tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post9169059714217471780..comments2024-03-28T16:18:29.258-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Pioneering scientist Robert / TUE 3-20-12 / Jessica of Illusionist / Queen in speech by Mercutio / Locale of 1923 Munich putsch / Denizen of Endor world in Return of Jedi /Rex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger97125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-54241383266430437772012-04-24T19:47:21.434-04:002012-04-24T19:47:21.434-04:00@ginger - that's pretty funny. A little macab...@ginger - that's pretty funny. A little macabre perhaps, but still pretty funny.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-36885941358689249442012-04-24T19:30:25.078-04:002012-04-24T19:30:25.078-04:00Reminds me of the Titanic puzzle from Syndi-Sunday...Reminds me of the Titanic puzzle from Syndi-SundayGingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56366787100405569412012-04-24T18:29:34.455-04:002012-04-24T18:29:34.455-04:00@Diri, see @SIS 1:29. This is my 5th today, so I&#...@Diri, see @SIS 1:29. This is my 5th today, so I'm banished.<br /><br />Capcha (no kidding): thenme durown. Going down for the 5th time... glub, glub.Solving in Seattlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04249420848844874936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-19404768049130396342012-04-24T18:19:00.691-04:002012-04-24T18:19:00.691-04:00@DMG - Trust me, I don't have a "Desade&q...@DMG - Trust me, I don't have a "Desade" problem (it may be the only problem I don't have). (And thank you for braving more captchas to reply.)<br /><br />@SiS - It's good to see a like-minded spirit in syndi-land. No captchas worthy of puns today?Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-76366042379161097532012-04-24T18:12:21.917-04:002012-04-24T18:12:21.917-04:00This puzzle was chewy, but very satisfying, and I ...This puzzle was chewy, but very satisfying, and I don't care what day of the week it is. The theme of changing a letter to produce three clues was extremely clever, and I liked all the answers, including "-informer" which IS more in the language than informant. 1D could only have been either Hooke or Boyle, both brilliant men. So much of the puzzle was inventive, either in clue or in answer. Nice work.<br /><br />I have to say that I don't understand why a name like Hitler can't be in the NYT puzzle. There have been evil names used before: <br />Ghengis Khan, Stalin, George Bush...rain forestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-5361420301810503692012-04-24T18:09:50.048-04:002012-04-24T18:09:50.048-04:00@DMG, I think I prefer @Diri's solution.@DMG, I think I prefer @Diri's solution.Solving in Seattlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04249420848844874936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-37573557204845257842012-04-24T17:25:05.162-04:002012-04-24T17:25:05.162-04:00@Diri, sounds like you're having my Desade pr...@Diri, sounds like you're having my Desade problem. It's two words "tie in". Only for a fellow Syndie would I face more captchas"DMGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-77652653001806223792012-04-24T16:08:14.814-04:002012-04-24T16:08:14.814-04:00For some reason KINDERGARdNER was a gimme (and BES...For some reason KINDERGARdNER was a gimme (and BESTIR straightened out the mistake) so that got me off and running on the theme answers, all of which I liked. I had some trouble understanding TIEIN as a promotional device and the unknown Jessica at 33d was no help whatsoever, but finally decided that was the only thing it could be (TItIN seemed unlikely although "T and A" seems big in advertising these days).<br /><br />Finished with two guesses, one right at the cross of HOOKE/ODENSE, and one wrong at rAB/rAJA. This was apparently a gimme for several others (Hi, @DMG) but @Z's comment stung the most: "Surprised by the number of people who struggled with MAJA. Goya's The Clothed Maja and The Nude Maja are pretty famous, with most observers opining that The Clothed Maja is actually the more sensuous." I'm ususally pretty well versed when it comes to nudes.<br /><br />@Bob Kerfuffle - I suspect you will have difficulty uploading your photos based on yesterday's comment that you were waiting for them to come back from the drug store. Do they even still do that anymore? (I don't mean that to sound too snotty as I don't have a digital camera, either.)Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56211697251421695462012-04-24T15:44:33.954-04:002012-04-24T15:44:33.954-04:00@Ginger, thanks for clearing up EDD Hall. Never he...@Ginger, thanks for clearing up EDD Hall. Never heard of him - am a dedicated Letterman fan.Solving in Seattlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04249420848844874936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-29546690176761968502012-04-24T15:33:11.313-04:002012-04-24T15:33:11.313-04:00On my first pass, with 2 U's in 1 Across, I wa...On my first pass, with 2 U's in 1 Across, I wanted to enter rUckUs. I thought that was such a clever word, Ha, NOT. Also first put in CRIMinalANALYST. but all was right with the world, the crosses corrected me, and I finished. <br /><br />MAJA, MAB, ODENSE, SABOT' seem to pop up on a regular basis, so no problem there.<br /><br />Loved the pictures @Tita posted from the tournament. So good to put faces on names. Here in Syndiland, we stepchildren of the blog are glad to read about your experiences in Brooklyn.<br /><br />@SIS Edd Hall was Jay Leno's announcer for 12 years.Gingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-58149268723163835162012-04-24T14:37:14.061-04:002012-04-24T14:37:14.061-04:00A fun puzzle. Love "Maja", it always m...A fun puzzle. Love "Maja", it always makes me think of Ava Gardner -though, as I recall, her Maja was naked. Kept expecting something about manicure or manicurist to show up, but my only real slow down was getting "gartener" and thinking that can't be right. Like my spell check, I figured it had to be gardner and I'd done something wrong. Then Odense brought Hooke, and all was well.<br />I think the newbies need to cut themselves some slack. Some things you just learn from doing. Although I don't think I've ever heard Abba, enough repititions, it becomes an almost automatic fill for a four letter singing group. So it goes with Anya, Elo, Eno, etc, etc. Just keep at it. While this puzzle wasn't that hard for me, consider that I've been slogging at them for more than 50 years and still suffer my fair share of DNF days.DMGrandmanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-75809816231107698432012-04-24T14:09:38.644-04:002012-04-24T14:09:38.644-04:00So shoot me, Jessica; I thought your name was BeaL...So shoot me, Jessica; I thought your name was BeaL. This led me to CheMicAlANALYST.<br /><br />With @Rex, I had to bang down the door to the NW. Had _______ARTENER and wondered if this guy misspelled "partner" or something. I stared at that fragment for the longest time, till the (preschool) bell rang in my head! Then the NW fell--though I know neither HOOKE nor EDD Hall. Got those guys on crosses.<br /><br />Liked the mini-themes: twin 7-letter J-words in symmetry, a science double (HOOKE, DARWIN) and--not to be outdone--an art double (MAJA, IRISES). Nice work.Spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-75852018310680418562012-04-24T13:53:05.340-04:002012-04-24T13:53:05.340-04:00Typo - "it had to be Monty Hall," not &q...Typo - "it had to be Monty Hall," not "Month."Solving in Seattlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04249420848844874936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-2595230269199023622012-04-24T13:29:40.287-04:002012-04-24T13:29:40.287-04:00I enjoyed this Tuesday, and don't really have ...I enjoyed this Tuesday, and don't really have an issue with the spelling of KINDERGARTENER.<br /><br />I do, however, have an issue with the clue for 22A, "TV announcer Hall. There is a Monty Hall, and there is, apparently, an EDD Hall. But neither Google nor I can find EDD Monty or Monty EDD. I mistakenly thought that it had to be Month Hall and that we were dealing with a rebus here. Can someone help me? What would have helped me was being sure of Hooke.<br /><br />Knowing SABOT from sailing helped. Had Jessica Alba for 33D until sussing BIEL from the crosses, and had the Duchess of albA for 7D until realizing MAB was 7A. Sorry, Jess Alba, I tried in two places to fit you in. (Although I think Jessica Biel is hotter.)<br /><br />Was the MAJA/kindergARTener round-the-corner cross a coincidence?<br /><br />@Two Ponies, the other third is "America."<br /><br />Thanks, Will, clever clues.<br /><br />Capcha: epeasen. Something a hillbilly PM did in 1939.Solving in Seattlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04249420848844874936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-22427892486004823592012-03-21T08:15:26.454-04:002012-03-21T08:15:26.454-04:00@diane, thanks for the link! Once I heard the song...@diane, thanks for the link! Once I heard the song I realized that I knew it, just not what it was called.jberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02169065390875378077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-57439662095233575782012-03-21T08:14:41.458-04:002012-03-21T08:14:41.458-04:00@Deb (way up near the top): My thoughts exactly re...@Deb (way up near the top): My thoughts exactly regarding "grooming" finger!<br /><br />EVANSVILLE is (sadly) seared into my brain because its college basketball team was wiped out in a plane crash when I was a senior in high school (1977).<br /><br />Surprised that so many were unfamiliar with LOVEME. When I feel like channeling Elvis for a few bars, my go-to lyrics are "Treat me like a fool, treat me mean and cruel"...Larry I in L.A.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31450391824673991182012-03-21T02:58:52.027-04:002012-03-21T02:58:52.027-04:00Ps my bad that the congaline didn't happen...
...Ps my bad that the congaline didn't happen...<br />And i meant nanpilla, not two ponies re bridge walk ( gosh i wish folks would use their real names!)<br />And i can confirm @evan i introduced you to JenCT, Vega and a few others at lunch Sat...<br />Funny that there was another Jeremy Lin!!!<br />We will have to add that to the doppelnommers Sam Donaldson, Marilyn Munroe, David Steinberg, et al...<br />Oh, and my fave, Parker Lewis!<br /><br />No one has talked yet about Joon, Anne, Dan making mistakes, turning themselves in, etc. there was a lot of drama and highroads taken this year!<br />nancy Stack wasn't there to record it all, but i do hope someone uploads a lot of the talent show...Pete Muller did a brilliant song on every round of the tourney called "I beat Dr Fill" to the tune of The Band 's hit. And there was a comedian who was actually funny...<br /><br />All the palindromists were male...as was 80% of the top crossword finishers...time to devise another way to tests smarts and cleverness besides just speed!<br /><br />It all went by super fast...you get there Friday and the next thing you know, you are all saying gbye on Sunday! The whole thing is less than 48 hours.<br />It's only NOW just dawning on me that Ulrich wasn't there!Acmenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-25654229893200424392012-03-21T01:41:31.882-04:002012-03-21T01:41:31.882-04:00This week's relative difficulty ratings. See m...This week's relative difficulty ratings. See my 8/1/2009 post for an explanation. 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 6:15, 6:49, 0.92, 17%, Easy<br />Tue 10:29, 8:51, 1.18, 90%, Challenging<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:30, 3:40, 0.96, 31%, Easy-Medium<br />Tue 5:12, 4:35, 1.14, 88%, Challengingsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-21952056626716436642012-03-21T01:15:43.003-04:002012-03-21T01:15:43.003-04:00I loved the theme!
Well, maybe not LOVED, but cert...I loved the theme!<br />Well, maybe not LOVED, but certainly liked a whole lot...<br />FingerpAint, FingerpOint, FingerpRint~<br />I mean, how cool that they change a letter but not necessarily just a vowel and are all such specific things!!!<br /><br />I had spent a lot of time thinking about FINGER+ for the puzzle I made for BEQ two weeks ago, so I was delighted by this!!! Much better than same word all three times and random phrases...<br />tho I too am with @Rex on INFORMant<br /><br />(Just walking in post-ACPT, way too many memories to blog about... more than JUSTAFEW<br />But am also sorry to have missed Mac, and am sorry for her loss.)<br /><br />Did get a fleeting glance of @Rex pre-sickness, met Evan, Tita and saw Sparky! Puzzlegirl and sista, Vega, ALL my constructor buddies, all-women constructrix breakfast, JenCT on the Brooklyn Bridge with her adorable son and hubby (having missed walking with TwoPonies first day) imsDave, Bob Kerfuffle (whom I've only just learned is not his actual real last name!)<br />Lindsay, and tons of folks who apparently read but don't post!<br />Spent a lot of time with fellow Minnesotan Tom Pepper who had that great little GO+ Commando Monday puzzle a few weeks back...saw the whole young Brown gang, abandoned Crosscan on a two-person team solve, inadvertently...and on and on. Will let me just hang out and so hang out I did.<br /><br />Anyway, I like the artsiness and Scrabblyness of this puzzle and that he even thought of it at all!<br />JUBILANT!Acura onCall-a Majasnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-25601710035634888112012-03-20T21:52:44.651-04:002012-03-20T21:52:44.651-04:00Waiting for the real "BArd" to post this...Waiting for the real "BArd" to post this, so late to the game.<br /><br />Romeo and Juliet, Act I, Scene 4<br /><br />ROMEO<br /><br /> I dream'd a dream to-night.<br /><br />MERCUTIO<br /><br /> And so did I.<br /><br />ROMEO<br /><br /> Well, what was yours?<br /><br />MERCUTIO<br /><br /> That dreamers often lie.<br /><br />ROMEO<br /><br /> In bed asleep, while they do dream things true.<br /><br />MERCUTIO<br /><br /> O, then, I see Queen <b>Mab</b> hath been with you.<br /> She is the fairies' midwife, and she comes<br /> In shape no bigger than an agate-stone<br /> On the fore-finger of an alderman,<br /> Drawn with a team of little atomies<br /> Athwart men's noses as they lie asleep;<br /> Her wagon-spokes made of long spiders' legs,<br /> The cover of the wings of grasshoppers,<br /> The traces of the smallest spider's web,<br /> The collars of the moonshine's watery beams,<br /> Her whip of cricket's bone, the lash of film,<br /> Her wagoner a small grey-coated gnat,<br /> Not so big as a round little worm<br /> Prick'd from the lazy finger of a maid;<br /> Her chariot is an empty hazel-nut<br /> Made by the joiner squirrel or old grub,<br /> Time out o' mind the fairies' coachmakers.<br /> And in this state she gallops night by night<br /> Through lovers' brains, and then they dream of love;<br /> O'er courtiers' knees, that dream on court'sies straight,<br /> O'er lawyers' fingers, who straight dream on fees,<br /> O'er ladies ' lips, who straight on kisses dream,<br /> Which oft the angry <b>Mab</b> with blisters plagues,<br /> Because their breaths with sweetmeats tainted are:<br /> Sometime she gallops o'er a courtier's nose,<br /> And then dreams he of smelling out a suit;<br /> And sometime comes she with a tithe-pig's tail<br /> Tickling a parson's nose as a' lies asleep,<br /> Then dreams, he of another benefice:<br /> Sometime she driveth o'er a soldier's neck,<br /> And then dreams he of cutting foreign throats,<br /> Of breaches, ambuscadoes, Spanish blades,<br /> Of healths five-fathom deep; and then anon<br /> Drums in his ear, at which he starts and wakes,<br /> And being thus frighted swears a prayer or two<br /> And sleeps again. This is that very <b>Mab</b><br /> That plats the manes of horses in the night,<br /> And bakes the elflocks in foul sluttish hairs,<br /> Which once untangled, much misfortune bodes:<br /> This is the hag, when maids lie on their backs,<br /> That presses them and learns them first to bear,<br /> Making them women of good carriage:<br /> This is she--<br /><br />ROMEO<br /><br /> Peace, peace, Mercutio, peace!<br /> Thou talk'st of nothing.<br /><br />MERCUTIO<br /><br /> True, I talk of dreams,<br /> Which are the children of an idle brain,<br /> Begot of nothing but vain fantasy,<br /> Which is as thin of substance as the air<br /> And more inconstant than the wind, who wooes<br /> Even now the frozen bosom of the north,<br /> And, being anger'd, puffs away from thence,<br /> Turning his face to the dew-dropping south.<br /><br />BENVOLIO<br /><br /> This wind, you talk of, blows us from ourselves;<br /> Supper is done, and we shall come too late.Not the Bardnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-60999000413473210492012-03-20T21:27:10.716-04:002012-03-20T21:27:10.716-04:00It's always perplexing to me that when I find ...It's always perplexing to me that when I find puzzles difficult, others find them easy. And then a day like today comes up - and I thought this puzzle was not hard at all, and I solved it non-stop. But from the feedback here, many found it hard. Made my day, actually! :-)ARLENEnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-11233695076465956772012-03-20T20:45:25.944-04:002012-03-20T20:45:25.944-04:00I am surprised, if not astonished, that no-one her...I am surprised, if not astonished, that no-one here has questioned KINDERGARTENER, which to me is, at worst a misspelling, and at best an alternative spelling (without an indicative "(alt.)" in the clue). As far as I can determine, KINDERGARTNER is not just the preferred spelling, but, even in on-line dictionaries drawn from various sources, is still given as the correct spelling, in English as in German. Am I completely alone here?WillburgWillnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-70121922995633671892012-03-20T20:27:55.229-04:002012-03-20T20:27:55.229-04:00This is great! I love getting crossword hints not ...This is great! I love getting crossword hints not just a list of the answers. Thanks!Johniehttp://www.reference.com/crossword/index.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-25983726336244422632012-03-20T18:00:28.655-04:002012-03-20T18:00:28.655-04:00Did I miss it in the Comments
but didn't anyon...Did I miss it in the Comments<br />but didn't anyone notice that<br />Jeremy Lin came in 203rd?<br /> It turns out that he's not the Knicks Jeremy Lin but also a<br />Harvard graduate, class of 2008.<br />The Knicks' Jeremy Lin graduated in 2010.<br /> Someone said they were often confused.ANON Bnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-47284911487763326242012-03-20T17:55:18.917-04:002012-03-20T17:55:18.917-04:00@imsdave: sweet. I missed you too, and all of you....@imsdave: sweet. I missed you too, and all of you... Flying back tomorrow after a lovely funeral today (if you can ever call it that). Gratifying to be here to help, anyway.machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.com