tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post8424454004888051165..comments2024-03-29T07:01:08.827-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Chess situation in which any move is bad move / SAT 9-3-16 / Oversize hip-hop tops / Old letters in mail / Four-time all-star third baseman of 1960s-70s / Second largest body in asteroid belt / Goddesses guarding gates of Olympus / Political writer/blogger Klein / Dona pacem latin hymn / Singer with 1954 album Frontier BadlandsRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger86125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-17674964762747690092016-10-10T02:42:00.192-04:002016-10-10T02:42:00.192-04:00Well, I never do Saturdays, and there was really n...Well, I never do Saturdays, and there was really no point in my trying this one, except that I was seriously avoiding doing something else, and I'd completed the Friday one after missing a whole corner on Thursday's, so thought there might be some hope. I didn't get half the clues, and half the ones I "got" were wrong. But I gave myself 10 points for knowing Hedda Hopper. <br /><br />I'm only writing this to say that I LOVED the blog today. The mom and daughter's tweets were way fun, and @Joseph Welling, that's the first I've got to see all the words to that Monty Python ex-parrot bit, so thanks for that. wcutlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08615799228069705972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91518232861115169092016-10-09T20:28:51.487-04:002016-10-09T20:28:51.487-04:00Totally with Loren Muse here. Party no-no, yes. ...Totally with Loren Muse here. Party no-no, yes. Party foul, dreckLongbeachleehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10945278798020339134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-23887692160519880442016-10-08T16:00:42.316-04:002016-10-08T16:00:42.316-04:00Mr. W and I are working on wills, etc., so will wa...Mr. W and I are working on wills, etc., so will was my first answer for inheritance vehicle. That pretty much set the pace for this puzzle.<br /><br />Some great misdirection - oh, THAT Victoria. NEE. My potatoes were au gratin. <br /><br />Nothing to write home about, or here about. I got ZUGZWANGed big time. <br /><br />Must go pet a cat to assuage my pain. Maybe get some RYES. <br /><br />Diana, Lady-in-Waiting for lunch - Nova?<br /><br />Diana,LIWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-76857876546166651922016-10-08T15:32:05.138-04:002016-10-08T15:32:05.138-04:00I'll join the unhappy others. Too much too far...I'll join the unhappy others. Too much too far out of my reach today.<br /><br />The North was gettable if slow-coming. The South wasn't. ZUGZWANG? ZOOCREW? HOMESLICE? INCENT? and a couple of others that would/should/could have been inferred.<br /><br />Very challenging, so didn't get GETBORED, but have to SAYNOTO it.leftcoastTAMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44505267927015348442016-10-08T15:24:30.401-04:002016-10-08T15:24:30.401-04:00Late to the PARTY (FOUL? No one says that. Can you...Late to the PARTY (FOUL? No one says that. Can you imagine going to a party and seeing this big guy in a chest protector at the door? "He's just the ump," your host genially explains. "He calls fouls." In the political sense, the term is just as unused, but there's no humorous description for it), but WEREHERE. I had to take a break because of a blockage in the NE. Mind was stuck on the incomparable Brooks ROBINSON, though if I looked him up I'd probably find he was an All-star way more than four times. SALBANDO, really? Man, I don't remember his career even approaching all-star status. Also that "Bread and drink" business: what a gauntlet I went through on that one! MEAL? FOOD? EATS? GRUB? I was on the verge of a third straight DNF.<br /><br />Back from breakfast, I looked at intERNET and wondered, could that be wrong? I ignored that third column and tried to fill the rest in. Then it hit me: it's the Charlie of the Chocolate Factory! Never knew his last name. So: DAHL, duh! And 11 was YEARZERO, and the obscure unknown was EZRA, and out, thankyouverymuch. FETA atop the pizza, good enough. Whew!<br /><br />As a one-time woodpusher, I knew ZUGZWANG right off--couldn't believe such a rich gimme was handed to me on a Saturday. There was a moment of uncertainty with HOMESLICE--never heard that one--but basically fairly Staurday-easy except for that NE corner. So...easy-challenging? There are a couple of DODs: Catherine ZETA-Jones gets a curtain call, or we could use mid-century actress GENE Tierney, about whom Hawkeye Pierce once said, "I'm a sucker for an overbite." Yeah, me too. A toothy puzzle (nice segue!); very little to SAYNOTO. Touchdown!spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-73942769452904308972016-10-08T13:58:34.727-04:002016-10-08T13:58:34.727-04:00DNF in the SE, but having seen the completed puzzl...DNF in the SE, but having seen the completed puzzle, I see that shouldn't have happened, even though I didn't know HOME SLICE (really?). Oh well, some good stuff here, regardless. @Rondo-Ron SANtO before SAL, cued by GET BORED.<br /><br />INCENT being a word is new to me, and actually, that whole SE section had one-letter-at-a time quality to it, and I just couldn't get around a couple of them.<br /><br />Nevertheless, I liked it. Btw, I knew the chess term right off. Seems that whenever I play chess I get into that situation. I should stop playing with Garry Kasparov.rain forestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-90008490537304755782016-10-08T12:28:49.419-04:002016-10-08T12:28:49.419-04:00Nowhere near easy for me. Hand up for ronsANtO at ...Nowhere near easy for me. Hand up for ronsANtO at first (I mean at third). But REB had to be correct, light bulb ensues. CELEB was “issue at first; awe for WOW; bAH for PAH; inkfest in the SE especially will/Gift/GENE. Just kept picking away and writing over. Soon need a new pen at that rate. Success in the end.<br /><br />Still don’t buy the concept of YEARZERO. I SAYNOTO that.<br /><br />I didn’t GETBORED with this puz even with no CELEB yeah baby in sight. There ARENT many puzzles I’ll stick with for an hour or so, but I liked the fight this one put up for me. No sense ARGUING easy or not, much of this ARCANA was out of my ZONE, but a good finish. WOW.<br />rondonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-36405502491099516132016-10-08T11:59:40.304-04:002016-10-08T11:59:40.304-04:00NOBIS HORAE ZOOCREW
SETTHESCENE:
You’ll SEE from ...NOBIS HORAE ZOOCREW<br /><br />SETTHESCENE:<br />You’ll SEE from ACUTEANGLE that DAHL is no EYESORE as a hooker.<br />but she’ll GETBORED then UNPEELED for any TENN ONLOOKERs.<br />There ARENT any PARTYFOULs HONOR for where she CHATS or sits,<br />so she’ll OPENWIDE for ZUGZWANG and go down ONTHEFRITZ.<br /><br />--- EZRA ARCANA VESTA-ZETAS<br />Burma Shavenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-35006806682172857572016-09-28T17:36:26.527-04:002016-09-28T17:36:26.527-04:00ZUGZWANG was a gimme, and one of several really ni...ZUGZWANG was a gimme, and one of several really nice words (ARCANA, PETESEEGER, ETHERNET). But then you get complete crap like HOMESLICE, ZOOCREW, PARTYGOUL, ARENT. A real mixed bag, and not a whit of challenge, which I hope for on a Saturday.kitshefnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-54668611548096709002016-09-04T07:01:46.260-04:002016-09-04T07:01:46.260-04:00@LMS i was in your position but managed to slug it...@LMS i was in your position but managed to slug it out a little further. Allbeit with wrong answers.<br /><br />Motivation was as close as I could come to the answer, INtENT. Figuring HOMESLItE was some other viral video I wasn't aware of.<br />But dREW for waxed. Closed out that corner<br /><br />I always thought for a clue/answer to be valid you should be able to compose a phrase with them interchageable. I'd say there lack life any possible with ARENT?<br />'His still life paintings aren't'.<br />Man you start talking to me like that you won't be my HOMESLITE anymore. In fact if you do so too often you're gonna AREN'T real soon like ya know what I mean.<br /><br />NO<br />Philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07988007506745985696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-88748444941667580022016-09-03T22:25:37.412-04:002016-09-03T22:25:37.412-04:00@puzzle hoarder, when I looked up to see if INCENT...@puzzle hoarder, when I looked up to see if INCENT was actually a word, I read that Carly Fiorina used it but there are also citations going back to the 19th c. Details <a href="http://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2008/06/to-incent-and-incense.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>.Carolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15971759975067250908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67339415351969247192016-09-03T21:42:00.524-04:002016-09-03T21:42:00.524-04:00Incentive is a word. INCENT just ARENT. Late entry...Incentive is a word. INCENT just ARENT. Late entry due to my phone losing what I typed up much earlier. Is there anyone who has example of INCENT actually being used. I suspect it exists only on computerized word lists.<br /> @Z thanks for the response yesterday. Now I have to go back to the crib and chillax with my HOMESLICE. puzzle hoardernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50337690416174376362016-09-03T20:43:46.854-04:002016-09-03T20:43:46.854-04:00This puzzle made my day. Because of ZUGZWANG. Firs...This puzzle made my day. Because of ZUGZWANG. First thing I wanted to enter. It was like playing ZAX in Scrabble. Mind you I'm bilingual in German, so it was a gimme.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03556212991145268563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-58338777426787950732016-09-03T20:43:22.405-04:002016-09-03T20:43:22.405-04:00This puzzle made my day. Because of ZUGZWANG. Firs...This puzzle made my day. Because of ZUGZWANG. First thing I wanted to enter. It was like playing ZAX in Scrabble. Mind you I'm bilingual in German, so it was a gimme.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03556212991145268563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-13374249667642857202016-09-03T18:44:34.099-04:002016-09-03T18:44:34.099-04:00Knew Zugswang both from chess, and from German, an...Knew Zugswang both from chess, and from German, and somehow finished correctly. But this was a real slog for me. Awful clue for "aren't," although I "get" it. But incent (a word my spell check keeps trying to change) crossing homeslice ? I guessed right, but homeslice? It looks like even some of the younger, "hipper" dudes have never heard of it. An alternate clue could have been "bloodsuckers preying on former British PM?" And that would be Home's Lice. <br /><br />Add me to the Ron Santo before Sal Bando crowd. I also thought of "Robinson," as in Brooks, which also has the right number of letters. Sometimes the attempt to skew the clues for a Saturday produces more of an annoyance than a challenge. Party foul? Tall tees? Pah! (and my spellcheck doesn't like "Pah" either...) <br />OISKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16808675378318214461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-4663483544905396152016-09-03T17:39:02.685-04:002016-09-03T17:39:02.685-04:00I've taken a few runs at playing chess, but it...I've taken a few runs at playing chess, but it never took hold in my brain. Hasn't ZUGZWANG appeared before in the puzzle? I was still clueless, but knew something like a line in an eye chart was impending. Morning drive time radio programming can be dreadful, because they forget the "cute and entertaining" elements, to paraphrase @LMS. The commenters on this blog often do the same. I agree with OFL's chastening constructors to be careful with problematic crosses of obscure long answers. Who pays the bills around here, anyway? BENEVOLENT is pleasant fill, for many reasons.<br /><br />Larry Gilstraphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15493069947477383208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45449640412203762302016-09-03T17:36:05.221-04:002016-09-03T17:36:05.221-04:00@Z - I am messing around trying to construct a puz...@Z - I am messing around trying to construct a puzzle - thanks for the tip - valuable input.<br /><br />@DCG - Thanks for the tips. You've made my mountain a bit higher, but when and if I climb it, I'll climb it right.Mohair Samhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16502840715719161565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26554304190045640222016-09-03T16:56:39.259-04:002016-09-03T16:56:39.259-04:00Got about 95% of the way on this but stumbled on A...Got about 95% of the way on this but stumbled on ARENT and it's still bothering me. If you're going to go the meta route, why make it specific to a life? What about existence or something more vague?<br /><br />Ugh.Jaredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13572123660336704465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-75344496848176439972016-09-03T16:54:21.058-04:002016-09-03T16:54:21.058-04:00@Everybody - You really ought to read @DJG's b...@Everybody - You really ought to read @DJG's blog about his puzzle. Good stuff. Those trying their hand at construction might find it particularly interesting. <br /><br />@Jamie C - Since most league games I play are on mixed teams I've been working hard to call it "person D." Not that I like person D. Give me a flat mark and a clammy junk D and we'll generate turnovers all game long. <br /><br />Interesting drink size discussion. @Evil Doug is correct. Ask for a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/short-size-at-starbucks-2014-4" rel="nofollow">short</a> and you'll get an actual cup (as in 8 ounces) of coffee. I'm still a little perplexed when I order a small drink at a fast food chain and get what would have been a large in the 70's.Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-43697273141643778892016-09-03T15:58:24.626-04:002016-09-03T15:58:24.626-04:00only reason i "finished" was the easy st...only reason i "finished" was the easy start at zugzwang, though a wrong letter at hedda defaulted me. zugzwang is a fair word, and not only because i used to use it in every day language (the natick bias). it is a real german word that has made it into english and therefore as fair as latin legal terms. and far more fair than a gossiping actress from 100 years aqo.<br />eton cottage is a real thing too, and in my world it existed for a few minutes on the river.<br />also showed apparent muslim bias by assuming that emeers were faultless. hedra sounds like a nice name for a yenta.Penna Residentnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-262472756891201872016-09-03T15:53:30.578-04:002016-09-03T15:53:30.578-04:00I'm with @Loren and @Nancy. I was slew/slayed/...I'm with @Loren and @Nancy. I was slew/slayed/slain. My finger may be permanently stuck on the check word function with a big red Cheater blazoned across my forehead.<br /><br />I had the general idea but my first and second iteration was usually off. PARTYNONO became PARTYDONT before PARTYFOUL. The ZUGZWANG/ZOOCREW cross was painful, but I was delighted to discover such a zany term. HOME was easy. SLICE was painful since boyz sounds better. I don't Ike the cluing for ARENT or CELEB. I got them but it felt meh. Much of this was just agonizing even if I finally found the answer. <br /><br />Luckily it's late afternoon on a beautiful day so I'm over it.Hartley70https://www.blogger.com/profile/00557118655188472450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24783567603366972312016-09-03T15:42:12.671-04:002016-09-03T15:42:12.671-04:00DNF. Humbled. Finished Friday's puzzle compl...DNF. Humbled. Finished Friday's puzzle completely and relatively quickly, happy with myself. Then this puzzle stops me dead. Nebraska Dougnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45367896076374017822016-09-03T14:53:13.300-04:002016-09-03T14:53:13.300-04:00"@Martin Abresch" (I don't think I&#..."@Martin Abresch" (I don't think I'm doing this properly how do I tag a person with a space in their name): thank you for the chess explanation. I had read the constructor's blurb on the Wordplay blog where he explained compulsion is a critical element in the concept: you would rather pass but you have to move and I had a little trouble imagining a scenario where that would be the case but you explained it well. BenMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01208675520984336202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-54659287517498945082016-09-03T14:52:47.207-04:002016-09-03T14:52:47.207-04:00p.s.
@RP: Yo. If yer daughter wants an easy, begi...p.s.<br />@RP: Yo. If yer daughter wants an easy, beginner crossword puz, they don't come much more compact and easy than this puppy. No harsh language in it, neither. Rated G+.<br /><br />M&A Help Desk<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://puzzlecrowd.com:8080/UploadRunt/FetchPage?id=NDE3MTk1MjkyODQ5MzU4OQ&title=Easier_1_Than_1_Snot_1_-_1_by_1_M_1_and_1_A" rel="nofollow">**gruntz**</a>Masked and Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16346263641338670679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-88175447386560891822016-09-03T13:51:06.080-04:002016-09-03T13:51:06.080-04:00Oddly, the sound of "YOOCREW" sounded pr...Oddly, the sound of "YOOCREW" sounded primo, to this chess-neophyte. YUGZWONG seemed "conceivable", if pronounced "yuge" zwong. I dunno.<br /><br />Am impressed, that @RP can just jump into the NW corner of a SatPuz, and let er rip. M&A SatPuz solvequest approach: Scan entire grid, fillin in stuff that he's reasonably sure about. <br />This nets one the absolute cornucopia of starter spots, at:<br /><br />* TENN.<br />* ZONE. [Thinkin it was "man-ON-man", tho]<br />* ERE. ERE-ball gimme.<br />* AWE. [Later to be corrected to WOW]<br />* FESSPARKER. [NEE Pete SEEGER]<br />* HEDDA. gimme, with the 38-D past tense -eD potential]<br />* {Pollen ___}. This is like pullin a wing offa the flailin M&A fly, to have **very** few fillin-the-blankers, and it's this obscure.<br />* {"Dona ___ Pacem"}. Yeah, hey -- go ahead, pull the other wing off.<br />* GREW. Proud to have stuck the landing, on this puppy, off nothin.<br /><br />Found the puz harder than snot, but did finish it. No thanx to the likes of HOMESLICk.<br /><br />Staff weeject pick: SAC/SOC. (yo, @RP) Dishonrable mention to: PAH.<br /><br />Masked & Anonymo3UsMasked and Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16346263641338670679noreply@blogger.com