tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post2005504559760930734..comments2024-03-29T08:25:40.304-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: 1952 Brando title role / SUN 2-3-13 / Puppet of old TV / Paavo 1920s Finnish Olympic hero / Clockwork Orange hooligan / Insect's opening for air / French Champagne city / Potter's pedal / Language related to Tahitian / Either end of edge in graph theory / Familiarity breeds contempt childrenRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger93125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-39268422989049620562013-02-18T14:05:09.406-05:002013-02-18T14:05:09.406-05:00The printing for 44-D in my local paper came out w...The printing for 44-D in my local paper came out with a space between the R and the rest of the word - "R apper?" - which led to some serious confusion. Otherwise, fun.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-62623083209414636392013-02-14T16:14:28.104-05:002013-02-14T16:14:28.104-05:00@Beth - I don't know if it will help you feel ...@Beth - I don't know if it will help you feel any better about the clue, but my paper (Maine Sunday Telegram) had it printed the same way as yours did. When most of the answer was in from the crosses I decided the spacing was a publishing error that had no significance to the clue.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24312837594778928672013-02-14T09:25:12.382-05:002013-02-14T09:25:12.382-05:00@Beth: that was a really tough one, but POLTERGEI...@Beth: that was a really tough one, but POLTERGEISTs<br />make noise to make their presence known.JenCThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18290169184354765840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-25751757484191492772013-02-14T04:44:32.904-05:002013-02-14T04:44:32.904-05:00Syndication here - I STILL don't understand ho...Syndication here - I STILL don't understand how "rapper" is a clue for poltergeist (in my paper it was "r apper" which probably made it worse).<br /><br />Bethnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-28930457412172979792013-02-11T12:25:55.196-05:002013-02-11T12:25:55.196-05:00@ Linda Chick
Before i began solving NYT puzzles I...@ Linda Chick<br />Before i began solving NYT puzzles I had seen films, read books, etc where prople solving crosswords were OK with looking up answers in dictionaries and other resources. Looking up rivers, cities on rivers, etc, got me into the atlas and I learned a liitle geography. Looking up leterary references I also learned a little, or refreshed my knowledge of plays, novels ,etc. <br />Granted, Google makes it easier and provides info I have no resource books on. But it is still true that I usually learn something by Googling for an answer. Going straight to Rex, or calling the "clue hotline" is quite a different thing. Ihave, before I found Rex, called the clue hotline occasionally when I was totally stuck on a puzzle that I was enjoying enough to want to go on with it. Often I got several "ah ha" moments from the puzzle once I got past a block.<br /><br />By the way, <br />How did you become oaware of this blog if you never google for answers?SharonAKnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-3670327476796418082013-02-11T03:38:23.289-05:002013-02-11T03:38:23.289-05:00I live in LA area and get the Daily Breeze Sunday ...I live in LA area and get the Daily Breeze Sunday edition, which carries the NYT Sunday puzzle, one week delayed. I also do the LA Times Sunday puzzle. This led to my seeing a nearly ang coincidence: both puzzles had "Wyeth" as an answer, and both clued it by a refeference to "Christina's World". BWHinLAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14208203579938233710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-58909296263640255662013-02-10T19:55:23.485-05:002013-02-10T19:55:23.485-05:00I spent all morning clearing two feet of snow out ...I spent all morning clearing two feet of snow out of he driveway and all afternoon trying to get the puzzle ROPEd and hogtied - I'm not sure which was more exhausting but I'm glad they're both done.<br /><br />My solving experience mirrored @Spacecraft's, except I finished with an error. I had BARTApS running in the saloon at 10a and Bildung could as easily have been Pildung from what I (don't) know. I did eventually see the theme and that was a big help as I just started putting "K" in when I was uncertain, and it actually worked a lot of the time.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-74801751976317965022013-02-10T13:36:53.763-05:002013-02-10T13:36:53.763-05:00For me this was a tale of two hemispheres: the wes...For me this was a tale of two hemispheres: the west laid itself down after only respelling "coffee" to the German equivalent. The east saw me struggling mightily. Never heard of BILDUNGSROMAN, REALPOLITIK, EBERSOL or ZAPATA. I eventually got it all on crosses and finished ok.<br /><br />Wanted ONE as "all's partner," as per "los TRES mosqueteros." And I thought the TWAIN quote was simply "Familiarity breeds."<br /><br />As one of German heritage, I enjoyed this one. Nice end to the week.Spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-13869800410715816142013-02-09T17:33:16.545-05:002013-02-09T17:33:16.545-05:009 minutes, Rex? Heck, I grazed 8 minutes...for th...9 minutes, Rex? Heck, I grazed 8 minutes...for the top quarter--close to 45 minutes overall. I never time myself, but I decided to do this in one fell swoop with an eye on the clock. Actually threw down KAFFEEKLATSCH off the K of which there were a lot. BILDUNGSROMAN was only discovered from the crosses. Weird seeing that emerge. If I can do a Sunday in under an hour, and at one sitting, I like it. The SW was beautifully constructed, in my opinion.rain forestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-32577978651043056092013-02-04T08:59:25.659-05:002013-02-04T08:59:25.659-05:00Sometimes I long for the time before computer gene...Sometimes I long for the time before computer generated puzzles!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-41665933026849620472013-02-04T08:41:36.741-05:002013-02-04T08:41:36.741-05:00you are not the only one! arggh! i just refused ...you are not the only one! arggh! i just refused to quit, but didn 't get the theme for ages. still don 't know what bildungsroman is even though i got it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56603988991598308182013-02-04T05:50:14.648-05:002013-02-04T05:50:14.648-05:00Like puzzle games and this one specially. This mig...Like puzzle games and this one specially. This might be one of the oldest puzzle game which I loved till now. There are so many puzzle games are available now but still this one would be my favorite.Crossword Puzzlehttp://c2w.com/crosswords/most_recentnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-1703391350335763182013-02-04T05:31:58.353-05:002013-02-04T05:31:58.353-05:00Fun puzzle once the theme revealed itself. Didn...Fun puzzle once the theme revealed itself. Didn't get kaffeeklatsch and Bildungsroman though. But got the rest of the theme answers. Jomahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16655600577444862937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8818910674448760312013-02-04T02:03:37.642-05:002013-02-04T02:03:37.642-05:00Had to delay puzzle solving to witness my beloved ...Had to delay puzzle solving to witness my beloved Niners getting screwed by. The officials. Well, a great comeback anyway. Did manage to finishLaneBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26133475297095625722013-02-04T01:16:41.555-05:002013-02-04T01:16:41.555-05:00and I just entered "56" for the actual a...and I just entered "56" for the actual answer "6501". Is it specific to 42? Are the captchas being individually validated by Douglas Adams from beyond the ether? <br /><br />And dang! -- it really ISN'T case sensitive. Here I've been killing myself making my entries lower case when the auto-correct keeps capitalizing the first letter. Thank you @Tita. <br /><br />@Rex please add these gems to the FAQs so future commenters don't founder on the Captcha shoals.Ellen Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00473445503706985149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-15666226565560365992013-02-04T01:10:41.119-05:002013-02-04T01:10:41.119-05:00@jberg, no fooling about "we all see lots of ...@jberg, no fooling about "we all see lots of things that we forget totally." Never mind high school biology. (DNA hadn't been invented. Gregor Mendel was still investigating inherited traits of pea plants.) I forgot that it was @Tita who only a couple of weeks ago told me the trick about how to enter the number for the captcha. <br /><br />@Tita --Yeah, I don't know nothin' about sports, but I did read Hitchhiker's Guide. That's all I remember but all I need to know, right? But I don't get why you can't use 42 if there's a 4 or a 2? I just used "51" on a post I just did to yesterday's puz, where the actual number was "510".Ellen Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00473445503706985149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-70182152822894285482013-02-04T00:56:26.447-05:002013-02-04T00:56:26.447-05:00I got the theme at BILDUNGSROMAN - a gimme if you ...I got the theme at BILDUNGSROMAN - a gimme if you ever studied literature, not just German literature, or even read book reviews of the NYT/NRYOB sort. But having got it, it didn't seem like much. German words? There are German words, French words,Spanish words, sometimes Russian words in puzzles all the time - and, as has been pointed out, French and Spanish words in THIS puzzle. So I'm with @Rex on its being a thin theme, even with 8 of them. But most of the fill is good - not every day you see Joe ORTON in the grid!<br /><br />I learned SPIRACLE in high school biology, and I bet all you saying you never saw it before did, as well. But of course we all see lots of things that we forget totally. <br /><br />I would have put in plowed or tilled at 55A, but the "in a way" in the clue seemed to suggest it was something less common, so I waited until crosses gave me SPADED.<br /><br />The one thing about this grid was that I kept getting stuck - there are lots and lots of little sections barely connected to each other, so I had to start over (rather than working from crosses, as I like to do) 5 or 6 times. Aside from that my only problems/writeovers were niNTH before TENTH, BLITZKReiG before BLITZKRIEG (having ignored the rule that ie sounds like ee, ei sounds like aye) and c before the initial K in KAFFEEKLATSCH - I term I heard a lot growing up in Wisconsin.jberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02169065390875378077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9232339677574206442013-02-04T00:01:36.363-05:002013-02-04T00:01:36.363-05:00@quilter1: glad you are coming along with recover...@quilter1: glad you are coming along with recovery. Hope the episode was good; I'll watch tomorrow. We need a second TV.<br /><br />@Nigel. Tita gave us the 42 solution. Sparkyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11149915526159432838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46879490670487497272013-02-03T23:56:11.685-05:002013-02-03T23:56:11.685-05:00Howdy, @Ellen S...that woulda been me...(not he!)
...Howdy, @Ellen S...that woulda been me...(not he!)<br />Funny..I had mentioned that I always answer "42", but not why... indeed...it is as you say.<br />Of course,I can't use it if a 4 or 2 is actually in the answer.<br /><br />@Nigel...it's also case insensitive. Makes this inane process a tiny bit less painful...<br /><br />@rex...how about you update your faq to clue people in to how to ace the capcha ordealTitahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368251255494687496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-13047388631125784602013-02-03T23:54:08.450-05:002013-02-03T23:54:08.450-05:00@ Ellen S - The secret of life in the crossword pu...@ Ellen S - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Answer_to_The_Ultimate_Question_of_Life,_the_Universe,_and_Everything#Answer_to_the_Ultimate_Question_of_Life.2C_the_Universe.2C_and_Everything_.2842.29" rel="nofollow">The secret of life in the crossword puzzle Captcha universe</a> - mind-blowingly profound.retired_chemisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13181126754941899228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-22868835949275120182013-02-03T23:48:20.329-05:002013-02-03T23:48:20.329-05:00@Quilter
Can't find you off line, but just rea...@Quilter<br />Can't find you off line, but just reading about your own personal Broke Back Mountain :(<br />Fast and speedy recovery. How dreadful.acmenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-87598133366502589842013-02-03T21:41:25.338-05:002013-02-03T21:41:25.338-05:00When I finished the puzzle laaaate last night, Rex...When I finished the puzzle laaaate last night, Rex hadn't posted his comments, and today got away from me. Ah well. Writeovers included True before TIER; GESUNHEIdT instead of GESUNDHEIT (I do usually spell better than that; I said it was late), ELvISh / ELFISH (is there such a word?), SeeDED/SPADED, aleTAps/BARTABS, but got them all corrected without cheating. Not too much trouble with the German until Bildungsroman which I got most of on crosses, mostly, except I had "L" instead of the D, (which made 28A lEE, which made no sense but it made no sense anyway until the headslap moment) so that's "D" for DNF.<br /><br />Final writeover was the puppet clue for which I immediately wrote Kukla, and was bemildred (one of Walt Kelly's musical bats, "Bewitched, Bothered and Bemildred") that it didn't work until I realized it was OLLIE. Who I like better.<br /><br />Favorite answer was OBLATE which I knew immediately. Learned it from some science fiction novel referring to the sight from outer space of "the oblate disk of the Earth." <br /><br />@Nigel -- I can't remember who "clued" me in to the fact that you don't have to actually type the numbers correctly, only the letters, and "some" numbers. Not even the same number of digits. Whoever it was (@Thanks?) said he always uses 42. And that is the secret of life in the crossword puzzle Captcha universe. Ellen Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00473445503706985149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-40342760266782253392013-02-03T20:06:04.818-05:002013-02-03T20:06:04.818-05:00This 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 8:03, 6:12, 1.30, 99%, Challenging (2nd highest ratio of 163 Mondays)<br />Tue 8:44, 8:37, 1.01, 56%, Medium<br />Wed 9:24, 11:33, 0.81, 9%, Easy<br />Thu 19:38, 17:05, 1.15, 76%, Medium-Challenging<br />Fri 20:59, 20:59, 1.00, 51%, Medium<br />Sat 25:19, 24:55, 1.02, 65%, Medium-Challenging<br />Sun 26:43, 29:32, 0.90, 32%, Easy-Medium<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 4:32, 3:39, 1.24, 99%, Challenging (3rd highest ratio of 163 Mondays)<br />Tue 5:00, 5:01, 1.00, 47%, Medium<br />Wed 5:40, 6:29, 0.87, 17%, Easy<br />Thu 11:52, 9:37, 1.23, 83%, Challenging<br />Fri 12:14, 12:07, 1.01, 54%, Medium<br />Sat 15:34, 14:36, 1.07, 69%, Medium-Challenging<br />Sun 17:48, 19:31, 0.91, 31%, Easy-Mediumsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61099534907815967302013-02-03T19:54:19.257-05:002013-02-03T19:54:19.257-05:00In hindsight, Bildungsroman is pretty esoteric. Be...In hindsight, Bildungsroman is pretty esoteric. Because I studied German literature I knew the term, but someone who just tried to learn to speak the language would not know it.<br /><br />@Ulrich: isn't that Kartoffelsalat? My favorite.machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-63502538410089793982013-02-03T19:51:30.762-05:002013-02-03T19:51:30.762-05:00@quilter1: best of luck on your recovery - hope y...@quilter1: best of luck on your recovery - hope you caught the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet:<br /><br /><a href="http://animal.discovery.com/tv-shows/puppy-bowl" rel="nofollow">Puppy Bowl</a>JenCThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18290169184354765840noreply@blogger.com