tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post2408113901944629900..comments2024-03-29T01:22:33.864-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: WEDNESDAY, Aug. 8, 2007 - Donna S. LevinRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-27572819056375192182007-09-20T12:02:00.000-04:002007-09-20T12:02:00.000-04:00From 6 weeks behind land (and back in action now t...From 6 weeks behind land (and back in action now that they are publishing the DP on a daily basis now)...<BR/><BR/>I ran into TSTRAP and STAN Smith in a very recent puzzle, they were gimmes.<BR/><BR/>Had trouble with SOLARA and THE FOG crossing with what I thought was EUROPOP.<BR/><BR/>I'm way out of practice with timing, after taking about 4 months off from it. This one took my 13 minutes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-85663226224018597352007-08-08T22:14:00.000-04:002007-08-08T22:14:00.000-04:00Sarah, those hotels are all good; the Palmer House...Sarah, those hotels are all good; the Palmer House and Drake are old-school nice hotels. The W Hotel is modern/chic, though a few blocks east of Michigan Avenue (it's on Lake Shore Drive). <A HREF="http://www.burnhamhotel.com/home.html" REL="nofollow">Hotel Burnham</A> is a boutique hotel in a renovated old office building on State Street in the Loop.<BR/><BR/>Why don't you e-mail me (click "orange" to access my profile with my e-mail address) and tell me what sort of food you're keen on? You can also use the <A HREF="http://www.chicagoreader.com/cgi-bin/rrr/form.cgi" REL="nofollow">Chicago Reader Restaurant Finder</A> to dig up some ideas.Orangehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12433254398377357737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-68733409770875431362007-08-08T21:36:00.000-04:002007-08-08T21:36:00.000-04:00Anybody out there from the Chicago area? We are le...Anybody out there from the Chicago area? We are leaving our only child at UW, Madison (please don't yell at me again RP) at the end of August for his freshmen year and are heading to Chicago for several days before the long drive back to northern NJ. My husband has suggested that we stay at The Palmer House, The Drake, or The Renaissance Chicago. Any thoughts and/or suggestions anyone? The very touristy boat ride (alas,not Boatel) sounds interesting to me. We are prepared to splurge on some fine dining. I'd appreciate any thoughts you might have. On Wisconsin! Sorry RP.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61839868897916831412007-08-08T17:45:00.000-04:002007-08-08T17:45:00.000-04:00Celera is the company Craig Venter founded to sequ...<A HREF="http://www.celera.com/celera/history" REL="nofollow">Celera</A> is the company Craig Venter founded to sequence the human genome.<BR/><BR/>Jonny—And coif is short for coiffure.Orangehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12433254398377357737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-60044424264933143202007-08-08T17:09:00.000-04:002007-08-08T17:09:00.000-04:00Chalk me up as another who got hung up on europop ...Chalk me up as another who got hung up on europop and never recovered - not helped by having "fries" for a long time for the diner basketfull, and not getting the "theme" till the very end (BTW. Hawks "stoop", not swoop! Well, maybe they do both, but stoop was so much better it lasted a long time.)<BR/>So, put this one way above an "easy" Wednesday for me!<BR/><BR/>For Alex, and any others, who had trouble with Balaam's beast, I recommend learning the song "The 5 Constipated Men in the Bible":<BR/>http://www.mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=2037Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-6629020680664405512007-08-08T17:05:00.000-04:002007-08-08T17:05:00.000-04:00In the top picture of Sahra, she's filling out som...In the top picture of Sahra, she's filling out some "crossword" for kids I found on the web. In bottom picture, she's helping her mom fill in a standard NY Times puzzle, I think. We own a book of Trip Payne's crosswords for kids, but she's still a little young for them, I think. Maybe not for long.<BR/><BR/>rpRex Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61938401009639544792007-08-08T16:44:00.000-04:002007-08-08T16:44:00.000-04:00jonny --DO as in hairdo. Maybe you had to have had...jonny --<BR/><BR/>DO as in hairdo. Maybe you had to have had a mother born before 1913.....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-55716959900272344962007-08-08T16:39:00.000-04:002007-08-08T16:39:00.000-04:00Well, I got mired in the NW and never recovered. ...Well, I got mired in the NW and never recovered. It never dawned on me that europop could be wrong, so I just sat there refusing to complete a John Carpenter thriller that apparently started "theuo." Curses.<BR/><BR/>On a more bizarre note, Neil Patrick Harris once had a five-minute crush on me when I lived in Albuquerque. We went on a double date and played Trivial Pursuit, but at one point he missed a rather obvious answer and before I could stop myself, I blurted "DOOGIE!" at which he blanched and quit liking me. This was years after his child stardom, and I guess being called Doogie was a huge pet peeve. I blame my faux pas for denying me a life of leisure with the Doogster. That, and the fact that he's gay.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-58582426936060320472007-08-08T16:34:00.000-04:002007-08-08T16:34:00.000-04:00I thought this was quite a difficult puzzle for a ...I thought this was quite a difficult puzzle for a Wednesday. Just didn't quite get the puns until I looked them up here.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, can anyone explain to me how a 'Do' (41-d) is a coif. I looked up coif online and it seems to be a head covering, especially from the Elizabethan era. I'm assuming 'Do' refers to a hair style, but wouldn't coif be more of a head covering than a hair style?<BR/><BR/>Also, question for Rex...what book is that non-biological progeny of yours eagerly filling in?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-27860619723244604402007-08-08T16:22:00.000-04:002007-08-08T16:22:00.000-04:00Everybody knows condiment for pommes frites is la ...Everybody knows condiment for pommes frites is <I>la mayonnaise</I> but that doesn't fit. Jeeze. Neither does poivre, so sel it is.Chip Ahoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12597726289890879627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-35614616298323670982007-08-08T15:04:00.000-04:002007-08-08T15:04:00.000-04:00There's another theme going on this week: names i...There's another theme going on this week: names in my family. I was in yesterday's puzzle (WADE), and today they got my daughter (RONA). Over the next few days be on the lookout for my wife ENID, my son ESAU and my dogs, D'Artagnan and Aloysius.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46195855412522781492007-08-08T14:05:00.000-04:002007-08-08T14:05:00.000-04:00I find it interesting that so many of us, me inclu...I find it interesting that so many of us, me included, had the same problems in the NW. I also thought that Celera could very well be a camry model, allowing Europop, which still works for Parolereversal, leading me to think it was right. Only when I realized that THEUOG couldn't possibly be a movie title did I begin to unravel the knot.<BR/><BR/>Pawing didn't bother me, since that's what animals do, paw at things.<BR/><BR/>My quibble is with SEL, since I don't think of salt as a condiment - ketchup and mayonnaise (which the Europeans are mad for with their Frittes) are condiments. Salt is, well, just sort of salt. Like pepper. Neither a spice or a condiment in my book.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-48687705956598225752007-08-08T12:39:00.000-04:002007-08-08T12:39:00.000-04:00Rex honey, I actually was not bothered by ALERS at...Rex honey, I actually was not bothered by ALERS at all. I'm learning the common clues/answers. I put in _LERS and waited for the downs to tell me if it was N or A. It used to bother me that much crossword success was based on knowing the Pantheonic clue/answer pairs, but now I'm just coming to accept it. Profphil has inspired me to just be/do the puzzle.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-4675442241745598972007-08-08T12:00:00.000-04:002007-08-08T12:00:00.000-04:00So, the sportier the car, the fewer doors it sport...So, the sportier the car, the fewer doors it sports.<BR/><BR/>The NW was a real struggle, having started with CELERA (sounded like a plausible Toyota marketing team derived name) and EUROPOP.<BR/><BR/>Orange, I enjoyed the other ANKA. Thank you.<BR/><BR/>I notice that AFOOT is right above PEDI (maybe someone already mentioned that).<BR/><BR/>PA, if memeory serves, was the name the dolphin used to refer to the GCScott character in the movie "Day of the Dolphin", with the famous line "FA loves PA" spoken dolphinishly.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-90103667979581513072007-08-08T11:03:00.000-04:002007-08-08T11:03:00.000-04:00I am happy to see more Hebrew Bible bits being wor...I am happy to see more Hebrew Bible bits being worked into the puzzle. I much prefer them to opera and old movie answers. That might just be my personal bias as a divinity school graduate, but what can I do?<BR/><BR/>I've never seen any of Judah's *other* sons end up in the crossword (by other I mean, of course, not Onan, the guy of dubious distinction). Judah also had sons named Eyr and Shelah. It's an interesting story, actually, found in Gen. 37, I think.joeyshapirohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07560398171508794631noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-37521429506834089982007-08-08T10:31:00.000-04:002007-08-08T10:31:00.000-04:00Alex's observation: Add PA to role reversal.Add CI...Alex's observation: <I>Add PA to role reversal.<BR/>Add CIRC to U.S. patent.</I><BR/><BR/>Wow! I hadn't noticed that little pit of quicksand you fell into. Most theme entries don't have such plausible alternative explanations, but U.S. patent feels very "in the language" to me.Orangehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12433254398377357737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-63480906214303173962007-08-08T10:00:00.000-04:002007-08-08T10:00:00.000-04:00I also found this pretty hard going. I still reall...I also found this pretty hard going. I still really don't get the "theme". Pawings just sounds absurd. To me this felt like a Friday puzzle, and certainly way harder than Mon and Tue, both of which I zipped through with ease.<BR/><BR/>No complaint, just observation.<BR/><BR/>Liffey ThorpeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-47633648197934968372007-08-08T09:39:00.000-04:002007-08-08T09:39:00.000-04:00first theme entry i finished was "parent strike" -...first theme entry i finished was "parent strike" -- but didn't have the benefit of the full "aha" until "parole reversal" -- which led to my being able to complete "circus patent" and "buffalo pawings."<BR/><BR/>re: "parent strike" -- saw "trike" emerge, added the "s" -- but then tried to use "went on"... oops...<BR/><BR/>;-)<BR/><BR/>janieAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-1091531782710676862007-08-08T09:14:00.000-04:002007-08-08T09:14:00.000-04:00Also took me a long time to figure the theme since...Also took me a long time to figure the theme since based on the first two I thought it was even lamer than the real one: a random new first syllable added to a phrase.<BR/><BR/>Add PA to role reversal.<BR/>Add CIRC to U.S. patent.<BR/><BR/>So even after I had BUFFALO PAWING I was wondering what an ALO (or FALO) PAWING was.Alex S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07543077687426776863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-18260396786294227532007-08-08T08:47:00.000-04:002007-08-08T08:47:00.000-04:00I got the theme, but I didn't. When I finally ent...I got the theme, but I didn't. When I finally entered CIRCUS PATENT, I kept reading it in my mind as CIRCUS PA TENT and I had no idea what a Pa's tent was, but this made me wonder of one of the other clues had "MA" in it. <BR/><BR/>::sigh::<BR/><BR/>Too many concussions as a kid, I guess.<BR/><BR/>liebAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-286420324929421432007-08-08T08:05:00.000-04:002007-08-08T08:05:00.000-04:00Had Doobie instead of Doogie and, for what felt li...Had Doobie instead of Doogie and, for what felt like forever, couldn't figure out what linber had to do with hanging around. Guess the humidity has finally pickled this old brain.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50772200259083416442007-08-08T05:26:00.000-04:002007-08-08T05:26:00.000-04:00Loved ProfPhil's Dorothy Parker quote. My brain is...Loved ProfPhil's Dorothy Parker quote. My brain is almost 71 and I still do the puzzles in a reasonable time so there's hope for all you youngsters.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-69713118224821690582007-08-08T02:00:00.000-04:002007-08-08T02:00:00.000-04:00Alex,Sel is salt in French. Balaam was a non-Israe...Alex,<BR/><BR/>Sel is salt in French. <BR/><BR/>Balaam was a non-Israelite/Jewish prophet in the Pentateuch of the Hebrew Bible (OT) who is asked to curse the Israelites by the King Balak. Balaam's ass (as in donkey) has the curious distinction of being the only animal to have a speaking part in the Bible. (Although I have not read that part of the Bible in eons and I may be a bit off the mark.)<BR/><BR/>Rex, as to Onan whence onanism, which gives me the opportunity to repeat my favorite Dorothy Parker line: She named her parrot Onan as he was forever spilling his seed upon the ground.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-51446003970732670392007-08-08T01:07:00.000-04:002007-08-08T01:07:00.000-04:00Finished fine but had an error that took literally...Finished fine but had an error that took literally (and by literally I mean figuratively) forever to find.<BR/><BR/>I had no idea who Balaam is, let alone what beast he has. Nor do I know the French words for french fry condiments. So when ASP was the first thing that came to mind off of AS- for the former I had no reason to think that PEL was wrong for the latter. <BR/><BR/>For some reason when I paused to reconsider those answers ASS didn't pop out to me so I moved on again. <BR/><BR/>Still don't know what SEL is but I'll get around to looking it up.Alex S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07543077687426776863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-59934737280820856722007-08-08T00:10:00.000-04:002007-08-08T00:10:00.000-04:00I, too, finished the puzzle without deciphering th...I, too, finished the puzzle without deciphering the theme. And it was a difficult puzzle for me. Northwest was the last to become clear. I had BREAD and FRIES before ROLLS. I had BRITPOP and EUROPOP before AFROPOP. I had MEADOW before STEPPE. It was a mess, let me tell you.<BR/><BR/>And, yes, Doogie's character on "How I Met Your Mother" is Barney. The show is, for the most part, lame. It's best moments are all Barney's though. He's hilarious.<BR/><BR/>Looks like 65A was left over from Monday's puzzle. Which, come to think of it, was another theme I didn't get until I read this blog. I must be coming down with old-person's-brain.PuzzleGirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09017772879976436923noreply@blogger.com