tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post2066036580168165890..comments2024-03-29T11:24:03.304-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Bad mouth in Britain / SUN 10-5-14 / Queen Amidala's home in Star Wars / Old roadside advertiser / Source of words mamba chimpanzee / big name in chainsaws leaf blowers / Flower that symbolizes paradise on earthRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger99125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-36570705187117362872014-10-28T10:15:25.098-04:002014-10-28T10:15:25.098-04:00My name is yurich jerry am from USA. i want to use...My name is yurich jerry am from USA. i want to use this opportunity to thank my great doctor who really made my life a pleasurable one today. This great man DR.Ogboni brought my husband back to me, i had three lovely kids for my husband, about four years ago i and my husband has been into one quarrel or the other until he finally left me for one lady. i felt my life was over and my kids thought they would never see their father again. i tried to be strong just for the kids but i could not control the pains that torments my heart, my heart was filled with sorrows and pains because i was really in love with my husband. Every day and night i think of him and always wish he would come back to me, until one day i met a good friend of mine that was also in a situation like me but her problem was her ex-boyfriend who she had an unwanted pregnancy for and he refused to take responsibility and dumped her. she told me that mine was a small case and that i should not worry about it at all, so i asked her what was the solution to my problems and she gave me this great man email address. i was doubting if this man was the solution, so i contacted this great man and he told me what to do and i deed them all, he told me to wait for just two day and that my husband will come crawling on his kneels just for forgiveness so i faithfully deed what this great man asked me to do and for sure after two days i heard a knock on the door, in a great surprise i saw him on his kneels and i was speechless, when he saw me, all he did was crying and asking me for forgiveness, from that day, all the pains and sorrows in my heart flew away,since then i and my husband and our lovely kids are happy.that's why i want to say a big thank you to DR.Ogboni spiritual temple. This great man made me to understand that there is no problem on earth that has no solution so please if you know that you have this same problem or any problem that is similar, i will advise you to come straight to this great man. you can email him at: ogbonispelitemple@hotmail.com<br />Kellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09754926840157639790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-47087340647255038782014-10-13T11:13:41.093-04:002014-10-13T11:13:41.093-04:00Yesterday (Sunday) was too nice a day to stay insi...Yesterday (Sunday) was too nice a day to stay inside but too cool to solve on the pool deck, so it was quite late when my frequent house-guest and sometimes puzzle-partner and I got to this thing of beauty. We were slower than some in picking up on the theme but naming all of the trees and seeing the ingenious ways the fit into the longer answers was a ton of fun. Our TOPHATS are off to Samuel A. Donaldson for an original, fun puzzle.<br /><br />1158 ties me with @rainy.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80893903250442832852014-10-13T04:46:18.863-04:002014-10-13T04:46:18.863-04:00Re Dowling: just a new Nigerian scam. Somewhere d...Re Dowling: just a new Nigerian scam. Somewhere down the line it's still "send money".<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-12788916382898313302014-10-12T21:07:19.178-04:002014-10-12T21:07:19.178-04:00Word!Word!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-29448722177324988962014-10-12T21:05:57.198-04:002014-10-12T21:05:57.198-04:00Uh now I know why Dowling should be banned ! Most ...Uh now I know why Dowling should be banned ! Most irritating!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91543468403813986002014-10-12T20:53:50.684-04:002014-10-12T20:53:50.684-04:00Who is Dowling?Who is Dowling?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26610147487321622472014-10-12T14:53:15.923-04:002014-10-12T14:53:15.923-04:00@spacecraft: I'm not an expert on green paint...@spacecraft: I'm not an expert on green paint but i don't think STENGUN fits. I've never seen 'sten' by itself in a novel, and oxforddictionaries.com, for example, has 'sten gun' but *not* 'sten' by itself (except as an abbreviation for stenographer).paulsfohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07721639286466422944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-86268974019602327452014-10-12T12:49:54.670-04:002014-10-12T12:49:54.670-04:00I saw the cab/ZIN connection, but only because I l...I saw the cab/ZIN connection, but only because I luckily ran into Princess OZMA just the other day. To pull ZIN out of that clue? That's expecting an AWFUL lot, Sam. A few more examples of endweek cluing exist, but all are gettable with cross help. Yep, medium it is.<br /><br />And like OFL I "fell" into the gimmick exactly the same way he did. Was this a rebus? Checking 28d and finding TREE, the whole thing came to light. I was slightly disappointed that all of the ending acrosses weren't real words, like ROUND and HAVE. I guess that's asking too much.<br /><br />HIS FACE<br />WAS LOVED<br />BY JUST<br />HIS MOTHER<br />HE BURMA-SHAVED<br />AND NOW<br />OH BROTHER!<br /><br />Ya gotta love it. Those were the days, me and my buddy sitting in the rumble-seat of the roadster...<br /><br />Great long non-themers: YOURENOTKIDDING. They DOJUSTICE to today's effort, negating the effect of the inevitable subpar peripheral fill in a 21x21.<br /><br />I might mention STENGUN, a green-paint entry, and "STEALER?" A real enough word, to be sure--but who says that? Still, withal I'm going to give it an A-. Nice use of Scrabbly letters.<br /><br />325: PSHAW!spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-23078803876769902872014-10-12T01:10:54.540-04:002014-10-12T01:10:54.540-04:00Coupla things. First, the girlfriend was under th...Coupla things. First, the girlfriend was under the weather so I did the puzzle Sat. night which is very unusual. Second, really appreciated the video of Vancouver's own Frazey Ford--watch for her.<br /><br />Loved the puzzle. Ignoring the nitpickers who will sniff out *anything* to spoil the day, the theme was clever and well-executed; the fill was outstanding for a big Sunday job; the entertainment value was way up there. What else would one like in a puzzle, especially a Sunday, unless you like to sweat for several hours? Hmm?<br /><br />After finishing, checked in on the girlfriend and got a little smackeroo, 'cuz I'm a noted kiss STEALER.<br /><br />2715 apparently not a baccarat stealer, thoughrain forestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80059633220174434102014-10-06T15:04:50.664-04:002014-10-06T15:04:50.664-04:00Finished this Monday after spending Saturday at Ar...Finished this Monday after spending Saturday at Art Prize in Grand Rapids and spending Sunday being deeply disappointed. The American League is the perfect example of why being better on paper isn't enough.<br /><br />Also glad that this is a "finished" and not a "finished with two errors." I had gOOn crossing BAgISTE and nORENA, both of which are WOEs, but decided TOOL was a better answer. Yay. All in all, a fine Sunday. My personal favorite in quite awhile.<br /><br />@Paul B. - If you're going to do snark you have to be sure you didn't miss anything. I understood the trees to be falling down right away because that wordplay on down answers has been used before. For future reference, Paul Bunyan/Damon Runyon. Also, someone commenting that snark has no place here is a fine example of metasnark and should receive a wry "touché."<br /><br />@AnonyFIR - Oops. It's a good thing that I don't feel guilty about schadenfreude.Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-74425715172426236922014-10-06T11:13:38.439-04:002014-10-06T11:13:38.439-04:00Welcome. You are a refreshing change (and do not m...Welcome. You are a refreshing change (and do not mean this in a negative manner toward Rex.) I mean it from the standpoint of bringing another generation of commentator to the table ... which is refreshing. Cheers. John HagenAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10136461310891769407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-86771494526670205612014-10-06T10:34:06.030-04:002014-10-06T10:34:06.030-04:00@Martin: Thanks, born in 1931 and still learning!@Martin: Thanks, born in 1931 and still learning!Fred Romagnolohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11994837736408182418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-77887293717295600582014-10-06T06:30:06.187-04:002014-10-06T06:30:06.187-04:00Have to say I got a kick out of 'conifer hence...Have to say I got a kick out of 'conifer hence fir'. That may keep me from confusing peanuts with pine-nuts.Leapfingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14243620614139990887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-6494647373045885272014-10-06T00:36:07.993-04:002014-10-06T00:36:07.993-04:00I just got that you're conflating fir with con...I just got that you're conflating fir with conifer. Not the same thing at all. That's where you went off the rails.<br /><br />I don't know about you, but I feel much better now.Martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-78053681046947268372014-10-05T23:53:10.111-04:002014-10-05T23:53:10.111-04:00Crumb. I slogged through this one. I think I made ...Crumb. I slogged through this one. I think I made it a lot harder than it should have been. I saw the light regarding the theme very quickly thanks to remembering the phrase "Tippecanoe and Tyler too." Still, brain did not want to engage. I think this puzzle took 2x my usual, but I had to stop for my kids' soccer and hockey gamed, plus my own hockey game, so I didn't have a good uninterrupted session. That's my excuse and I am sticking to it!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08719622025913363195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-1495973863048118742014-10-05T23:52:19.095-04:002014-10-05T23:52:19.095-04:00@martin Per Merriam Webster. FIR "a tall e...@martin Per Merriam Webster. FIR "a tall evergreen tree". FIR is a synonym for EVERGREEN. OAK is NOT a synonym for DECIDUOUS.<br /><br />Think Venn diagrams. All OAKs are deciduous. Not all deciduous trees are OAKs. All EVERGREENs are FIRs (slash conifers hence the name FIR) and All FIRs are EVERGREENs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-79788749944544602152014-10-05T23:13:17.733-04:002014-10-05T23:13:17.733-04:00Big time DNF.Absolutely loved the construction and...Big time DNF.Absolutely loved the construction and theme.<br />Would hand been tons more difficult without "TIMBER" being given.<br />Just LOVED the puzzle.<br />Thanks very much SAD.Charles Flasterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16588962898277593533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-38453369576661428522014-10-05T21:33:03.241-04:002014-10-05T21:33:03.241-04:00Ursa or bear is feminine, so the plural us russe; ...Ursa or bear is feminine, so the plural us russe; ursi is the plural for masculine.Janethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02691062653367238092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-86592788626954213592014-10-05T21:12:46.782-04:002014-10-05T21:12:46.782-04:00Never knew KOA--love learning new things. Thanks f...Never knew KOA--love learning new things. Thanks forum repliers!! Puzzle took me awhile and I enjoyed every minute. My favorite was Rless--stared at the answer for quite awhile trying to figure out what I did wrong--then the steel trap opened! Thanks for making my Sunday such fun!misspriss58noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50488513828943488162014-10-05T18:49:39.494-04:002014-10-05T18:49:39.494-04:00Terrific puzzle! Huge smile at 91D. Reminded me of...Terrific puzzle! Huge smile at 91D. Reminded me of the <a href="http://whizbangplucker.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Whizbang Chicken Plucker</a> I used to see advertised in Mother Earth News.Bill L.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08886581691063755810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91350037773546598842014-10-05T18:15:46.339-04:002014-10-05T18:15:46.339-04:00This 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 7:15, 6:03, 1.20, 96%, Challenging (12th highest ratio of 247 Mondays)<br />Tue 8:11, 7:50, 1.04, 64%, Medium-Challenging<br />Wed 9:39, 9:30, 1.02, 59%, Medium<br />Thu 18:39, 17:32, 1.06, 64%, Medium-Challenging<br />Fri 20:24, 19:38, 1.04, 63%, Medium-Challenging<br />Sat 27:02, 25:57, 1.04, 67%, Medium-Challenging<br />Sun 29:56, 27:44, 1.08, 71%, Medium-Challenging<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 4:55, 3:57, 1.24, 98%, Challenging (6th highest ratio of 247 Mondays)<br />Tue 5:22, 5:21, 1.00, 50%, Medium<br />Wed 6:37, 6:12, 1.07, 69%, Medium-Challenging<br />Thu 13:37, 11:06, 1.23, 80%, Challenging<br />Fri 13:13, 12:34, 1.05, 59%, Medium<br />Sat 18:04, 18:06, 1.00, 49%, Medium<br />Sun 20:59, 20:52, 1.01, 53%, Mediumsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-90898898012515054672014-10-05T17:40:48.372-04:002014-10-05T17:40:48.372-04:003rd attempt to post... Aaaaargh!
Late to the part...3rd attempt to post... Aaaaargh!<br /><br />Late to the party today. I ran an half marathon this morning, and I needed recovery time. ^_^<br /><br />I really liked this puzzle. I spent 70 min. and found the puzzle gave me just enough challenge to be really enjoyable. My solving experience was just as @Rex described, although much slower, obvi. I cottoned onto the theme at ETHYLMERTZ. And, like @LMS I suffered a personal triple Natick at the OZMA/OBADIAH/CHAST crosses. I finally looked up OBADIAH in the bible and was instantly rewarded with Mr. Happy Pencil. Too bad it was an official DNF. So very close... Dang it!<br /><br />@Casco - I consider my solving capability roughly on par with yours. Your comments and those of the other contributors here have brought my game up tremendously. Until 2-3 months ago I couldn't get anywhere with Thurs. rebus puzzles. I still struggle with Thurs-Sat puzzles, but I get closer every week. So, thanks!<br /><br />Thank you very, very much SAD & WS!!LHS 888https://www.blogger.com/profile/15004450465176210237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8504302760264094402014-10-05T17:37:03.632-04:002014-10-05T17:37:03.632-04:00It's all right, Fellers, we all get it. The tr...It's all right, Fellers, we all get it. The trees are falling down and they can't get up.<br /><br />And CascoK got the OZma part.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-78596097382262557502014-10-05T17:36:24.542-04:002014-10-05T17:36:24.542-04:00In Merriam-Webster's 11th Collegiate, we find ...In Merriam-Webster's 11th Collegiate, we find that timber refers to growing trees and their wood and to wood used in carpentry as well as being an interjection to warn of a falling tree. While doing the puzzle I never once thought of fallen trees. I saw words horizontally as they should be but with the tree parts vertical as they should be.<br /><br />Come to think of it @AliasZ, when I lived in Australia, I wanted to build a coffee table. I needed some wood. Off we went to the timber yard. It seems that lumber has an entirely different meaning in English English. In English slang, to lumber is to burden. So I bought some lengths of 3x2 timber and built a very nice butcher block inspired coffee table. <br />Numinoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01263999193499725814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-1629347634476943442014-10-05T17:27:46.800-04:002014-10-05T17:27:46.800-04:00@AliasZ,
Sure. The themes are horizontal, except...@AliasZ,<br /><br />Sure. The themes are horizontal, except for a portion that "falls," which happens to be a tree. It's called wordplay.Martinnoreply@blogger.com