tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post2684098831278009985..comments2024-03-28T04:40:27.172-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Pianist comic Victor of old TV / WED 7-11-18 / Memorable 1995 hurricane / Suddenly stopped communicating with in modern lingo Rex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger82125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-4497490242571933562018-08-15T16:00:20.323-04:002018-08-15T16:00:20.323-04:00My only error was of my own making - "ideate&...My only error was of my own making - "ideate" prior to CREATE - I wasn't 100% certain of the GNC answer. All else was easy peasy as they say. But I loved WORDLENGTH - bring 'em on!<br /><br />Diana, you know whoDiana,LIWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-70462531547768795162018-08-15T15:28:18.731-04:002018-08-15T15:28:18.731-04:00Cute, pert, toot, squirt.
Fun puzzle with a low p...Cute, pert, toot, squirt.<br /><br />Fun puzzle with a low profile theme that the revealer DID reveal, actually.<br /><br />I didn't watch Friends often, but without any reference to TATAS, I thought LISA Kudrow was the best character on the show. And a DOD/yeah baby to boot.<br /><br />BUSHSR works for me, and W isn't referred to as Bush Jr. because, of course, there is another Jr. Bush.<br /><br />So, I read @Rex's post today, and I just did not understand his going off on NEW TAKE the way he did. I guess he has to find *something* to be wrong-headed about. It's his shtick (schtick?. There is nothing in the clue/answer duo to suggest that NEW TAKE need be a stand-alone phrase.<br /><br />Anyway, I liked this one.rainforestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-68539384922262354602018-08-15T15:20:33.511-04:002018-08-15T15:20:33.511-04:00I see that Rex prefers BUSH 1 and, I suppose by in...I see that Rex prefers BUSH 1 and, I suppose by inference, BUSH 2. Those are okay with me, too, not that it matters.leftcoastTAMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67551981712107524182018-08-15T14:42:03.564-04:002018-08-15T14:42:03.564-04:00An olio of crossword subjects and types here: slan...An olio of crossword subjects and types here: slang, sports, a quote, some gimmes and obscurities, a bunch of PPPs, and a self-referencing "six for dinner". Yet it all held together as a medium-difficulty, gettable and, most important, enjoyable, Wednesday puzzle. <br /><br />The "G" of GNC was the last letter in, inferred from GHOSTED, "modern lingo" I've never heard as clued.<br />Didn't know BOUNCE either, but crosses took care of it. Among the clues, "Debbie Downer" is another new piece of lingo to me.<br /><br />Just one more thing: BUSHSR doesn't work for most, IMO. It's either Bush 41 or H.W., as distinct from 43 or W. George W. Bush was not referred to as JR, although that diminutive may have been apt.leftcoastTAMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-71996469304616594192018-08-15T14:09:11.492-04:002018-08-15T14:09:11.492-04:00Yeah, the SNOOZEBUTTON tied up the theme of those ...Yeah, the SNOOZEBUTTON tied up the theme of those otherwise unrelated phrases pretty well, so no SWEAT with that. I think I’m with most everybody else on the BUSHSR biz.<br /><br />HOTYOGA? If you say so. Must be a NEWTAKE on fitness.<br /><br />Wade BOGGS was such a good player. Unfortunately most remembered for the “Pine Tar Bat” incident. But a good use of “tar”.<br /><br />You know HER as one of your Friends – yeah BABE LISA Kudrow. There were lotsa 5d on that show, notably Jen’s.<br /><br />Hope this puz is not the ONETIME we have a good one this week.<br />rondonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-59855158742552182842018-08-15T10:17:28.979-04:002018-08-15T10:17:28.979-04:00I knew @M&A would lUv this one, with its doubl...I knew @M&A would lUv this one, with its double-digit U's. I liked it better than I thought I would, with the first clue mentioning "modern lingo." But I got that SOON enough. One of these days the EKE family will disappear; one can only hope. That was the low point. AFAR seems to have gotten a GOB of work lately.<br /><br />The clue for WORDLENGTH was great; it's the entry itself that leaves one hitting the SNOOZEBUTTON. I'm not a fan of the grid entry BUSHSR either; now all the nits are picked.<br /><br />Clever, cool theme. As a retiree I no longer bother with alarm-setting. Thank goodness. Never heard of HOTYOGA, so the learn-something-new aspect of doing these is upheld.<br /><br />As @BS observed, 5-down has a connotation I'm sure the constructor didn't intend. Or wait... At any rate, that brings us to the DOD, as clued even: LISA Kudrow. Birdie.spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-86458015518342403922018-08-15T09:32:51.972-04:002018-08-15T09:32:51.972-04:00ANTIC OFNOTE
LISA EMAILED a pic of HER TATAS
to N...ANTIC OFNOTE<br /><br />LISA EMAILED a pic of HER TATAS<br />to NED, who LASHEDOUT from GEORGIA,<br />"OYE, what a BUZZKILL", he'd SOUNDOFF 'cuz,<br />"that OLD BABE looks like Victor BORGE."<br /><br />--- SOL SEGER<br />Burma Shavenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-85640791962641838532018-08-15T09:16:38.273-04:002018-08-15T09:16:38.273-04:00This MUSSED be the easiest Wednesday in a long tim...This MUSSED be the easiest Wednesday in a long time. thefogmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01870509029973778266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-58091460737843539142018-07-11T20:33:37.782-04:002018-07-11T20:33:37.782-04:00@Anon (4:45) = Spike Jones, what a memory! - and g...@Anon (4:45) = Spike Jones, what a memory! - and good call too. Let's say then that BORGE was the Weird Al of classical music. Nothing classic about Spike.Mohair Samhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16502840715719161565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-19783619871857012652018-07-11T16:49:30.262-04:002018-07-11T16:49:30.262-04:00It's close, but no cigar. Spike Jones was the ...It's close, but no cigar. Spike Jones was the Weird Al of Victor Borge's generation. Victor Borge was the Bo Burnham of his generation.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-21012658882123250042018-07-11T16:30:32.931-04:002018-07-11T16:30:32.931-04:00Anoa,
Aren't you slicing it a bit thin? You co...Anoa,<br />Aren't you slicing it a bit thin? You concede the result will be "judged by the examiner as telling a lie." How on earth is that instrument not a de facto lie detector? <br /><br />Obviously it's not great instrument; courts wont admit their results for good reason, but come on. You're drawing a distinction without a difference, aren't you?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-79473901107335981742018-07-11T16:19:33.267-04:002018-07-11T16:19:33.267-04:00Just an oversight, I assure you all. M&A hadn&...Just an oversight, I assure you all. M&A hadn't posted today when I made my "distinctive voices" comment, so there was nothing on the blog to jog my memory. And, as you all know by now or should, I have a memory that requires constant jogging. So, yes, M&A is unquestionably one of the most recognizable regulars on the blog. Who could argue with that?Nancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16737377749030219974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-65759901952338082802018-07-11T15:19:37.987-04:002018-07-11T15:19:37.987-04:00@Mohair
Yes, @M&A has one of the most distinc...@Mohair<br /><br />Yes, @M&A has one of the most distinctive voices here.JC66https://www.blogger.com/profile/05324615675333287919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-65246330476657201392018-07-11T15:10:44.585-04:002018-07-11T15:10:44.585-04:00@M&A, I think I’ve hit the SNOOZE BUTTON at le...@M&A, I think I’ve hit the SNOOZE BUTTON at least 10 times before mustering the energy to find the off button.Aketihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07059835429995060000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-89876044903751047682018-07-11T15:07:50.869-04:002018-07-11T15:07:50.869-04:00@Mohair Sam, I agree about M&A.
I only know B...@Mohair Sam, I agree about M&A.<br /><br />I only know BOUNCE thanks to my son. He uses an odd mix of the new with the old fashioned when he lets me know he’s leaving, “I’m gonna BOUNCE, Ma”. I always chuckle thinking of Ma and Pa Kettle when he says it. Aketihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07059835429995060000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-63818239674270246142018-07-11T14:43:55.322-04:002018-07-11T14:43:55.322-04:0024, was also naticked. 24, was also naticked. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04604014325711792483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-609108202729360862018-07-11T13:31:29.364-04:002018-07-11T13:31:29.364-04:00@chefbea - Thanks!
@Banana - "Victor Borge w...@chefbea - Thanks!<br /><br />@Banana - "Victor Borge was the Weird Al of his generation" - Perfect description, wish I'd thought of it.<br /><br />@Nancy - I cannot believe M&A is not on your list of inferrables. I'd know him if he wrote a cookbook.Mohair Samhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16502840715719161565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-82134127876779907402018-07-11T13:18:35.511-04:002018-07-11T13:18:35.511-04:00Nice puzz, tho "Six for dinner" for WORD...Nice puzz, tho "Six for dinner" for WORD LENGTH didn't stick the landing for me as it seems to have for others. I get the attempt at playful misdirection---hmm, six people? place settings? etc.---but "six" is not the length of a word. Without some unit of measure, here "letters", "six" is not the length of anything. Okay, I'll go stand in the corner by myself on this one.<br /><br />While standing there, I will climb on my soapbox, though. Cluing LIED at 27D with "Set off a polygraph" was a bit of a BUZZ KILL. One of the courses I used to teach was Biopsychology and the polygraph was one of the topics treated in detail. It is a continuous recording of (1)heart rate, (2)breathing, (3)blood pressure and (4)Galvanic skin response (GSR). The GSR measures how much SWEAT is on the skin surface.<br /><br />That's it. Nothing will "Set off a polygraph" other than plugging it in and turning on the power. And it doesn't detect anything else beyond the four above. The theory behind the "lie detector" part is that guilt feelings or fear of getting caught when telling a lie will show up as changes in one or more of the four recorded measures and that the examiner will be able to interpret it accurately. In reality, neither of those two is a sure thing. <br /><br />Some people can tell a lie with no emotional reaction and will be judged by the examiner as telling the truth, while others may be telling the truth but still have an emotional response and be judged by the examiner as telling a lie. <br /><br />Despite its having been clued as such multiple times in the NYT xword, the polygraph is not a lie detector.Anoa Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16185183023273883700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-83229960728905715862018-07-11T13:15:36.622-04:002018-07-11T13:15:36.622-04:00So Victor Borge, Regis Philbin, and Diana Ross wal...So Victor Borge, Regis Philbin, and Diana Ross walk into a bar...<br /><br />Even Millard Fillmore looks good now.<br /><br />And now for paragraph #3: I don't have much to say about this puzzle that hasn't already been said, except that RADIO SILENCE comes up in war movies all the time, maybe as something that gets "broken" by some well-meaning corporal whose platoon is in a tough spot.Mr. Math and Toastnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-88434269138909581742018-07-11T13:07:15.547-04:002018-07-11T13:07:15.547-04:00GHOSTED splatzed right in today - I've seen it...GHOSTED splatzed right in today - I've seen it in print fairly often though I've never heard it spoken by any of my acquaintances, probably, as @Nancy mentions, because those in my age group don't usually drop people without notice.<br /><br />RADIO SILENCE helped me clean up the NE. I was so proud of remembering how TRIshA spelled her name but the spook group had me questioning that. And with the O of SOON crossing the "Gone With The Wind" locale, I still couldn't think past Atlanta until everything else filled in.<br /><br />I circled the clue for OVUM - "Tube traveler" made me smile which is the opposite reaction I had to WORD LENGTH. I was so fixated on the meaning of "dinner" in that clue that as I filled in 30D going north, I was looking at WO_D LENGTH and thought, "Surely that isn't going to refer to a six foot dining room table?" Filling in the R elicited a small groan from me.<br /><br />Nice one, Michael Hawkins.Teedmnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12832353448839187816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-92217401093235930572018-07-11T12:58:43.879-04:002018-07-11T12:58:43.879-04:00@Mohair Sam:
since no one has done so, Victor BOR...@Mohair Sam:<br /><br />since no one has done so, Victor BORGE was the Weird Al of his generation. except, IIRC, he played piano.Banana Diaquirinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-4260792048569653972018-07-11T12:57:59.443-04:002018-07-11T12:57:59.443-04:00Primo puz. Had somethin for everybody. M&A es...Primo puz. Had somethin for everybody. M&A especially liked that EMU clue. Eastern Michigan U -- not Emu U. EMU is the Eagles, ironically. <br /><br />HOTYOGA and several of its crossers was probably the hardest stretch to de-cipher, at my house. Would rate it maybe an average-difficulty WedPuz, overall.<br /><br />Nice weeject stacks in the NW & SE. staff pick: OYE. Has Santana Usage Immunity. ["Oye Como Va".]<br /><br />Interestin grid layout, with the rare shady square splatzed right in the middle.<br /><br />Wonder what the world record is, for snooze alarm pokes in one wake-up session? M&A has done only a meager four or five, as his all-time laziest best. Does the radio/other-wakeup-device give up on U, at some point? Worth testin out, if U tend to be real "pokey".<br /><br />Thanx, Mr. Hawkins. Great great job. thUmbsUp.<br /><br />Masked & Anonymo10UsMasked and Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16346263641338670679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8684920944098213162018-07-11T12:54:23.055-04:002018-07-11T12:54:23.055-04:00@Nate I'm with you on KLEE and BORGE!! (I'...@Nate I'm with you on KLEE and BORGE!! (I'm 30). That E was the last letter I filled and I actually tried a couple other letters (randomly) first.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-79326010924261307292018-07-11T12:51:55.128-04:002018-07-11T12:51:55.128-04:00OK, here's an idea -- puzzles should have one ...OK, here's an idea -- puzzles should have one clue specifying that something is "memorable to @Rex Parker." It would be a fun guessing game for the constructor. Seriously, @Rex's comment reminded me of the great book "1066 and All That," which is a history of Britain consisting only of the memorable parts. The authors state in their introduction that there are only two dates in the book; they thought there should be three, but one of the three proved not memorable upon field testing.<br /><br />Anyway, the puzzle. I got GHOSTED right off. (@Nancy, don't you read the advice columns in the paper? People are always complaining that someone they had ghosted them after three great dates.) Then I got RADIO SILENCE and thought we were going to have five theme answers about ways to go quiet; but that would have had to include 63A, and the clue didn't seem to fit, so I just soldiered on. Still an excellent puzzle.<br /><br />Speaking of 63A, LASHOUT, how about "Go Lakers!" for a better clue?<br /><br />Too bad @Loren's away -- I bet if she were here, she'd come up with a picture of a heavily armed baby for her avatar. (Don't search for it -- you won't enjoy the images you get.)jberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02169065390875378077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-18855021608674721482018-07-11T12:39:20.641-04:002018-07-11T12:39:20.641-04:00@GILL I.
My eyesight isn't the best, so I re...@GILL I. <br /><br />My eyesight isn't the best, so I really have to concentrate when reading your posts (not necessarily a bad thing). Everything's copacetic.<br /><br />That was probably @Nancy's first mistake this year.😉JC66https://www.blogger.com/profile/05324615675333287919noreply@blogger.com