tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post1618330068768534591..comments2024-03-28T09:44:06.223-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Visitor at beginning of Hobbit / FRI 12-23-11 / Albert's love in Bye Bye Birdie / Flower named for resemblance to turban / Blood shed on Mount Olympus / Murderer in PDQ Bach's spoof operaRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger90125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24543580257382093332012-01-28T12:55:29.947-05:002012-01-28T12:55:29.947-05:00DNF, but had a good time. Had Tumult for 34A (vio...DNF, but had a good time. Had Tumult for 34A (violent upheaval, which should have been THROES) which slowed me down. Stuck with POLLfrOG... argh.<br /><br />Read 32A as Popular test in animal medical research (inverting 'in' and 'animal'), which made me scratch my head.<br /><br />Got 22A (flower named for its resemblance to a turban) on account of having recently been in Turkey, the birthplace of tulips.<br /><br />@Dirigonzo: well, it's not as though you were working for them during the Civil War :-)<br /><br />@DJ Stone, wherever you are. It's snowing. Was sure you'd want to know.<br /><br />Loved, loved, loved that Adam and the Ants clip. Thanks, @Rex!<br /><br />Captcha: glych... what my brain does from time to time.Red Valerianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04638265039015470938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-6370981681567577292012-01-27T21:32:17.170-05:002012-01-27T21:32:17.170-05:00I needed all the crosses for 31a "Org. whose ...I needed all the crosses for 31a "Org. whose roots go back to the Civil War" (IRS), and I worked for them for 32 years!Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-66090037703960645292012-01-27T19:48:37.403-05:002012-01-27T19:48:37.403-05:00Spacecraft PS. Please do not automatically assume ...Spacecraft PS. Please do not automatically assume that all lab animals are treated with no compassion. Medicine gets all the bad press while geese still get a food tube shoved down their gullets in the name of pate. If you've ever accepted that dish to eat, you have no PETA cred.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-39889727334411437252012-01-27T19:35:49.405-05:002012-01-27T19:35:49.405-05:00Spacecraft here. DNF today, but that wasn't Pa...Spacecraft here. DNF today, but that wasn't Patrick's fault. After seeing thee completed grid I had to agree: no unfair clues. I just plain didn't know enough. Tried a couple of guesses: TWAIN for HARTE and DEIMOS for TRITON (you know, trying like hell to get through it without having to Google), and when they dead-ended I realized I'd wrestled with this all day, so just threw in.<br /> Actress Tierney--but five letters, not four (Gene)! Oh wait, didn't I see the name MAURA somewhere? And then tried to fit GOLFTOURNAMENTS into 51a without success; you know, the Nationwide Tour, for pro-wannabes. Finally guessed AKA and NCR and was waffling between OLE and RAH when the --ANR--combo caught my eye and gave me the head-slapper at 47a (brilliant clue!). From there I managed to finish the south and SE, but though I got RHESUS I couldn't pick up anything else there in the SW. The center is still blank. Wanted TADPOLE so bad I nearly blacked out the extra square; knew POLLIWOG but had totally forgotten it.<br /> A disappointment, to be sure--but hey: RUSSIANROULETTE was a get worthy of the day. This just shows that I'm still enrolled in Crossword Solving 101--and trying to pass a graduate course. I just look at this grid and feel like a 15-kyu playing go with a 10-dan.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-43335006570792732532012-01-27T19:02:05.030-05:002012-01-27T19:02:05.030-05:00As usual an impossible (for me) friday. I knew abo...As usual an impossible (for me) friday. I knew about the Poor Clares by the convent they had near my families vacation spot in Seacliff Beach CA.<br />Mad as heck that I couldn't figure out POLLIWOG. Oh well since I got half of it done without help I know I'm getting better!!Mighty Nisdenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00604834076817509735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-60332028584198176912011-12-24T12:06:21.430-05:002011-12-24T12:06:21.430-05:00Oh and yes ... Why is RHESUS "unnecessarily m...Oh and yes ... Why is RHESUS "unnecessarily morbid"? There are far more ways that so-called Big Pharma are Phar Phar worse. Read up on it.xyzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08287781952915413013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8340945904251535802011-12-24T11:49:40.367-05:002011-12-24T11:49:40.367-05:00I must improve my knee-jerks.
go back to school, ...I must improve my knee-jerks.<br /><br />go back to school, I suppose?<br /><br />PREPLIxyzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08287781952915413013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46523355787567425962011-12-24T10:01:23.138-05:002011-12-24T10:01:23.138-05:00@ Pete - Oh, stop yer snarking. Did they not teach...@ Pete - Oh, stop yer snarking. Did they not teach "Remains of the Day" in your HS English class? Never watched the movie, either, I take it. Valets deal with clothing (male clothing) exclusively - waterfall cravats, shining of Hessian boots and whatnot. Butlers, well, buttle, as we know. And don't smile much. However, I did when reading your comment! :)Scarlet Pimpernelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-90679063842830224042011-12-24T02:27:29.986-05:002011-12-24T02:27:29.986-05:00Wow. I thought this was a great puzzle, made even...Wow. I thought this was a great puzzle, made even greater by the fact that my daughter is home for Christmas and solved more than half of it. If I were more tech savvy, I would post the picture I took of her and her Big Black Dog solving under the Christmas tree. <br /><br />I went to Gandalf immediately and knew how to spell it. She went to Russian Roulette, which I never saw coming. We had a lot of fun handing it back and forth. <br /><br />We lit the fourth Menorah candle tonight - Happy Hannukah and Merry Christmas to all.pknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46796293052506775552011-12-24T00:00:06.735-05:002011-12-24T00:00:06.735-05:00the only reason i look at fri-sat puzzles is to co...the only reason i look at fri-sat puzzles is to come here and get my WTF moment. im a numbers guy not a words guy, so AHA isnt the best description after finding something rated easy-medium when i filled in a total of 4 words. but i did get the entire bottom half w/o G, which made this the easiest friday ever for me. one of my most enjoyable fridays for that reason. and finally getting a 15 w/o any crosses.<br /><br />but that isnt my reason for writing. i wanted to thank rex for the 80s videos that are totally unrelated to the puzzle, except in an obscure way. today was especially relevant because when i went to see adam and the ants in high school, as one of my favorite bands at the time, there was this new band from the land of Men at Work that opened for them - and who also appeared in a puzzle or two recently. INXS.<br /><br />next time we have the answer ADAM, i hope Will will shout out and make the clue "leader of the ants". let them stew over pixar references or entymology for a while and experience the frustration i do every week because i dont know everything that ever happened in the world.NumbersGuynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-30206607100010521172011-12-23T23:20:56.004-05:002011-12-23T23:20:56.004-05:00Liked this puzzle very much. Just did not like th...Liked this puzzle very much. Just did not like the obscure (for me) clue for "widow" when there are so many cleverer, more creative possibilities: (you may not agree about my notion of "clever," but... "female mantis after mating", "she may have a peak" "survivor?" ) there were so many possibilities that the very clever Mr. Berry might have used, that would have left me smiling instead of scratching my head.<br /><br />But I am quibbling about one clue ! Really enjoyable puzzle, thanks.OISKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16808675378318214461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-175919005386816102011-12-23T23:01:05.026-05:002011-12-23T23:01:05.026-05:00PB is very good.
Was going great guns with RUSSIA...PB is very good.<br /><br />Was going great guns with RUSSIANROULETTE and GOTHUNGUPON but then got hung up on the middle (isn't CONFLATES good for 19a?). SANDRO and ICHOR came through by Googling.<br /><br />Finally limped home with a riddled page. SACRILEGE came in last and elegantly.Rudynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-41807187264289377702011-12-23T22:51:26.365-05:002011-12-23T22:51:26.365-05:00Paginate slew me. Never heard of it or the widow. ...Paginate slew me. Never heard of it or the widow. I also had the bullfrog, and, like Tita, we have the peepers as harbingers of spring.<br /><br />@Andrea (not Bocelli, please): how about the Barrymores?<br /><br />May not have time for tomorrow's puzzle because of a big crowd in the evening, but I want to wish all of you a lovely last week of December 2011!machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-78953826449524882412011-12-23T22:44:36.117-05:002011-12-23T22:44:36.117-05:00@Anoa Bob...
Thank you! I knew NUN was the answer...@Anoa Bob...<br />Thank you! I knew NUN was the answer to 6D, but couldn't remember why I knew it...<br /><br />I read that book a few years ago. Thanks for the memory!Titahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368251255494687496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-22586774951323094572011-12-23T22:39:33.330-05:002011-12-23T22:39:33.330-05:00This 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 6:35, 6:50, 0.96, 34%, Easy-Medium<br />Tue 9:39, 8:53, 1.09, 76%, Medium-Challenging<br />Wed 12:19, 11:48, 1.04, 65%, Medium-Challenging<br />Thu no data (travel day)<br />Fri 21:10, 25:25, 0.83, 21%, Easy-Medium<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:41, 3:40, 1.01, 55%, Medium<br />Tue 4:58, 4:35, 1.09, 76%, Medium-Challenging<br />Wed 6:08, 5:51, 1.05, 69%, Medium-Challenging<br />Thu no data (travel day)<br />Fri 11:00, 12:35, 0.87, 28%, Easy-Mediumsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-3526255909397597802011-12-23T22:29:46.218-05:002011-12-23T22:29:46.218-05:00@Old Timer, Glimmer, Anon, et al...
Apropos WIDOW...@Old Timer, Glimmer, Anon, et al...<br /><br />Apropos WIDOW...Article in the grey lady about type & typesetting...<br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/24/arts/design/printing-for-kingdom-empire-republic-review.html?_r=1&hp" rel="nofollow">Types with Plenty of Character</a><br /><br />I for one hope to get to see this exhibit.Titahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368251255494687496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-52173466192939504932011-12-23T22:14:47.982-05:002011-12-23T22:14:47.982-05:00@anonymous 9:20PM
Many Thanks!!@anonymous 9:20PM<br /><br />Many Thanks!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-60302968132494820292011-12-23T21:20:59.728-05:002011-12-23T21:20:59.728-05:00@Anon 8:45 In typesetting, or printing of any sort...@Anon 8:45 In typesetting, or printing of any sort, a Widow is when the last page of a document only contains a partial sentence, or when the copy doesn't all fit into the alloted space.<br /><br />All modern document writing software automatically prevents widows by playing fast and loose with margins or line spacing to either compress the document into fewer pages, or expand the document to the point where a substantial portion appears on the last page.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67113788842056497072011-12-23T21:11:07.198-05:002011-12-23T21:11:07.198-05:00Anon--
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widows_and_orp...Anon--<br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widows_and_orphans<br />--TwangsterAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31939320377601565792011-12-23T20:45:07.580-05:002011-12-23T20:45:07.580-05:00Can someone please explain why 'typesetting no...Can someone please explain why 'typesetting no-no" is widow.<br />ThanxAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24746425239756100872011-12-23T18:43:39.514-05:002011-12-23T18:43:39.514-05:00@Tita
I thought Fuff was OldCarFudd's pet and ...@Tita<br />I thought Fuff was OldCarFudd's pet and I didn't understand what you were embarassed about. <br /><br />Fluff is slang for a lady's fart but who has to apologize for that on a blog?<br /><br />Then I found your first post and all became clear.r.alphbunkernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-36921076047208628342011-12-23T18:42:39.309-05:002011-12-23T18:42:39.309-05:00@loren muse smith: that's cute.@loren muse smith: that's cute.quilter1https://www.blogger.com/profile/09569747169212018177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24572733068322203972011-12-23T17:54:43.113-05:002011-12-23T17:54:43.113-05:00OldCarFudd - so sorry about Fuff!!
(Insert embarra...OldCarFudd - so sorry about Fuff!!<br />(Insert embarrassed emoticon here...)Titahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368251255494687496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-29020142965087706832011-12-23T17:51:07.425-05:002011-12-23T17:51:07.425-05:00Hi Lewis...
Re: your dyslexic reading of my name y...Hi Lewis...<br />Re: your dyslexic reading of my name yesterday...lol...<br />My niece couldn't say Tia Tereza, so I became Tita.<br /><br />Only reason it is my Rexville persona is that I used it for the Christmas Village blog I started, and well, we all know how interconnected the intertubes are, so it carried over to here.<br /><br />Hey - that blog needs some fresh blood - everyone go take a look to see what I ought to be working on instead of hanging out in Rexville.<br /><a href="http://presepiovista.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">It takes a Village</a><br />(Really geared to those who have to be nice to me cause they're family, but what the heck...it's Christmas...)Titahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368251255494687496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-60406423066892190002011-12-23T17:37:42.199-05:002011-12-23T17:37:42.199-05:00I don't know what my parents were thinking. Wh...I don't know what my parents were thinking. What kind of a name is Crosscan?Jeffreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01699404861773455504noreply@blogger.com