:04.875-05:002014-02-01T19:02:04.875-05:00@jberg, @carola, and @Ellen S - I too thought Rift...@jberg, @carola, and @Ellen S - I too thought Rift Valley in Africa. I wonder if the errant memory is from the movie ZULU which portrayed the battle of Roark's Drift - located in a deep valley in South Africa? Drift / rift?Mohair Samhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16502840715719161565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-81819453504120331192014-02-01T18:48:05.040-05:002014-02-01T18:48:05.040-05:00@bigsteve46 - I didn't know Manhattan was cons...@bigsteve46 - I didn't know Manhattan was considered "flyover country." There are 2 OLIVE GARDENS there according to their web site.<br /><br />I'm no expert, but Roman Village in Dearborn and Windsor's Little Italy restaurants are cited as among the best Italian restaurants on the continent. Maybe that's just parochial hyperbole. Or maybe there are descendents of Italian immigrants throughout the country making great Italian cuisine.Flyover Znoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-12491825784268341912014-02-01T18:44:51.799-05:002014-02-01T18:44:51.799-05:00@melodious funk, let me add with the others my con...@melodious funk, let me add with the others my condolences on losing your cat. Our animals are like heartworms, in a good way; they worm their way into our hearts, and what a hole they leave when they depart. They're not any of them replaceable, but the good news is, they are all irreplaceable, in their own way. <br /><br />I finished the Friday puzzle with **NO CHEATING**!!!! First time in ages. (I've been doing the NYT puzzles for over 30 years, and some Dells on the side when traveling, when my hubby was alive. My ability to do Fridays or Saturdays depends on something other than the length of time I've been doing them; sometimes my head is just in the wrong place. ... no suggestions, please, as to where that might be.)<br /><br />I finished today's puzzle with a teeny but of clearing wrong letters very early on, lost about 3 letters and figured out it was SCOTs and not brits who eat Cock-a-leekie. Well, not surprising I got that wrong -- like @Jberg, also thought the Rift Valley was in Africa. Whatever. I'm an American and not required to know geography or foreign eating habits. Or USA eating habits either. I'm originally from Chicago, and the Uno clue stumped me until I got almost all the crosses. I'm thinking, there was a "Due's" pizza when I lived there, but obviously not the right answer. Straw Hat? Roundtable? Digiorno? OLIVE GARDEN never would have occurred to me in a billion years. <br /><br />From somewhere in the recesses of my brain, maybe where I lost the car keys, I dredged up EMIL NOLDE, and more miraculously, Billie Sol ESTES. Wow. But when I saw the "Persian language unit," I cussed; no fair. I don't even know what language Cock-a-leekie is! When I figured it out (entirely from crosses), I laughed out loud. That's my favorite clue ever for a three letter answer. <br /><br />Fibonacci is reaching EEL status here. Enough already.Ellen Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00473445503706985149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46074749692068465402014-02-01T18:43:40.190-05:002014-02-01T18:43:40.190-05:00This 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 6:46, 6:26, 1.05, 76%, Medium-Challenging<br />Tue 9:32, 8:15, 1.16, 85%, Challenging<br />Wed 10:08, 10:26, 0.97, 44%, Medium<br />Thu 15:01, 19:03, 0.79, 14%, Easy<br />Fri 25:10, 20:15, 1.24, 89%, Challenging<br />Sat 23:18, 28:35, 0.82, 11%, Easy<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 4:24, 4:00, 1.10, 85%, Challenging<br />Tue 5:44, 5:12, 1.10, 76%, Medium-Challenging<br />Wed 6:19, 6:15, 1.01, 54%, Medium<br />Thu 8:56, 10:36, 0.84, 19%, Easy<br />Fri 15:53, 11:32, 1.38, 93%, Challenging<br />Sat 15:19, 18:32, 0.83, 18%, Easysanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-54990849323353209502014-02-01T18:22:40.853-05:002014-02-01T18:22:40.853-05:00Any time I get through a Saturday puzzle is a good...Any time I get through a Saturday puzzle is a good time. There was plenty of stuff I didn't know [EMILNOLDE, KLEIN, SCOT and ERICAKANE] but Google helped. Had final trouble in the SE corner, what with MEW and the awkward MISDO. What does MEW have to do with the Persian language anyway? After excessive pondering it all came out in the wash.LaneBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-79757245181872509732014-02-01T18:07:19.591-05:002014-02-01T18:07:19.591-05:00When BARBARABUSH went in with no crosses and turne...When BARBARABUSH went in with no crosses and turned out to be right I thought I might actually stand a chance of finishing the puzzle, and so I did. Finished in the NE where EarL held reign for too long; it was "Elementary education..." that saved me, appropriately enough. It's nice not to MISDO a Saturday puz once in a while. Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-83592586600440158252014-02-01T17:44:07.822-05:002014-02-01T17:44:07.822-05:00I knew very little of name after name after name a...<br />I knew very little of name after name after name and unlike some here whose view of a puzzle turns on whether they finish it, I say this puzzle is meh at best and yes I completed it. I just have to laugh at how so many humans are. Laugh, cause if I didn't I'd be puking continuously.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-66960965558419315022014-02-01T16:56:21.127-05:002014-02-01T16:56:21.127-05:00RE: jazzmango
Gadzooks! No real New Yorker would b...RE: jazzmango<br />Gadzooks! No real New Yorker would be caught dead in an Olive Garden. That's what passes for Italian food in flyover country.bigsteve46noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-87912158044006629892014-02-01T16:44:14.285-05:002014-02-01T16:44:14.285-05:00@jazzmanchgo - OLIVE GARDEN is to Italian Restaura...@jazzmanchgo - OLIVE GARDEN is to Italian Restaurants what TGIFridays is to neighborhood bars or Red Robin is to local burger joints. I don't think they have pizza on the menu. Pizzeria Uno on Ohio in Chicago is definitely worth the trip. As I said before, the franchise versions I've visited were best skipped.Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-85298355021563968052014-02-01T16:30:39.533-05:002014-02-01T16:30:39.533-05:00So . . . "OLIVE GARDEN" is the name of ...So . . . "OLIVE GARDEN" is the name of a pizza franchise?? Is this another N.Y.-centric thing, or am I just woefully out of touch (probably because I still try to patronize neighborhood mama-and-papa pizza places whenever possible)?jazzmanchgohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02568707898871466512noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-22389411558776824942014-02-01T16:24:16.399-05:002014-02-01T16:24:16.399-05:00Too many names to be much fun for me. I liked yest...Too many names to be much fun for me. I liked yesterday better. But can't wait for tomorrow.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04551716499829677518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-14403918230203894892014-02-01T15:46:56.999-05:002014-02-01T15:46:56.999-05:00Thanks to those who answered query about LEADS IN....Thanks to those who answered query about LEADS IN. I had thought of that, but when Rex said it was one of the better clues/answers, I thought I'd missed something!Carole Shmurakhttp://carole-books.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-14675378490183598742014-02-01T15:37:33.228-05:002014-02-01T15:37:33.228-05:00@casco -- Close, San Diego. And, no the book edit...@casco -- Close, San Diego. And, no the book edited by Peter Gordon are tough Thurs. and Fri. puzzles from the now defunct NY Sun where Peter was the puzzle editor. The Sun did not publish on the weekends (I may be wrong about this but I'm pretty sure there were no weekend puzzle) so the end week Thurs. and Fri. Sun puzzles were as tough or tougher than the NYT Fri. and Sat. puzzles. Plug Peter Gordon in to an Amazon search to see the collections from the Sun. He currently does the Fireball puzzle which is also very tough.jaehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03385568014046336373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-72775955750237448012014-02-01T15:32:09.305-05:002014-02-01T15:32:09.305-05:00P.S. @Melodious Funk...Triste..P.S. @Melodious Funk...Triste..GILL I.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05605766053820226324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56508330778567651512014-02-01T15:30:53.376-05:002014-02-01T15:30:53.376-05:00I'm yelling "Cock-a leekie eater" an...I'm yelling "Cock-a leekie eater" and spouse yells back "SCOT".... and I thought oh great!<br />This puzzle sang to me in a MADCAP sort of way. Perhaps because I knew all of the proper names except ERICA KANE. I should have known her since I became a Soap junkie when I was on maternity leave way back when. My go to was "Days's of our Lives." All I remember is that it took an eternity for Bo and Hope to finally ride off in a motorbike to get married. Talk about the biggest let down in T.V. history.<br />MOMMY MAMBA EXFOLIATES MOE.<br />Super fun, Will. Can we have seconds?GILL I.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05605766053820226324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-40920947198033884842014-02-01T14:43:58.393-05:002014-02-01T14:43:58.393-05:00Thanks Will and Will.Thanks Will and Will.Mettenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-78892476340490920052014-02-01T14:38:51.827-05:002014-02-01T14:38:51.827-05:00A technical DNF for me today as I had to google WA...A technical DNF for me today as I had to google WAYNE, KLEIN, NOLDE and, I'm ashamed to say I had to look up Cock-a-leekie to figure out SCOT. I like leeks so that soup sounds like something we might try around here. <br /><br />I got most of the NE first with ERIKSATIE a big gimme. UNDEREXPOSE was the first to go into the SE. On to the SW where the vorpal blade broke it open for me. Then back and forth between NE and SE. The last to fall for me was the Mississippi River with DESERVED and FLEXTIMER. I wanted nyMET for the longest time which slowed me considerably. I might have gotten the X if I'd noticed the pangram but I tend not to see those things while I'm solving. I had Zack at first for ZEKE.<br /><br />I had a white cat who had one blue eye and one yellow eye. She was deaf. She used to like to sit beneath a table lamp and hold her face up to the light. Her name was Medcat for the exam her previous owner was about to take when her got her. She purdled and chirped. She must have been an albino Maine-coon. Alas, I had to pass her along to a new owner who worked for a sound fx company in "Hollywood" (not a whole lot of the film industry is actually in Hollywood). They did the SFX for a bunch of really big movies including <i>Gremlins</i>. Medcat's voices were recorded and combined to create a sound they referred to as a pigeon purr and were used for some of the sounds made by a critter called Gizmo. <br /><br />I had quite a struggle with this one but I enjoy a struggle so it was all good. Numinoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01263999193499725814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-16620749920018671762014-02-01T14:18:19.797-05:002014-02-01T14:18:19.797-05:00An aside, if I may.
As @Rex suggested, I finished...An aside, if I may.<br /><br />As @Rex suggested, I finished Stan Newman's wonderfully challenging Saturday Stumper. That was the toughest one today (they usually are), but not as tough as many of his previous ones. Some of the cluing was downright diabolical. I had one Natick: a foreign word and a Moody rating, neither of which were known to me. Second toughest was Doug Peterson's LAT puzzle, which also presented a Natick square: two totally unknown (to me) proper nouns.<br /><br />Compared to them, the NYT today offered a totally enjoyable, albeit easier challenge, and a satisfying finish without major hang-ups or outside help, in a relatively short time (20-or-so min. with some interruptions).<br /><br />The NYT Variety puzzle was a joy to behold by the other Patrick B. The only problem I encountered was with a few entries that had 2 or more possible anagrams. That slowed me down bit, but I did finish it eventually on the train from NY to NJ last night. Great fun, I highly recommend it (not the train ride, the puzzle).<br /><br />As you were.AliasZhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03477396362209386037noreply@blogger.com