tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post2303457352406052938..comments2024-03-29T01:22:33.864-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Czech martyr Jan / SUN 12-26-10 / Old-time cartoonist Hoff / Inhabitant of Pribilof Islands / Pre-1868 Tokyo / W.W. II carrier Churchill sting twiceRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-51905290398020825542011-01-04T15:13:48.792-05:002011-01-04T15:13:48.792-05:00I've been lurking here for months and am alway...I've been lurking here for months and am always amused at the nitpicking. Most Sunday puzzles are incredibly clever IMHO and take me a few hours to complete. Rarely do I DNF but have spent hours on Google, etc. <br /><br />I love this blog for the posters who remind Rex to be less critical.Slow in Soldotnanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-6607046261482125182011-01-02T23:23:34.877-05:002011-01-02T23:23:34.877-05:00@Anonymous, the clue for 10D was "Winter Olym...@Anonymous, the clue for 10D was "Winter Olympics powerhouse".Valerienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-12690161028500397862011-01-02T20:34:10.654-05:002011-01-02T20:34:10.654-05:00My easiest so far, about 1/2 hour, no cheating i.e...My easiest so far, about 1/2 hour, no cheating i.e. Google, newspaper solution page, or "Here". <br /> Just started doing these seriously/daily about 3 weeks ago although did the local daily for 30+ years. Quite by chance noticed FEDORA,UMBRA,& DOBIE 1st so started working S Center, pretty much filling it up backwards from there. <br /> Usually NYT lets me get one here, one there, then it's one at a time for the next hour or so until suddenly, a particular word bust it loose. Thanks for your premier puzzle/ my premier great solve combo.<br /> OK, comments agree with complainers about EPACT, OCAT, UKASE. Also Low Tip(?), Like the double possibility for PAOLO/OMBRA & PAULO/UMBRA.<br /> HASSOCK=FOOTSTOOL.<br /> Loved theme, ESPECIALLY the double that fit. Couldn't believe that both MOIETY & MENSREA just jumped out at me like CAT or DOG or the like.<br /> Hope to join the comments again soon, although I'd rather solve than talk about why I couldn't. Thanks for the ability to do so.clansman9448http://elliott@spiretech.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-40125682499509488082011-01-02T16:07:22.010-05:002011-01-02T16:07:22.010-05:00Living in the boondocks, I don't see this puzz...Living in the boondocks, I don't see this puzzle until a week after it is solved by most of you. I don't let myself look at sites like this until after I have solved it myself. I thought this was a decent puzzle except for "the poky"....that seemed a real stretch to me. I was scratching my head even after convincing myself that all the letters coming from the other direction were correct.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24805619495933515572011-01-02T16:06:57.353-05:002011-01-02T16:06:57.353-05:00What was the clue for 10D that had the answer '...What was the clue for 10D that had the answer 'Sweden'? This clue was missing from our syndicated version today.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-7974265402610729002011-01-02T14:33:56.676-05:002011-01-02T14:33:56.676-05:00Did I miss an answer to the 27A Low tip = toenail ...Did I miss an answer to the 27A Low tip = toenail question? The funny/odd words like epact don't bother me as much as the dumb answers like "ate out" for 71A's patronized a restaurant. Supped would have been so much better. Or banqueted or ANYTHING but ate out! DOH. I want to improve my vocabulary not make it more mundane and boring.Kimethahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10240629774011664154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-28240525518815104052010-12-28T14:41:26.737-05:002010-12-28T14:41:26.737-05:00ha! just realized it's "airaces" tha...ha! just realized it's "airaces" that makes more sense. but i liked woo better than coo anyway. Told you i was new!jennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-77391237936847782512010-12-28T14:35:01.352-05:002010-12-28T14:35:01.352-05:00As a mom of a son I knew Mos Eisley and Syd Hoff w...As a mom of a son I knew Mos Eisley and Syd Hoff which made me wonder about myself. I am new to the crossword. usually do it at work with my co-worker. Proud to have finished this one alone. The "a" s really bugged me- a glare, "a" nnoying!Also-"airawes" rrrrggg!jennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61662286165996364962010-12-28T01:04:15.156-05:002010-12-28T01:04:15.156-05:00One old cat was one of the primeval bat-and-ball g...One old cat was one of the primeval bat-and-ball games from which baseball evolved. The (very) few times I've seen it in print, it was never abbreviated to o'cat.<br />According to Wikipedia, additional bases could be added to make it two, three or four old cat.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05129836225512013551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31343856612695150362010-12-27T18:02:36.818-05:002010-12-27T18:02:36.818-05:00After solving the puzzle in about 10-15 minutes I ...After solving the puzzle in about 10-15 minutes I went back on the computer and typed the answers in the grid. It took me 4:32 minutes. Granted I am a novice with Acrosslite and I can do better. But I am still amazed that people can solve the entire puzzle in 2 minutes flat.jyp0625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-6415409859916961122010-12-27T03:13:06.523-05:002010-12-27T03:13:06.523-05:00I guess I'll be the first and perhaps only per...I guess I'll be the first and perhaps only person here who can own up to knowing EPACT from real life. I've mentioned way way long ago that I sometimes teach how to compute the times of sunrise/sunset from scratch at a yeshiva (Jewish religious school). I have not gotten so far as to teach them the sighting of the new moon, but I have worked it out anyway, and yes EPACT is part of the jargon.<br /><br />On the other hand, it's been quite awhile, so I had in fact forgotten that the word even existed, and I was very unhappy with "eight", since it's actually eleven days difference, but the G gave me "germans" for Red Baron and company, and for a brief moment I was happy with "hassock". Well, that was a mess that had to be disentangled--first I had to remember the USS WASP and second I eventually had enough crosses to remember MARIAH Carey. But yes, I was definitely cool with EPACT.<br /><br />And another of my favorite words, this time definitely remembered, was MOIETY. I'm sure I've come across it at times, but the one instance which has been burned in my memory for 25 years now is from <a href="http://www.ibiblio.org/eldritch/carp/index.html" rel="nofollow"><i>Augustus Carp, Esq., by Himself: Being the Autobiography of a Really Good Man</i></a>, originally published anonymously in 1924, eventually revealed about sixty years later to have been authored by Sir Henry Bashford, personal physician to King George VI among other accomplishments.<br /><br /><i>Carp</i> is one of the all-time funniest books ever written. I recommend it to everyone without hesitation. The title above links to a free online copy.<br /><br />Carp (as you might guess from the name) is a ridiculous sanctimonious twit, who has absolutely no idea of what a complete loser he is. His autobiography is an enumeration of worthless idiocies, and you as a reader simply can't believe the tripe he's spelling out in such great detail. Amongst the tripe was his great athletic success as a 12-year old: his dominance at <a href="http://www.ibiblio.org/eldritch/carp/carp04.html#nuts" rel="nofollow">Nuts in May</a> over his cousin and her schoolgirl friends. In spelling out the rules, Carp writes, "For the purposes of this latter game those who proposed to take part would first form themselves into equal groups, the members of each MOIETY then standing side by side, facing the same way and holding each other's hands."william e embanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-21067637219296756182010-12-26T23:36:41.832-05:002010-12-26T23:36:41.832-05:00Moderately amusing, but with too many TV clues, bu...Moderately amusing, but with too many TV clues, but I was pleased with myself for getting Cartman, etc., Never heard of epact, which surprised me because I once spent quite a bit of time looking up various lunar and solar years. Our regular Gregorian calendar is more or less solar, with leap days, and occasional leap seconds added to make it work out right. Babylonian (aka Hebrew) calendar is lunar with an extra month added seven times every nineteen years, which makes it remarkably accurate considering how old it is. <br /><br />One o'cat was a ball game once played on the streets of NY, I think with a broom handle for a bat.<br /><br />My parents once took me to the Copacabana in Manhattan for New Year's Eve in the 1950's. <br /><br />cation is pronounced cat-I-on (the o is a schwa)I skip M-Wnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-69033582022617082542010-12-26T20:17:37.418-05:002010-12-26T20:17:37.418-05:00Did this one whilst watching the sweet Packer vict...Did this one whilst watching the sweet Packer victory, took me pretty much the entire game as I had to keep jumping up cheering and startling the poor doggies by my outbursts, and I was the quiet one. I enjoyed both the game and the puzzle.<br /><br />Ditto on the Copacabana/Casablanca thing, the song Copacabana was running through my head while I confidently filled in Rick. Weird!<br /><br />Felt the same as @Clark with the double MAN being okay because it was the last one, actually thought that was rather clever.chefwenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03999206352243329280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-86986892217746283942010-12-26T19:46:02.094-05:002010-12-26T19:46:02.094-05:00I did about 70% of the puzzle before getting stuck...I did about 70% of the puzzle before getting stuck. Too many obscure words and expressions.<br /><br />One of the least enjoyable Sunday puzzles.jyp0625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80941790751300353272010-12-26T18:01:55.556-05:002010-12-26T18:01:55.556-05:00Oh, and HUSKY should have been clued to celebrate ...Oh, and HUSKY should have been clued to celebrate the amazing accomplishment of the UConn women's basketball team - 89 in a row is incredible in any team sport. It was great to see John Wooden's grandson in attendance to celebrate the event.imsdavehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12966770844825169981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-57018867674200418122010-12-26T17:58:20.290-05:002010-12-26T17:58:20.290-05:00@Ulrich - I have not counted this storm out yet. ...@Ulrich - I have not counted this storm out yet. We're approaching full whiteout conditions here in Ellington CT. Looking forward to Westport my friend.<br /><br />@Rex - good luck with your travel.<br /><br />MOIETY has my vote for word of the day. Thought I'd failed until I came here and saw that it was correct.imsdavehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12966770844825169981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-58941129030106152742010-12-26T17:22:16.803-05:002010-12-26T17:22:16.803-05:00My experience/opinion was pretty much what Rex sai...My experience/opinion was pretty much what Rex said. Knew UKASE, MOIETY vaguely rung a bell, but EPACT was new. I've only been doing xwords (3 plus a day) for 6 or 7 years so, if it showed up that recently, I either missed it or it made no lasting impression.jaehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03385568014046336373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-11483437340140471532010-12-26T17:06:13.964-05:002010-12-26T17:06:13.964-05:00@oldactor:
A sad story:
MANY years ago, a blind d...@oldactor:<br />A sad story:<br /><br />MANY years ago, a blind date took me to the Jan Hus House in NYC to attend a performance of Die Entführung aus Dem Serail. I was so underwhelmed by this date that actually felt sick to my stomach and didn't enjoy the opera vey much.<br /><br />The date was arranged by a former boy friend whom I had dumped in a moment of sheer folly. I have to believe that he meant well and was not seeking revenge.<br /><br />Captcha: ainga. The emotion I feel when I recall dumping that boy friendmiriam bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506593846362044050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10656219688331860062010-12-26T17:05:27.634-05:002010-12-26T17:05:27.634-05:00@artlvr: Throwing people out of the window seems t...@artlvr: Throwing people out of the window seems to have been a well-established practice in Prague. The 30-Years War, one of the great catastrophes in German history, also started with magistrates being thrown out of the window in Prague--I always thought Jan Hus was burned at the stake, but that's why one does xword puzzles...did I mention EPACT?<br /><br />@NDE: Thanks for clearing this up--I was scratching my head...<br /><br />...back to putting my new Aeron Chair together and looking out at this so-called snowstorm: pathetic!Ulrichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02086202853174403008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46292608460476168782010-12-26T17:00:48.870-05:002010-12-26T17:00:48.870-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.miriam bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506593846362044050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-17482884499220843822010-12-26T16:58:46.965-05:002010-12-26T16:58:46.965-05:008 references to EPACT as "never heard of it&q...8 references to EPACT as "never heard of it" or "what is it ?" or some such remark.<br /><br /> Anyone who has done xwords for a reasonable length of time should<br />know it. That's how I learned<br />about it.ANON Bnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80592224265135827262010-12-26T16:31:20.188-05:002010-12-26T16:31:20.188-05:00EPACT was new to me. I wanted 11 -- lunar month i...EPACT was new to me. I wanted 11 -- lunar month is 29.5 days x 12 = 354, which is 11 short of 365. Who knew there was a word for this thing? Now we all do. I say yea. Newman with the double man seemed right to me -- only because it was last.Clarknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-17936533330824970462010-12-26T15:48:44.339-05:002010-12-26T15:48:44.339-05:00Well It looks like EPACT is indeed the mot juste a...Well It looks like EPACT is indeed the mot juste and just because we've never heard of it doesn't change that!so yeah for darin mcdaniel.Myself I love to Learn anew word!I dredged up the name Jan Hus without placing him at the defenestration of Prague,and surely ukase is as crosswordy as they come! so I can forgive a couple of extraneous a-s thumbs up!syndyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16814698406887041710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-76398520569246516032010-12-26T15:32:00.047-05:002010-12-26T15:32:00.047-05:00Help! Not a single mention here yet for my waterlo...Help! Not a single mention here yet for my waterloo? What the heck is an OCAT, and I speak pretty good Spanish but I have no idea about ECUA. <br /><br />OH, crumbs. Typing it here it makes me realize that the latter is short for Ecuador. I was trying to think of a word related to land. Maybe speaking the language misdirected me. Ugh. Well, it helped with Viva EL REY. Still don't get OCAT. This ECUA/OCAT cross was a Natick for me. Is One OCAT a ball game? <br /><br />Otherwise I had a very similar solving experience to @mmorgan's (as I often seem to do). I looked up the city and discovered that while some do write Sao Paolo, Sao PAULO seems to be the standard spelling. Ugh, again. <br /><br />The theme seemed to cross TV generations, from DOBIE Gillis thru Seinfeld to South Park (a show I know is popular but which I just can't watch.) <br /><br />Impressive debut puzzle, Mr. McDaniels. Thanks. <br /><br />Happy post-Christmas everyone.JaxInL.A.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13792405579998093081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-74780595144508123352010-12-26T15:16:33.172-05:002010-12-26T15:16:33.172-05:00I like the cluing for BOLERO. Never thought of it...I like the cluing for BOLERO. Never thought of it that way...but yeah, that's right. <br /><br />MOIETY...crossing ELREY and DOBIE--yeesh. I'll have MOIETY that cheesecake, if you please. <br /><br />Loved CASSOCK (though I had hASSOCK b/c of EighT. Turns out, hASSOCK...is not a thing). AIRACES...stinks. ACES is specific enough. <br /><br />Abbrevs like ECUA are always funny to me. Two-letter abbrevs make sense...uniform and w/o running the risk of stepping on toes by abbreviating a short name by only one or two letters, which always looks silly. MA, where I live, is Mass, in the Times. Is Maine therefore Main? And what to do with longer names that don't lend themselves to other-than-two-letter abbrevs, like Hawaii (Hawa?)? Or those that would both go for the same one, like Missouri and Mississippi (Miss?)? Answer: just use the two-letter abbrev. presumably figured out by the post office long ago.Jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18391847471384798773noreply@blogger.com