tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post926835052408924906..comments2024-03-29T10:12:38.569-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: SUNDAY, Oct. 26, 2008 - Daniel C. Bryant (Old Indian V.I.P. / Internet initialism / African nation founder Jomo / Milo's title partner in a 1989 film)Rex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-70075481306850455832008-11-08T11:00:00.000-05:002008-11-08T11:00:00.000-05:00I'm a week behind and was also out of town so am l...I'm a week behind and was also out of town so am late doing this one. I'm surprised there were no comments about 50A Beau ____. I had Geste at first and don't understand IDEAL. Help!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80510642718537159642008-11-03T20:37:00.000-05:002008-11-03T20:37:00.000-05:00in a prescription it is tid not ter fir thruce and...in a prescription it is tid not ter fir thruce and a rabbit lives in a briar patch not a brier in my Brer Rabbit. Also nabob or nawab..very obscureUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03847039181246594175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-86494801471467356152008-11-03T17:06:00.000-05:002008-11-03T17:06:00.000-05:00Rex, I can't believe you thought Jomo Kenyatta was...Rex, I can't believe you thought Jomo Kenyatta was obscure but Graf Snee was OK. Even after googling to read what it was I can't believe it's a real name. Sounds Jabberwocky.Sharonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15377668158107804376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67189088844031929712008-10-28T16:15:00.000-04:002008-10-28T16:15:00.000-04:00Add me to the masses that had Lone Stranger. Didn'...Add me to the masses that had Lone Stranger. Didn't like this puzzle at all. The fill was horrid.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-73976869633738812352008-10-27T21:32:00.000-04:002008-10-27T21:32:00.000-04:00Like Justin and Poc, the B Minor Mass was a gimmee...Like Justin and Poc, the B Minor Mass was a gimmee for me, thanks to Dr. Schweitzer (No, not that Dr. S., this one was a professor at Southern Connecticut State College, my alma mater, back in 1969). He made this glorious work come to life. I struggled through much of this puzzle, having never before seen ANTRUM, HELOT, or ALLELE. Tough, as Sundays go.Chip Hiltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11944056030047563287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-6425794343319459692008-10-27T11:29:00.000-04:002008-10-27T11:29:00.000-04:00@justin: totally agree. The B Minor Mass is one of...@justin: totally agree. The B Minor Mass is one of the touchstones of Western culture, up there with the 9th Symphony and the Mona Lisa. You may not like them, but it's reasonable for compilers to expect you to have heard of them.<BR/><BR/>@anonymous: IMHO = In My Humble Opinion.pochttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08861361305246858918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-81620401552700477362008-10-27T09:43:00.000-04:002008-10-27T09:43:00.000-04:00IMHO???..what am I missingIMHO???..what am I missingAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-43071661121824869852008-10-27T09:34:00.000-04:002008-10-27T09:34:00.000-04:00Leman is the French name for Lake GenevaLeman is the French name for Lake GenevaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8969473164776546752008-10-27T02:00:00.000-04:002008-10-27T02:00:00.000-04:00Bach's B Minor Mass appears often in puzzles becau...Bach's B Minor Mass appears often in puzzles because it is part of one's cultural literacy. The B Minor Mass is to Bach what Hamlet is to Shakespeare. (Even those who don't follow Shakespeare know that he wrote Hamlet.) I'm surprised that this is an issue in today's puzzle; my 19-year-old son considers it a "gimme." The NYT solvers are expected to have a broad understanding of classical and pop culture.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56781902426660590882008-10-26T20:56:00.000-04:002008-10-26T20:56:00.000-04:00It's a small thing, perhaps, but everyone at the c...It's a small thing, perhaps, but everyone at the college where I teach was pleased with our football team's 55-20 victory over ELON yesterday...archaeoprofhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17956231727789223463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-29920647991020866712008-10-26T20:45:00.000-04:002008-10-26T20:45:00.000-04:00@ Steve I -- I'm sorry about your losing your coun...@ Steve I -- I'm sorry about your losing your country music station! When I was very young, I used to hide a little flashlight under the covers at bedtime and listen to Grand Old Opry while reading Sherlock Holmes... I also listened to the Lone Ranger while diligently practicing scales on the piano. If my mother ever caught on, she never said a word. <BR/><BR/>I did get ratted out by a kindergarten teacher who felt it necessary to report my small adventurous contribution to show-and-tell, in which I bragged about avoiding actual baths by simply running water loudly into the tub but mostly not getting in! Some early interests last, some get left behind, I guess. I was never denied comic books either, but haven't read one since about age ten.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, my point about the PBS classical station was that many of us contribute to this rather than spend the money on buying our own recordings, so that the sales figures may stay low but our aesthetic pleasure is magnified by the efforts of many others who do the same. Hope your Sirius purchase works out for you! And I hope our rare full-time classical station does survive somehow...<BR/><BR/>∑;)ArtLvrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03869528391374878601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-62955729792369391212008-10-26T20:00:00.000-04:002008-10-26T20:00:00.000-04:00@artlvr--If you have followed my comments recently...@artlvr--If you have followed my comments recently (i.e. yesterday) you might have seen that I said that "like Wade, I listen to both kinds of music" (that reference meant "country" and "western.") A little while back, when the NYC area lost its only commercial country music station, I began getting very interested in the radio and recording business, and began reading Billboard magazine and started looking at industry websites--some country music specific, some more general. It was in that context that I read somewhere that rock/pop music sold only a few percentage points more than country, which was the second-highest selling genre, and I was surprised that classical/opera only sold about 2% of all recordings. This surprised me greatly, given that I live in the metropolitan area in which you will find Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. I can't tell you specifically where the figure came from, but I'm not making it up. (To resolve my personal problem of not having a country radio station in New York, I went out and got a Sirius radio.) To each his own, and I'm glad that you have a classical station where you live. You also have a great local country station in WGNA. In my area, we have a lot of foreign language stations, including one in Polish, and, I believe, classical, but no country music.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-66400744547400694812008-10-26T19:22:00.001-04:002008-10-26T19:22:00.001-04:00@ steve I, who said "I once read that only 2% of C...@ steve I, who said "I once read that only 2% of CD's (or was it LP's or was it cassettes?) bought were classical/opera." Just want to mention, with fingers crossed, that we have a publicly-supported FM station in the Albany/Hudson River NY area which plays all classical music of all types 24/7. Wonderful boon to those of us frequently up at all hours!<BR/><BR/>Fingers crossed, because hard times are putting a strain on fund-raising for this venerable enterprise along with so many other worthy institutions -- it would be a terrible shame to lose it!ArtLvrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03869528391374878601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-17721314716927265252008-10-26T19:22:00.000-04:002008-10-26T19:22:00.000-04:00Like Ulrich, I found KENYATTA easy, and it was the...Like Ulrich, I found KENYATTA easy, and it was the first answer I entered with any certainty (although I was not sure about the double T). But in general, I am so with Rex on this one. It was a real struggle, even though I got the theme early (which helped) and enjoyed some of the theme answers, especially HOLY STROLLER. To me this one exemplifies a perfect theme answer, because it can be perfectly clued with one word.<BR/><BR/>I saw "Where the Boys Are" when I was a kid in the Middle East and thought this was what America looked like. Imagine my confusion when upon arrival, I landed in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on my way to Iowa City.foodiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13052189131129098616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67618030471278039372008-10-26T18:35:00.000-04:002008-10-26T18:35:00.000-04:00"Solidly gettable" is relative, as Charles mention..."Solidly gettable" is relative, as Charles mentioned at 4:09, as Bill from NJ mentioned weeks ago. <BR/>Soon, the world will change and we may take a step toward truly recognizing we are all in this together. The older generation will learn the advantages of knowing pop culture and stop dismissing it as shallow, gratuitous junk and the younger will start to appreciate the wisdom of experience and perspective. <BR/>It all reminds me of the old-man fish swimming by two young'uns in the ocean and he asked, "How's the water, boys?"<BR/>And the two young fish looked at one another and said, "What's water?"<BR/>(I got that from the three-named author who just committed suicide. All I can come up with is John Foster Dulles, and I know that's an airport, but he was a Secretary of State first.)<BR/><BR/>@fergus, YOU the man!fikinkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06324570637549775751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-27308785490483815812008-10-26T18:27:00.000-04:002008-10-26T18:27:00.000-04:00I once read that only 2% of CD's (or was it LP's o...I once read that only 2% of CD's (or was it LP's or was it cassettes?) bought were classical/opera. If we are trying to do a Natick test on B MINOR, you might consider that. I had NO idea what key it was, and like Orange said above, B sounded best, and I did think of NABOB (in fact, considered it for the entry before the W became obvious.) <BR/><BR/>Also, Rex, you should realize, before it appears in a puzzle, that you catch FLAK, not FLACK, for saying something controversial. Unless you're a pop singer and your name is ROBERTA.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-37190006981821884692008-10-26T18:23:00.000-04:002008-10-26T18:23:00.000-04:00I couldn't solve it either, and even after googlin...I couldn't solve it either, and even after googling for KENYATTA, NAWAB, and ERNO I had invisibly wrong answers for CECE and ALDORAY and I gave up. I guess none of these qualify as 'pop' culture. What category would they fall into, historical culture? I did like the theme, though.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-16476582981673440362008-10-26T18:05:00.000-04:002008-10-26T18:05:00.000-04:00Yeah, the LACS this time did feel a bit like a con...Yeah, the LACS this time did feel a bit like a confession -- like when the referee blows a call and has to find a way to make up for it.<BR/><BR/>The River EXE runs through some awfully pretty country in Devon and lends its name to Exeter. Exmoor in north Devon (Lorna Doone country) and Dartmoor in the southern part make for some pretty glorious hiking territory; plus you get to stop into many an inviting pub along the way. With the English derivations abounding, I was stuck with Conkers being related to Chestnuts, rather than the Three Stooges.<BR/><BR/>BRIER still looks wrong, in this seemingly somewhat forced puzzle. LOOT and LUCRE for Spoils and Swag were virtually interchangeable, though LUCRE and Spoils are not necessarily ill-gotten, so maybe these pairings should have been swapped?<BR/><BR/><BR/>Groaning pun, Ms. Fikink. Irresistible, I assume?fergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-85848477376148550532008-10-26T18:04:00.000-04:002008-10-26T18:04:00.000-04:00I was getting all kinds of cocky because Rex thoug...I was getting all kinds of cocky because Rex thought Friday's puzzle was a challenge and I breezed through it (relatively speaking). Then yesterday's puzzle killed me and today's was the hardest Sunday puzzle in a long time. I guess there's something about blessed are the meek that I should re-read.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-70064601085570741912008-10-26T17:58:00.000-04:002008-10-26T17:58:00.000-04:00Found this challenging because of all the names, m...Found this challenging because of all the names, many of which I did not know (LaRussa crossing Deseret, Nawab crossing Kenyatta) and for Alice Paul I filled in Alice Ball, as I had the "a" - should have known it, but live in the town where Philip Johnson's Glass House is, and where his "Alice Ball House" is. Oops. Funny that Rex mentioned Art Spiegelman, as I heard him speak at Hampshire College on Friday night. He was great.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56736981492298676612008-10-26T17:35:00.000-04:002008-10-26T17:35:00.000-04:00Apparently people who follow classical music know ...Apparently people who follow classical music know that <I>of course</I> it's Bach's "B Minor Mass," but I don't know what percentage of NYT solvers would know it. I guessed the B, but only because NAWAB sounded more likely to me than NAWAA, NAWAC, NAWAD, NAWAE, NAWAF, or NAWAG (thanks to the related "nabob"). B Minor Mass? Don't know it.<BR/><BR/>If I were ruler of the crossword world, I'd demand solidly gettable crossings for all the *MAJOR and *MINOR answers (and also *STAR).Orangehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12433254398377357737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-69161530461580314292008-10-26T17:03:00.001-04:002008-10-26T17:03:00.001-04:00To "clinch" is to put a game on ice - a sure win.To "clinch" is to put a game on ice - a sure win.Boohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16290403912776005537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-81309838772798839422008-10-26T17:03:00.000-04:002008-10-26T17:03:00.000-04:00Didn't really like the puzzle today. Took a while ...Didn't really like the puzzle today. Took a while to get the theme and even then...still had to google.<BR/>@shamick glad to see your name in the puzzle<BR/><BR/>Not even any food to talk about.chefbeahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15195945085405126511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-52714520646560861532008-10-26T16:41:00.000-04:002008-10-26T16:41:00.000-04:00No joy in this one for me. However I did have a sm...No joy in this one for me. However I did have a smile on my face this morning while on an early morning walk with the dogs. As I looked to the sky just before dawn what did I see? A beautiful earthshine lighting the dark side of the moon! Thanks to yesterday's puzzle I knew it's name. <BR/>Someone commented that it looked like a golf ball on a tee and it did.Two Ponieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06896743444873087885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-48759956983442166462008-10-26T16:38:00.000-04:002008-10-26T16:38:00.000-04:00Rex, ARR (in sheet music) stands for "Arrangement"...Rex, ARR (in sheet music) stands for "Arrangement" (as in "Arr.[by] Ira Gershwin"). <BR/><BR/>PollyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com