tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post9128075446556347966..comments2024-03-29T11:24:03.304-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Big bass in fishing lingo / FRI 5-16-14 / Admiral who bombarded Tahiti in 1914 / Writer of 644-line poem Ibis / Pistol packer in 1943 #1 hit / Grey alter ego Marvel's X Man / Actress Kazan KravitzRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger93125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-30165652209895164362014-06-20T23:57:46.170-04:002014-06-20T23:57:46.170-04:00So late that nobody will see this, but I just want...So late that nobody will see this, but I just want to, well, brag. I have a correct solution. Honestly, on the March Madness clue, I just entered NCAAS right off (Canadaian, eh?), and I got SENSE before I pondered the Who___?, so that wasn't a problem. I had spent the day trailering my son's motorcycle and sidecar on a 800km round trip--oh never mind, I'm digressing, but that's why I got to the puzzle late. <br /><br />I thought this was a great puzzle, and not just because I got it. I thought the four-stack entries were beautiful, too (HAWG came on the crosses). <br /><br />Motorcycle unscathed.<br /><br />@Spacey. Too funny.rain forestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-38107689953614283172014-06-20T23:04:59.919-04:002014-06-20T23:04:59.919-04:00@lawprof Same for me right down the line. In my o...@lawprof Same for me right down the line. In my opinion though we get an A. Why a legitimate solution isn't just as good as what the author is looking for isn't on my radar.LongBeachLeenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-70840596276236499232014-06-20T23:01:31.144-04:002014-06-20T23:01:31.144-04:00@Geordie girl Me too on cat's cradle. Still t...@Geordie girl Me too on cat's cradle. Still this puzzle played easy Friday for me.<br />LongBeachLeenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-66603038957995108612014-06-20T17:44:27.761-04:002014-06-20T17:44:27.761-04:00SEiSE, dammit!SEiSE, dammit!Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-57106154861529022472014-06-20T17:05:03.863-04:002014-06-20T17:05:03.863-04:00As @Spacy already pointed out, the NCAA Division 1...As @Spacy already pointed out, the NCAA Division 1 annual basketball tournament is either referred to as March Madness or The Dance. Whistle on that clue.<br /><br />Technically, DNF because I had ISiT/SEiSE. <br /><br />Give that man a cigar for the CIGAR ASH clue.<br /><br />Speaking of Wayne and GARTH, I saw Mike Myers on Seth Meyers and Dana Carvey on Letterman last night. Syndie synchronicity. <br /><br />MAMA, WHATEVERITTAKES, WHEW!Solving in Seattlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04249420848844874936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-79494450185785126722014-06-20T15:42:43.752-04:002014-06-20T15:42:43.752-04:00Struggled with this one. Ended up with the top and...Struggled with this one. Ended up with the top and bottom done, except for the ISIT thing, but just couldn't get enough downs to fill the top two acrosses of the middle stack. Thought of HAWG for the fish, but it seemed more cowboy than fisherman, so didn't fill it in. Didn't know REEVES has to do with churches, had "elders" there. On the other hand, would have needed nearly every letter for a song I don't know (that's how I got 18A), and probably every letter for what I thought was a clue referring to chess or monopoly or some such! Friday got me again!<br /><br />I've also discovered that being able to see M&A's runtpuzes doesn't mean I can solve them. Interesting note, I just mistyped runtpuz, and the spellchecker geni fixed it. M&A has friends in strange places!DMGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-36108217421090236082014-06-20T13:03:21.203-04:002014-06-20T13:03:21.203-04:00And, if I ever bothered to proofread, I'd prob...And, if I ever bothered to proofread, I'd probably ask the Stars, too. Them daggone dtars, they don't tell you much.spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-4427721357401854042014-06-20T12:59:38.375-04:002014-06-20T12:59:38.375-04:00DNF. The misdirection today was so severe I couldn...DNF. The misdirection today was so severe I couldn't overcome it.<br /><br />March madness, with "the" is, of course, the DANCE. Every sportscaster says that; NO sportscaster says "the NCAAS." Ugh.<br /><br />Not meant for specialists? GENERAL practice, naturally. We WERE talking about doctors. weren't we?<br /><br />The sockdolager: "Who____?" As in a knock at the door, "Who IS IT?" Even after fixing the NCAAS problem, that left me with SEISE for "Pick up." Gee, that's not right--it must be SEIZE. Then we have ROZY. I didn't know, maybe we had a theme here, sort of a "S that sounds like Z one way, but is actually Z the other" kind of thing. The expression "Who ISNT?", while perfectly OK, just never occurred to me. Swing and a miss.<br /><br />KITTENCHOW for "string players?" That one takes the misdirect prize. That's so far out it deserves a flag. Fifteen yarns--er, yards--for excessive stretching.<br /><br />So DNF despite the old-timer's gimme of<br /><br />Each night I ask the dtars up above<br />Why must I be ATEENAGERINLOVE?<br /><br />Hey, world's worst photographer, have you ever heard of using a flash? Then maybe I wouldn't have to cycle through four or five captchas of TOTAL DARKNESS till I found something I could even SEE.spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91907982245312950072014-05-17T08:04:32.244-04:002014-05-17T08:04:32.244-04:00Couldn't sleep so decided to try the Friday ed...Couldn't sleep so decided to try the Friday edition. Google help on half a dozen clues and two hours later: Voila! DNF avoided. No cure for insomnia however.LaneBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-37192229152619628232014-05-16T22:13:12.792-04:002014-05-16T22:13:12.792-04:00This 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 6:44, 6:04, 1.11, 87%, Challenging<br />Tue 9:10, 8:46, 1.05, 63%, Medium-Challenging<br />Wed 9:08, 9:54, 0.92, 32%, Easy-Medium<br />Thu no data<br />Fri 22:15, 21:06, 1.05, 65%, Medium-Challenging<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:57, 3:57, 1.00, 45%, Medium<br />Tue 5:39, 5:22, 1.05, 63%, Medium-Challenging<br />Wed 5:50, 6:11, 0.94, 35%, Easy-Medium<br />Thu no data<br />Fri 14:42, 12:18, 1.20, 79%, Medium-Challengingsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-2991637353782363892014-05-16T22:11:38.457-04:002014-05-16T22:11:38.457-04:00@jae - I only caught it because the clue said 1969...@jae - I only caught it because the clue said 1969 and I was pretty sure Let It Be was 1970. Curious, I looked them up. Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80418205981823562182014-05-16T21:15:35.606-04:002014-05-16T21:15:35.606-04:00What a great bunch of comments today folks... than...What a great bunch of comments today folks... thanks again!<br /><br />-Martin Ashwood-SmithAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-2046647194228649672014-05-16T20:58:24.385-04:002014-05-16T20:58:24.385-04:00Safe travels @mac.Safe travels @mac.chefwenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03999206352243329280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50810758085288307502014-05-16T20:57:17.729-04:002014-05-16T20:57:17.729-04:00Thinking I was being super smart I was going to en...Thinking I was being super smart I was going to enter "money is no object" at 39A with no other fill in place. Decided to wait a while, pretty happy I did.<br /><br />MAS usually sends me cowering and whimpering off into a corner, but I was able to pull this one off and I loved it. chefwenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03999206352243329280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-33033707647334168912014-05-16T20:56:06.705-04:002014-05-16T20:56:06.705-04:00@M&A, did one of your runtpuzes for the first ...@M&A, did one of your runtpuzes for the first time and really liked it. My only nit is, it could have a few more U's :)johohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12708487230515532492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-40511491678928369512014-05-16T17:34:22.943-04:002014-05-16T17:34:22.943-04:00Looks like we have a "seise" crew and a ...Looks like we have a "seise" crew and a "rozy" crew. I chose the "rozy" route.. Oh well. Another day, another dnf.<br /><br />I like quad stacks, too, especially since I've come to understand that those 15s a lot of times are among the easiest to get. I had "no matter the cost" before WHATEVER IT TAKES.<br /> <br />XHOSA was about my second entry, off SNO. Hey, Gareth!<br /><br />@Casco – I wanted "Sean" Jon, too.<br /><br />@Clark, Carola – I stink at mythology and had "pride" first before ARROW.<br /><br />M&A – Yeah on the Mad Libs! Did you want "Pewitt (sic) Chow" before KITTEN CHOW? Loved, loved, loved your puzzle today! Ah, the 1A! Hmm. I bet bouquets from Dubuque and Albuquerque are loverly.<br /><br />Hey, Martin – I really enjoyed this one. Excellent. Like others have said – perfect crunch that made my solve slow and satisfying. Enkosi!!Loren Muse Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05308030011870397977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-35368213759776484852014-05-16T16:59:39.659-04:002014-05-16T16:59:39.659-04:00@M&A - LOL, in 4:59.@M&A - LOL, in 4:59.Bob Kerfufflehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02615811802419025933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56936052407679277222014-05-16T16:38:30.380-04:002014-05-16T16:38:30.380-04:00@M&A,
Ur runtpuz put a grin on my face.@M&A,<br /><br />Ur runtpuz put a grin on my face.AliasZhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03477396362209386037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-90122890061106881872014-05-16T16:10:09.952-04:002014-05-16T16:10:09.952-04:00@r.alph: OK, so this runtpuz is now gussied up for...@r.alph: OK, so this runtpuz is now gussied up for its movie debut. It was primpin quite a while backstage, wantin to put its best face forward...<br /><br />www.xwordinfo.com/Solve?id=3536&id2=624<br /><br />Enjoy.<br /><br />M&AM and A, Agent to the Starsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-15168210222057998302014-05-16T15:51:35.675-04:002014-05-16T15:51:35.675-04:00@Benko - a smile for "Ankle" :)
@Anonym...@Benko - a smile for "Ankle" :) <br />@Anonymous 3:19 - I actually did think "wrath" but already had the A in place. After finishing the puzzle, I checked online to make sure I'd remembered the opening of the Iliad correctly and was interested to see that more recent translations are going with "rage" instead of "wrath." ARROW was hard for me to see, as well.<br />@Clark - I'd glanced at that OTTO clue so didn't write Anger in - just was flummoxed that it didn't fit!Carolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15971759975067250908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-25405259415258851942014-05-16T15:46:22.246-04:002014-05-16T15:46:22.246-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Carolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15971759975067250908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-88224820641740300452014-05-16T15:40:15.703-04:002014-05-16T15:40:15.703-04:00@Carola -- I had ANGER for a while for Achilles. ...@Carola -- I had ANGER for a while for Achilles. Fun puzzle. I dnfed at the ISiT SEiSE crossing. Rats.Clarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17459992224851404501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-18105901770737994712014-05-16T15:37:18.652-04:002014-05-16T15:37:18.652-04:00Did anyone else start off with CATSCRADLE for 36 D...Did anyone else start off with CATSCRADLE for 36 Down? That, sitting right next to my version of 35 Down - AHAND instead of ARING - slowed me down for quite a while.geordiegirlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44968309325016088592014-05-16T15:19:20.204-04:002014-05-16T15:19:20.204-04:00@carola, your surmise about Achilles (ANGER) is in...@carola, your surmise about Achilles (ANGER) is interesting. WRATH might be even better. But I initially had HEELS, only to have to give it up because the crosses made it impossible to retain it. I still had a hard time coming up with ARROW.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-48629889591234180782014-05-16T15:18:05.505-04:002014-05-16T15:18:05.505-04:00It's great when you have to come up with answe...It's great when you have to come up with answers you know, but don't know you know. The famous 1930's zeppelin, the Graf Spee was the subject of some now very valuable German stamps. It's amazing how much trivia you learn from being a youthful stamp collector! I know from studying German that "Graf" means "Duke," so I knew Spee was a dude. I also knew that the Germans got some colonies in the South Seas during WWI from my collecting days. So the "ee" ending was a tip-off to put distantly remembered scraps of knowledge together. <br />Also, I don't know about you guys, but I really like learning things and often crossword puzzles are educational experiences. But sometimes the puns are almost too much. The "kittenchow" entry was almost too much!Dolgorukynoreply@blogger.com