tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post9138134992562217222..comments2024-03-28T04:40:27.172-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Little Bighorn conflict / THU 11-28-13 / Horror film director Alexandre / Canadian-born comedian once featured on cover of Time / Mother of Nike in myth / Anti-apartheid activist Steve / Joe Louis to fans / Rex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger102125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-62637826304534273952014-01-02T23:22:46.854-05:002014-01-02T23:22:46.854-05:00Took 8:15 - didn't get MNO until it was all in...Took 8:15 - didn't get MNO until it was all in place - that was clever! Didn't see the movie, didn't even know it was a cult classic; ASP over the planes was some cute!gueppe barrenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-15650500686025026502014-01-02T23:14:24.866-05:002014-01-02T23:14:24.866-05:00From five weeks in the future here in syndi-land, ...From five weeks in the future here in syndi-land, I loved your snakey puzzle, Loren & Jeff! Very clever and fun from 1A to the end. I hope we are graced by more puzzles from you, Loren, and of course Jeff as well. Happy New Year to all! (It's January 2, 2014 here.)<br />Mary in Oregonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-27142471754463628242014-01-02T20:21:33.985-05:002014-01-02T20:21:33.985-05:00@Waxy -"CRESTfallen" - heh, heh. I don&#...@Waxy -"CRESTfallen" - heh, heh. I don't miss Ipanana toothpaste as much as I miss <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jt_38KUk-r4" rel="nofollow">Bucky Beaver</a>.<br /><br />I'm pretty sure my capcha is the winning combination for this week's lotto - who wants to go in with me?<br />Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80370457141388907682014-01-02T19:06:53.044-05:002014-01-02T19:06:53.044-05:00Great puzzle! Finally sussed it but only after bei...Great puzzle! Finally sussed it but only after being out of SYNC for too long with DIVINITY at 41D; also was in the MET rather than JET camp but didn't really matter as a Mr. AMA was fine by me as the film director.<br /><br />Embarrassing confession - not knowing that Mort Sahl was born here in Montreal! In fact, tried many other famous Canadian comedians (STEINBERG, CANDY, ACKROYD, MYERS, CARREY, SHORT, MORANIS, O'HARA) thinking a rebus was in play (it is Thursday) before the crosses provided SAHL. Doh!<br /><br />Didn't realize SNAKES ON A PLANE had achieved the status of a cult classic which also delayed the ETA for this one.<br /><br />Great clues for LOWMAN, MATEY. YOHOHO, HANG GLIDER and CLASP.<br /><br />CRESTfallen to learn that IPANA is no longer manufactured.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /> Waxy in Montrealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04395751487137805245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26540315939669596252014-01-02T19:04:31.683-05:002014-01-02T19:04:31.683-05:00I was close to quitting but I disn't want a DN...I was close to quitting but I disn't want a DNF on LMS's debut so I persevered and finished the puzzle with a lucky guess at BIKO/ORIBI. I spotted the planes but the snakes remained hidden until I came here. Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-48895386365319961252014-01-02T17:24:44.134-05:002014-01-02T17:24:44.134-05:00I guess @lms is not as borin' as the rest of u...I guess @lms is not as borin' as the rest of us - she elicited a cameo appearance from @Evil Doug.<br /><br />Nice little puzzle. Saw the ASPs over the PLANES. Probably too much to ask to get a boa, cobra, viper, etc in there, but a lively effort.<br /><br />Agree that the film could hardly be called a cult classic, in the sense that Eating Raoul was/is.rain forestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-28214084225722959232014-01-02T13:57:57.135-05:002014-01-02T13:57:57.135-05:00scuse me, make that "Really liked EEW sittin&...scuse me, make that "Really liked EEW sittin' over the reveal." <br />Solving in Seattlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04249420848844874936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-90299331819859060232014-01-02T13:53:15.688-05:002014-01-02T13:53:15.688-05:00Loren & Jeff, great job!
Let me join voices ...Loren & Jeff, great job! <br /><br />Let me join voices with @Q and say that, as a human bein' I don't mind the ASSNS, ISPS or NAACPs. They're part of cws. Really liked EEW sitting over the reveal. <br /><br />34A was really well clued. Thought electrical current and kept tryin' to think of an Edison or Tessla or Franklin to stick in there.<br /><br />@Wes D, thanks for your post re: the ALAMO and cottonwoods. Interestin' stuff. There was an article a year or so back in the Seattle Times about cottonwood trees and how they propagated themselves across the country. They are messy, though.<br /><br />Like @Spacey, I didn't see the ASPs on top of the "planes" until I came here. I kept tryin' to parse a specie of snake within the long acrosses. (Is that a word?)<br /><br />I did the upside down thingy at Blarney Castle and I'm still married.<br /><br />I wonder how I can get invited to @Law Prof's home next Thanksgivin'.<br /><br />PAX & PAS to y'all in 2014.<br /> Solving in Seattlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04249420848844874936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-27033097049483517372014-01-02T13:48:50.442-05:002014-01-02T13:48:50.442-05:00A DNF this early in the year! Hope it's not a ...A DNF this early in the year! Hope it's not a forecast of things to come. I just couldn't parse the midwest, partly due to no IPhone, spelling the horn cLAXON, and never having heard of Gang Green. On the other hand, given all the aircraft, I should have been able to deduce JET! Noticed the "rhyming", but never saw the ASPS until RP sent me looking for them! On to tomorrow...DMGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-63435228337002010192014-01-02T11:30:57.988-05:002014-01-02T11:30:57.988-05:00Wow, I only grASPed the rudimentary PLANE part of ...Wow, I only grASPed the rudimentary PLANE part of the theme. Even noticed all the ASP-sounding words, but never put that together with SNAKES till I came here. Duh! Also, never noticed that they all were situated "ON" their respective aircraft. Double-duh! It almost makes me feel as if I DNF, but I did fill the grid in correctly sans help, so...finished.<br /><br />With all this theme density--please include position as part of the density--and with the fabulously Scrabbly likes of CALYX and KLAXON, there is bound to be fill hell to pay. There was, but it coulda been a lot worse. I think this was a tour de force(d) debut for one of our own, and I offer congrats and a tip o' the spacecraft hat. You go, girl!spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50609370088629834602014-01-02T11:06:09.113-05:002014-01-02T11:06:09.113-05:00Wow, I thought the puzzle was all about snakes!! B...Wow, I thought the puzzle was all about snakes!! Brown, glider(?), New Yor(kite), .... Therefore DNF as I couldn't see past my 35D lineup being scrutinized at the airport. So the middle-east was messy but, still, my snakes were on the plane. Our Thanksgiving was a month before yours, and now Christmas and New Year has passed as well, so references to feasts past and present has us in remembrance mode. Happy to read this blog!J.aussiegirlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-29160210326154277942013-11-29T08:41:18.736-05:002013-11-29T08:41:18.736-05:00Congratulations Loren and Jeff!
Another bit of tr...Congratulations Loren and Jeff!<br /><br />Another bit of trivia. The battle of the Little Bighorn was fought among a grove of Cottonwood rrees. Had no idea that they were called Alamos. So two tragic battles with no survivors (save one indian scout) can both be related by the word Cottonwood.<br /><br />But I also see from Texas Magazine that when Spanish missionaries came to the spot in central Texas where they would locate the Alamo mission, they were struck by the lushness of the land and the number of cottonwood trees growing nearby along the San Antonio River. The Spanish word for “poplar tree” is alamo and the cottonwood is also known as a poplar, hence the name.<br /><br />Fun facts?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06461323686040574848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-60587233565930915622013-11-28T22:17:50.500-05:002013-11-28T22:17:50.500-05:00"My wife and I couldn't believe that EW i..."My wife and I couldn't believe that EW isn't acceptable in Scrabble, likewise BO and GI"<br /><br />BO is in both the OSPD and the Scrabble TWL. So is the name of the karate costume, but it's spelled GHI or GHEE.Joe The Jugglerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08623445472297705053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-33115232535577047062013-11-28T22:04:59.514-05:002013-11-28T22:04:59.514-05:00Forgot to mention: there's nothing wrong with ...Forgot to mention: there's nothing wrong with 34A:HANG_GLIDER being the only theme entry with a "?" clue, provided that (as is the case here) the "?" is only to alert the solver to a punny clue. It would be a problem if the "?" were there to excuse a contrived (a.k.a. "wacky") entry when the other theme entries were cromulent words or phrases; but "hang glider" is as kosher as the others (indeed it's already been used once before for a completely different theme [Monday, 24 April 1995]).<br /><br />NDENoam D. Elkiesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9345142604707545552013-11-28T22:02:08.985-05:002013-11-28T22:02:08.985-05:00This 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 6:29, 6:07, 1.06, 79%, Medium-Challenging<br />Tue 9:06, 8:12, 1.11, 76%, Medium-Challenging<br />Wed 8:59, 9:44, 0.92, 31%, Easy-Medium<br />Thu 17:52, 17:14, 1.04, 60%, Medium<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 4:08, 3:46, 1.10, 85%, Challenging<br />Tue 5:36, 5:01, 1.12, 79%, Medium-Challenging<br />Wed 5:28, 5:37, 0.97, 42%, Medium<br />Thu 9:52, 9:56, 0.99, 47%, Mediumsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80173483682905789582013-11-28T19:16:55.938-05:002013-11-28T19:16:55.938-05:00Did this early and then had to read 80+ comments, ...Did this early and then had to read 80+ comments, so the puzzle is a little foggy in my post-turkey, post-wine, post-"those aren't the Lions I remember" mind. Crux has me at 37 minutes, so definitely on the challenging side for a Thursday. I did not even notice the constructors names until I came here, and had to be social soon after finishing, so got the ASP only after coming here.<br /><br />Nice job, even though you crushed M&A's heart by having four Xes and only one U. Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-39374339670240371652013-11-28T16:50:35.013-05:002013-11-28T16:50:35.013-05:00Midday report of relative difficulty (see my 8/1/2...Midday report of relative difficulty (see my 8/1/2009 post for an explanation of my method and my 10/15/2012 post for an explanation of a tweak to my method):<br /><br />All solvers (median solve time, average for day of week, ratio, percentile, rating)<br /><br />Thu 17:34, 17:09, 1.02, 59%, Medium<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Thu 9:54, 9:56, 1.00, 47%, Medium<br /><br />Happy Thanksgiving to all and congrats to Loren on the byline.sanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-52085077542103270782013-11-28T16:24:43.133-05:002013-11-28T16:24:43.133-05:00I really enjoyed it! When I saw the by-line, It sp...I really enjoyed it! When I saw the by-line, It sparked a special interest. Congratulations on your NYT debut!! I always seem to be the opposite of the veterans here, I solved this faster than my usual Thursday times. I saw the "planes" in the puzzle, but didn't see "asp" until I came here.wreckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08797908615185213756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31568936975666448012013-11-28T15:45:23.265-05:002013-11-28T15:45:23.265-05:00Wonderful puzzle, Loren [and Jeff] It did help me ...Wonderful puzzle, Loren [and Jeff] It did help me [1]to be old, [2] a sports enthusiast and [3] sort of a movie buff, although I confess to not seeing the theme until the entire thing was done. Lovely clues for LOWMAN, MATEY/YOHOHO and ALAMOS. Usually when I see Jeff's name associated with a puzzle, I throw in the towel. But the LMS tag made me soldier on, and I'm pleased to have finished with only some confirming Google help. Again, great job!LaneBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9232589771760647232013-11-28T15:35:28.855-05:002013-11-28T15:35:28.855-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.wreckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08797908615185213756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-58053873977820715922013-11-28T15:26:19.837-05:002013-11-28T15:26:19.837-05:00@lms - you say, "And for some reason, the thi...@lms - you say, "And for some reason, the thing in everything and anything is stressed whereas in something and nothing is for some reason not stressed?"<br /><br />There is no such word as "no<b>thing</b>. There are two words "no thing" or one worth "nuth-in."<br /><br />;)Gertrude Steinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67359774895139154302013-11-28T15:24:47.571-05:002013-11-28T15:24:47.571-05:00Congratulations on the debut. It's a good thi...Congratulations on the debut. It's a good thing that the J of 40D:AJA is part of the theme, else it would be a Natick crossing (42A could also end with MET or NET for all I know of it). Alas square 24 was not part of the theme, and I guessed wrong because I can never remember if it's an 24D:ORIBI or an uribi (I see that the scientific name "ourebia ourebi" can't make up its mind either), and certainly didn't know 23A:BIKO from Biku. I liked the paired 22D:YO_HO_HO / 32D:MATEY clues, though it's still almost 60000 years till <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/life/explainer/2013/11/thanksgivukkah_when_will_hanukkah_overlap_with_other_holidays.html" rel="nofollow">Hanukkarrrrr</a> :-) Chappy Chanksgiving!<br /><br />NDENoam D. Elkiesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-79654624488126297152013-11-28T14:33:12.018-05:002013-11-28T14:33:12.018-05:00@AliasZ - I meant to tell you how much I enjoyed y...@AliasZ - I meant to tell you how much I enjoyed your story! I especially liked teASPoon. You're really good at that.<br /><br />@M&A and @Steve J - yep - I would definitely say, say quite often in fact, "Sorry I'm bein' so magnificently belchy." So there's that.<br /><br />And you're right. You just cannot ask someone how s/he pronounces a word. Suspicious alarm bells start going off, and you hardly ever get a natural answer. You just have to listen to people with perked up ears.<br /><br />I wonder if it's a stress thing:<br /><br />Her beesting the wasp dealt her landed her in the hospital.<br /><br />Her beastin' the test landed her on the dean's list.<br /><br />And for some reason, the <i>thing</i> in <i>everything</i> and <i>anything</i> is stressed whereas in <i>something</i> and <i>nothing</i> is for some reason not stressed?Loren Muse Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05308030011870397977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-87903134319382456962013-11-28T14:19:03.011-05:002013-11-28T14:19:03.011-05:00p.p.s.s.
Anyone would probably feel silly, sayin &...p.p.s.s.<br />Anyone would probably feel silly, sayin "in in", instead of inning.Outlaw M and Anoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-39308559571516696862013-11-28T14:18:15.701-05:002013-11-28T14:18:15.701-05:00@Acme: I meant BO and GI from martial arts; the s...@Acme: I meant BO and GI from martial arts; the staff and uniform both have no real equivalent and are used in American DOOS everywhere so far as I know. Good to know they accept BO now!<br />@LMS: I said the phrase "human being" in the West North Carolina accent of my childhood just now (usually keep it well hidden) and the word being, rather than changing to "bein'", changed to something resembling "bing."<br />Back to the kitchen! happy thanksgiving!Sorry For Fournoreply@blogger.com