tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post1203325139504858807..comments2024-03-29T11:24:03.304-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Violin virtuoso Leopold / SAT 2-23-13 / Board game found in Egyptian tombs / Yeomen of Guard officer / Dublin-born singer with 1990 #1 hit / Mil branch disbanded in 1978 / Roots family surname / Cerebral canalsRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger81125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-73889071111115068342013-03-31T09:33:23.484-04:002013-03-31T09:33:23.484-04:00Got to this very late due to family Easter get-tog...Got to this very late due to family Easter get-together on Saturday but then found it a fun, breezy puzzle. Writeovers included TOWTRUCKS at 1A, CYR at 28D and TAPED (my hockey bias) at 36A. Love it when obscurities are readily solvable from their crosses and there were lots in this grid: TOD, ESO, EXON, SENET (wha?), EDAS, OMNES,... <br /><br />Recalled ANILINE only because a folk-singer friend (and fellow science student) of mine back in university parodied the song ABILENE using it as the title. Waxy in Montrealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04395751487137805245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-70168955292179359152013-03-30T14:48:35.254-04:002013-03-30T14:48:35.254-04:00ANILINE was a gimme, luckily, even though it techn...ANILINE was a gimme, luckily, even though it technically isn't a dye. I know ROADSTERS aren't really 'dragging vehicles', but any vehicle can participate in a drag race if the drivers are so motivated. I used to drag race with VW beetles in my Vauxhall Viva, races you'd time with a calendar... Anyway, the puzzle was pretty easy once I forced myself to put in CER, and SANSEI, and as a bonus, it was a fun solve.rain forestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9079064727522304692013-03-30T14:07:01.078-04:002013-03-30T14:07:01.078-04:00DNF, but I cry foul. I know what a ROADSTER is--an...DNF, but I cry foul. I know what a ROADSTER is--and it is most definitely NOT a dragging vehicle! It is anything BUT. This was the absolute WORST clue EVER! Sure, I had --STERS, and the given word fits--but it could NOT be! No one in their right mind would EVER clue ROADSTERS as "Dragging vehicles!" Bah!<br /><br />Besides that, those acrosses along the west were murder. ITERS as cerebral canals? Congrats, doctors, you got a gimme. The rest of us...not. The Chronicles of Vladimir WHO??? Well, this whole vampire thing just mystifies me, how it can be so popular. They're fictional characters who, if they WERE real, should be avoided at all costs. Go figure. Then there's the one-X EXON. Yeah, he must be somewhere between Lieutenant and Major. Ri...ight. All five of us on the planet know that one. Oh, and SANSEI, not sensei???<br /><br />The rest of this was actually pleasantly difficult but gettable, but that north and west: horrible.Spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-66630204516279164762013-03-30T12:25:36.894-04:002013-03-30T12:25:36.894-04:00Todd Gross was not given credit in the by line for...Todd Gross was not given credit in the by line for the syndicated puzzle. Friday's author, Smith, was not changed for this Saturday puzzle. <br /><br />Odd, that.syndicate bobnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-83344112888108522682013-02-28T17:10:35.865-05:002013-02-28T17:10:35.865-05:00Ended up with itera/omnea. Wasn't confident,...Ended up with itera/omnea. Wasn't confident, but didn't know without checking the answer.<br /><br />Aniline dyes are a well known class of dyes, to those of us with experience in textile dyeing. Hey, I have to put up with obscure literary references, so you guys can handle the occasional zebra from the technical world!<br /><br />Overall, hardly worth a Saturday.Davenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-27492707612147856792013-02-24T17:12:55.190-05:002013-02-24T17:12:55.190-05:00SLO going for me. Bah! Why do I have to put up wit...SLO going for me. Bah! Why do I have to put up with 3-letter abbreviations for 4-letter words?Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16911901473993027184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-64242505378021017672013-02-23T21:58:07.429-05:002013-02-23T21:58:07.429-05:00I worked so hard getting the tough spots that I mi...I worked so hard getting the tough spots that I missed an easy one - I had KINTi crossing PETE ACHiR, the famous drill sergeant. Alas!<br /><br />On the other hand, ANILINE was a gimme for me, from aniline dyes (even though I had thought aniline was a family of chemicals, rather than a single one, until just now). The real hangup for me was the West, where I cleverly deduced that an advance man must be a paNDER, which blocked METROSEXUAL as I looked for some sort of Man as the GQ reader. I had to go away and come back 6 hours later to get it.<br /><br />I think the theme was EELs -- EEL-LIKE right in the center, and a couple of them, in black, swimming circles in the white ocean.jberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02169065390875378077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-16063910782321404732013-02-23T20:32:18.860-05:002013-02-23T20:32:18.860-05:00Two hours, two wrong squares - ITERa and the one R...Two hours, two wrong squares - ITERa and the one Rex predicted. A good part of my time was spent fixing bIllardchAmp where MINNESOTAFATS belonged. The west coast opened up when PP spotted LENDER for Advance man, which had eluded me for a long time. I more than KINDA liked it.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-345943462933098432013-02-23T20:26:09.613-05:002013-02-23T20:26:09.613-05:00I thought I had nothing to add until I came to Jos...I thought I had nothing to add until I came to Joseph B--thx @Joseph! (although it may be too late for you to see this)<br /><br />Since "exeunt" is not an imperative, but the third person plural present indicative, "omnes" can't be a vocative--it's a nominative. The whole phrase simply means "all exit".Ulrichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02086202853174403008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-53651850633113336092013-02-23T20:24:21.604-05:002013-02-23T20:24:21.604-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Ulrichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02086202853174403008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-68287190848717358282013-02-23T20:22:24.231-05:002013-02-23T20:22:24.231-05:00I thought yesterday's was easier because I go...I thought yesterday's was easier because I got hung up on the western side today. . Couldn't get ITERS [still can't find a definition of it anywhere], didn't know what an EXON was, and wasn't clever enough to figure out METROSEXUAL even though I had lots of the other letters. Read 37d luster in the shining sense and didn't connect with SINNER until the last. Fortunately most of the long words came fairly easily but I am slow to fill in the other blanks. I spend too much time doing the puzzles; however I am OCD enough not to be able to stop looking forward to them.LaneBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-53676951467735274542013-02-23T19:32:56.418-05:002013-02-23T19:32:56.418-05:00Easiest Saturday in a while: 12:23. I do not recal...Easiest Saturday in a while: 12:23. I do not recall a puzzle in which I got the long answers so easily, without much recourse to short crosses. <br /><br />MINNESOTA FATS was a gimme but I erased it after trying (and here I hang my head in shame) Exeunt ALLES. Mixed languages. I know better. Boo, me. But, it came back after some downs in the E and W reinserted MI__E___A FATS. LOTTERY WINNER, its southern counterpart, was obvious since the two clues involving numbered balls were almost surely used the balls in different ways.<br /><br />Hand up for CHESS before SENET (of which I have never heard - must look it up as soon as I am finished here).<br /><br />ANILINE is not exactly a chemical used in DYES per se; it is a chemical used in the synthesis of certain azo dyes, a different matter. But I knew where that answer was going, so that and PETITES axed CHESS.<br /><br />Anyway, thanks to Mr. Gross. I enjoyed it.<br />retired_chemisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13181126754941899228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-83051812228956351792013-02-23T19:03:43.476-05:002013-02-23T19:03:43.476-05:00@Ellen S. Goodie, another Sacratomatoan. We'...@Ellen S. Goodie, another Sacratomatoan. We're in North Natomas - five minutes to downtown and five to both the rivers. And you? We have another - @Mighty Nisden but he hasn't chimed in in a while.<br />I say "beloved" Kings with a heavy heart since I'm still pining for the Peja/Vladi days. Just maybe the gazillionairs will find us a new arena and an improved team..There's always hope....:-)GILL I.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05605766053820226324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-48641823372120350812013-02-23T18:38:45.052-05:002013-02-23T18:38:45.052-05:00I got off track by putting "lotharios" ...I got off track by putting "lotharios" instead of "litterers"<br />for Mess Makers. <br /><br />Otherwise ok and interesting. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31706391390628138532013-02-23T18:35:13.565-05:002013-02-23T18:35:13.565-05:00Much easier than yesterday, Aniline easy for me fo...Much easier than yesterday, Aniline easy for me for research-related reasons. Oddly I got messed up by roastmaster. I wrote in Sinead O'Connor, but then saw what I thought was "toastmaster" and erased Sinead before much later deciding that "roastmaster" must be a word.<br /><br /> michaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-60866723074700752622013-02-23T17:32:25.382-05:002013-02-23T17:32:25.382-05:00Thanks everyone re: crook's mark. I was thinki...Thanks everyone re: crook's mark. I was thinking of a shepherd's crook or something in a hook shape.<br />@Ellen the Cubs are now owned by the Rickets family and they love the nostalgia, so I doubt they would change the name of Wrigley Field.Elle54noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-83498393814007902802013-02-23T16:29:59.691-05:002013-02-23T16:29:59.691-05:00Ha -- the same thing happened to me - finished eve...Ha -- the same thing happened to me - finished everything else, then guessed "M: instead of "N" for SE-ET.<br /><br />Of course it took me almost an hour . . .Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67046616203458534862013-02-23T15:53:49.604-05:002013-02-23T15:53:49.604-05:00Great story, acme...sums up my life....Ifeel like ...Great story, acme...sums up my life....Ifeel like I life from awkward moment to awkward moment.<br /><br />Anyhow,I hate when I finish a puzzle that I would rate Challenging only to come here and see Rex rate it Easy-Medium, but, that's what we've got today. I so loved the look of the grid and all the longies. But so much short nastiness to contend with, all,I can say is I'm glad it's over without having to resort to the Googlator.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04551716499829677518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-35956471386082296832013-02-23T15:29:02.677-05:002013-02-23T15:29:02.677-05:00Is this how it works for you constructors? You'...Is this how it works for you constructors? You're filling in the grid with non-themer/seed words, and KaWhammie -- neat long words just happen to slide into place from nowhere, here and there, like little surprise, bonus Christmas presents.<br /><br />Like they're somehow magically meant to be? All it takes is a stray, crossin' IERS here and there (which you brazenly clue like everyone for sure knows what the International Earth Rotation Service is). Yeah, so @31 gets all snarky on your bony ass. Not like you're the first. It's pretty much worth it, for that killer manna-from-crossword-gods 13-letter gem.<br /><br />So it maya/shoulda been here, with the likes of:<br />SAMUELADAMS -- Known for his gubernatorial beer blasts.<br />SPLITSCREEN -- Like the coverage in most Senet tournaments. No one's quite sure what the original rules were, btw. My theory: whatever Pharaoh said they were, on any given day.<br />RECONNOITER -- Meatier clue: [Go looking for trouble]. Wild-lookin' word. French. Figures.<br />PETEACHER -- Has a faint smell of desperation, but I love it. Faint smells are no sweat. Except in PE.<br />METROSEXUAL -- Just looks so weird, growing straight out of MINNESOTA FATS. [shudder]<br /><br />Feel better now. Snuck in some bullets, which were, no doubt, accidentally omitted from the official @31 text.<br /><br />Masked and Anonymous-iestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-13183970307044201372013-02-23T15:23:51.054-05:002013-02-23T15:23:51.054-05:00Good day for Sumac- also made an appearance in tod...Good day for Sumac- also made an appearance in today's LA Times XWords.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46577041142718153582013-02-23T15:22:47.371-05:002013-02-23T15:22:47.371-05:00@Gill I.P. -- hey, I didn't know you are also ...@Gill I.P. -- hey, I didn't know you are also in Sactomato! I thought it was about "our" Kings also, but lost track of the name of the arena after the third change in, what, 5 years? -- so I just let it grow. When I saw "STAPLESCENTER" I thought, wait, <i>another</i> name change???? Was relieved to see it was a different sport, different city, fine, whatever. As for "beloved", that is reserved for the Cubbies, who are still in Chicago, still at Wrigley Field. Apparently nobody wants to buy them or naming rights on the ballpark. When I was young, sports teams and their stadia, baseball anyway, were owned by gazillionaires, and the arenas were named for the team or the gazillionaire. I hate this business of moving teams to cities that offer the best "incentives" and new shiny arenas paid for by the taxpayers regardless of whether they're fans, sucking the city dry and moving on to the next city that promises to go into debt for what will inevitably be a short-term relationship. And selling naming rights every couple of minutes just makes me dizzy. And makes a mess of the signage. <br /><br />But I liked the puzzle! I don't know anything about constructing, but I thought the grid was beautiful, and as long as there were two entrances to the central island I wasn't too scared. I had no idea what is a SENET, TOD, CER, EXON and I thought ITERS were Roman roads, but got them eventually, by hook or by CROOK. I don't feel it's right to complain about new words <i>and</i>old words, so I'll learn the new words and save my griping for EELLIKE. That is the ickIEST thing in the puzzle. That and "--IEST", but that leaves a lot of good in the rest of the puzzl.e<br /><br />Oh - ROADSTER bothered me. I thought that refers to a body style, a two-seater convertible type. "Sporty" but not necessarily fit for drag racing, which is what I thought the clue referred to. <br /><br />So... I have bionic eyes... let's see if that makes me a robot.Ellen Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00473445503706985149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80393835885431825992013-02-23T15:03:15.880-05:002013-02-23T15:03:15.880-05:00Odd grid shape = easier clues,
but now I add to th...Odd grid shape = easier clues,<br />but now I add to that;<br />odd grip shape & long answers = nasty short fills<br /><br />4D French prepositions <b>DES</b> was totally uncalled for. <b>DES</b> is an article in French, until I realized that it's an ugly marriage of proper French preposition <i>de</i> and English plural <i>s</i>.<br /><br />UGH!Krytennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-77749135245657031882013-02-23T14:37:41.003-05:002013-02-23T14:37:41.003-05:00@Joseph B - I thought "Ron" but never wr...@Joseph B - I thought "Ron" but never wrote it down. We aren't completely crazy - https://www.petesessions.com/Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-6807978917801142072013-02-23T14:17:52.573-05:002013-02-23T14:17:52.573-05:00@Rob C- Thanks- but you know, I never really hear...@Rob C- Thanks- but you know, I never really heard of PE TEACHER. But I did hear of Phys. Ed. TEACHER.<br />Whatever!Sandy Knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-69900608981311556122013-02-23T13:52:55.295-05:002013-02-23T13:52:55.295-05:00For any of us who dream of more non-verbal, spatia...For any of us who dream of more non-verbal, spatial elements in CWPs, this puzzle w/ its "ball in the middle" grid and its related mini-theme is really great...hurrah!!!<br /><br />Got the incorrect signal and had a number of highly un-fun minutes...decided CER should be CYR for WWI battle and screwed around in the middle for a while...finally realized OMNEA/ITERA should be OMNES/ITERS.<br /><br />I'm not too grumpy about my woes, though...I don't see a straightforward way the crossing could have been clued to make the chance of an icky feeling at the end for solvers less...the OMNES and ITERS clues were about as straight-up as you can ask for...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.valuecompetition.typepad.com/metarex/2013/02/yesterday-and-today.html" rel="nofollow">Yesterday and Today</a><br /><br />MetaRexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01697113550216241303noreply@blogger.com