tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post2725051927442697727..comments2024-03-28T20:49:13.267-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Legendary Gaelic bard / THU 7-7-11 / 1990s TV neighbor / Jiminy Cricket declaration / Mad Money airer / Skilled hoops player slangRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger120125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-23260585738887283182011-08-12T16:00:43.570-04:002011-08-12T16:00:43.570-04:00Saw the turns at SHOULDER/RECUR early on. Figured...Saw the turns at SHOULDER/RECUR early on. Figured the traffic sign was NO TURNS and reasoned that there would be six turning points in the grid. Unfortunately I thought the E in CONCERTO might be one of them, and that screwed me up looking for the symmetrical turning points in SE.<br /><br />It wasn't until I got GOOSEBUMPS that I realized that all the turns were on U. Great aha moment. Two anonymous thumbs up for this puzzle.<br /><br />Recipe for a chaotic ball game at 35a (obeying traffic sign).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-40739439273112251892011-08-12T13:53:55.845-04:002011-08-12T13:53:55.845-04:00Clever for the sake of being clever! Challenging i...Clever for the sake of being clever! Challenging in the "gimmick" which in this case falls flat -- turns on itself -- there are no U-Turns in the puzzle. Cheekiness -- leaves me cold; but then, I am a purist.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-40076761355253237792011-08-12T00:14:27.596-04:002011-08-12T00:14:27.596-04:00I hated itI hated itmotnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-54795085830675797262011-08-11T23:54:36.566-04:002011-08-11T23:54:36.566-04:00@Purple Guy, you must be talking about the AROULA/...@Purple Guy, you must be talking about the AROULA/NEBUSE atop BALLER combo, not to mention ENDOW/ADORE. Alas, I DNF, defeated because I got lost--which is what usually happens when you "violate a traffic sign." Considered NOUTURN for a moment, but it wouldn't fit, even if I turned at the first U. My mind could not do the extra calisthenic of turning AGAIN at the second U.<br /> Now that I see it, I must acknowledge that the fault is mine, not the constructor's. Although I think I'm fair-to-middlin' bright enough, it's obvious that there are limits to my mental gymnastic workout--and I bumped up against them today.<br /> The clue for 3d, "6, for C," sort of illustrates that puzzle-wide failure in microcosm. No way could I make the leap from that clue to the ATNO for carbon. Just too many hoops to jump through. (Guess I'm not a BALLER.)<br /> One finished-grid entry takes me back to a college class studying Chaucer: "Whan that Aprille in his SHOURES soote..."<br />And how would a ballgame be with NOUMPS? Oh well, maybe tomorrow it won't be so BRU<br /> T<br /> A<br /> L.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-7740210518433333022011-08-11T21:01:49.927-04:002011-08-11T21:01:49.927-04:00@Red Valerian- I think @Craig was the last of the ...@Red Valerian- I think @Craig was the last of the non syndication comments based on post time and won't revisit this thread, but I enjoyed your tactful correction of his mild Lapse in decorum. -Kevin in TexasAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-83700000143613277492011-08-11T20:43:22.599-04:002011-08-11T20:43:22.599-04:00It's already been said, but I'll say it ag...It's already been said, but I'll say it again: Wow! I loved this puzzle. I was feeling pretty smug when 80% of the grid filled in quickly and then - nothing. Stared and stared, but could not see how to make the rest work, until the "U" in the SE corner showed up and pointed the way home (zig-zaggy though it was). Finished with a blank square in the NE as my knowledge of anatomical passageways and large diamonds is lacking, but still -Wow!Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-88261554166198477222011-08-11T20:34:30.322-04:002011-08-11T20:34:30.322-04:00Salut, Red!
captcha, believe it or not, is laloi ...Salut, Red!<br /><br />captcha, believe it or not, is laloi (the law) which in Rex's world is 3 posts and out. So I'm gone...Waxy in Montrealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04395751487137805245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-57590123241289177492011-08-11T20:10:23.103-04:002011-08-11T20:10:23.103-04:00Wasting away again in syndicationville... I haven&...Wasting away again in syndicationville... I haven't posted on this log in quite a while. Been engrossed in life, so no puzzling of late. WOW! What a great debut! Congrats, Caleb. and a great puzzle to get my feet wet on starting back. got the theme at NEBULA/AROUSE. cool that the theme reveal is encrypted by the theme itself! I wanted CHAOS for 32d "restraining order?" since chaos restrains order. was tickled that it showed up in 54a for which I wanted CLASS based on some quote I vaguely remember about art being universal. Fun solve. I never time myself because as a word geek, I like to savor the wordplay involved. This one was savory indeed. -Kevin in Texas 8-11-11Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-25999535159844567062011-08-11T19:17:37.398-04:002011-08-11T19:17:37.398-04:00Deb! That is synchronicity indeed. I will email y...Deb! That is synchronicity indeed. I will email you anon, and explain why I'm hard to email directly. We have company coming for dinner and I must jump in the shower.<br /><br />I'm so glad you wrote. We had a great three weeks in Turkey, which is closer to Lebanon than I've ever been...<br /><br />@Waxy--bonjour Eric!Red Valerianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04638265039015470938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-52152104238801161012011-08-11T18:36:16.709-04:002011-08-11T18:36:16.709-04:00@Red Valerian - Long time no see! Just had to sha...@Red Valerian - Long time no see! Just had to share some further synchronicity stemming from the erstwhile runcible spoon: It may have been providence that I ended up reading Day of Honey, as my son recently informed me he's in love with a young Lebanese Muslim woman and considering becoming a Muslim so that they can be together. <br /><br />Apologies to the board for this off-topic note - couldn't find a way to contact Red off-site. <br /><br />captcha=anisadis: Well, obviously that typewriter's T is broken.Debhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16675331024091722316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-85101767942961132572011-08-11T18:05:15.284-04:002011-08-11T18:05:15.284-04:00@Red Valerian: since you ask, my real first name s...@Red Valerian: since you ask, my real first name spelled backwards means "wax" en français. <br /> <br />captcha = hotoc, what vendors yell at ball parks?Waxy in Montrealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04395751487137805245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-11817471447832476792011-08-11T17:51:58.365-04:002011-08-11T17:51:58.365-04:00I'm curious, Waxy in Montreal, about your name...I'm curious, Waxy in Montreal, about your name. I'm sure this is off-topic, and I wouldn't be upset if Rex just deleted it, but, um, what is the providence of that name?<br /><br />captcha: rizess. Those silly crackers after a couple of Effin martinis...Red Valerianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04638265039015470938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50035157750198844342011-08-11T17:26:26.359-04:002011-08-11T17:26:26.359-04:00I absolutely HATED this puzzle until I came here a...I absolutely HATED this puzzle until I came here and learned the trick. Now I love it.Debhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16675331024091722316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-90438172838055386892011-08-11T17:07:24.509-04:002011-08-11T17:07:24.509-04:00From Syndy land -
I have been doing NYT crosswords...From Syndy land -<br />I have been doing NYT crosswords for about six months and this was by far my favorite one! Took me most of the day but found it very enjoyable!<br />Wanted Caution for the 35D as I didn't think NOUTURN would fit.<br /><br />Great job Caleb!!!Mighty Nisdenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00604834076817509735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50277748065808290492011-08-11T16:30:56.624-04:002011-08-11T16:30:56.624-04:00Some years ago when my husband and I were touring ...Some years ago when my husband and I were touring Northern Ireland we came across a sign pointing to Ossian's Grave. We followed a very narrow, winding road up a hill, through a farmer's pasture, a gate, got the rental car all scratched from the gorse, finally reached the top and decided it was either a Gaelic joke or one way to get people to see a marvelous view. There was a pile of rocks up there, but that's all. Cheers!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-70205434180539396702011-08-11T16:24:20.343-04:002011-08-11T16:24:20.343-04:00Ingenious puzzle. It beat me up badly, but you...Ingenious puzzle. It beat me up badly, but you've got to admire the construction.olfuddudhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04942205427356839021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91200456445228165302011-08-11T16:00:09.735-04:002011-08-11T16:00:09.735-04:00OTOH, to be consistent, henceforth let's spell...OTOH, to be consistent, henceforth let's spell Caleb II's last name:<br /><br />RASMU<br /> S<br /> S<br /> E<br /> N<br /> <br /><br />JU<br /> S<br /> T<br /> <br /> A<br /> <br /> S<br /> UGGESTION<br /><br />Bye nowWaxy in Montrealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04395751487137805245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56646844591258484982011-08-11T13:06:02.996-04:002011-08-11T13:06:02.996-04:00I thought this was brilliant, though I confess tha...I thought this was brilliant, though I confess that I didn't completely get it before I came here. That is, I had all the right answers, but didn't realize all the turns were at all and only the 'u's! Mind you (no pun intended), since I came close to not finishing, I was so relieved when I was done that I didn't give it any more thought. And I think I was oddly thrown off by getting <b>bellcurve</b> as the first trick answer. (Me: "oh, it curves..." Doh!)<br /><br />@Craig: that was a rather mean-spirited ad hominem. I suppose it would be mean-spirited of me to remark that I bet you didn't finish...<br /><br />Bring on more puzzles, Caleb!Red Valerianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04638265039015470938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31770016580303935552011-07-09T23:35:50.388-04:002011-07-09T23:35:50.388-04:00This may actually be the worst NYT puzzle I've...This may actually be the worst NYT puzzle I've ever seen.<br /><br />I think a good rule of puzzle construction is: if you can't explain the theme succinctly, in a way that makes a solver say "aha!", it's a poor theme.<br /><br />Well, yeah, given the theme, which doesn't particularly make a ton of sense, it's a well-constructed grid. So what?<br /><br />Other comments said that it's this constructor's first published NYT puzzle. I hope it's his last.Craignoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-48740366330025255362011-07-09T10:21:43.658-04:002011-07-09T10:21:43.658-04:00Just got back to the puzzle this am...LOVED IT!
A...Just got back to the puzzle this am...LOVED IT!<br /><br />And while I too thought Caleb was "stretching" a 90 into a 180, I thank<br /><br />@exaudio<br /><br />for this...<br /> <br />"Regarding the question of how a 90-degree turn can be a literal violation of the no u-turn rule, I have pondered it, and I think it's just the idea of making a turn at a u."Titahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368251255494687496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-41742571931862449762011-07-08T22:17:24.509-04:002011-07-08T22:17:24.509-04:00ha. now i feel like a complete idiot. last time ...ha. now i feel like a complete idiot. last time i do a puzzle after 11!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-162239857728585872011-07-08T07:11:45.804-04:002011-07-08T07:11:45.804-04:00@acme: Thanks! Will do.@acme: Thanks! Will do.JenCThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18290169184354765840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-78009705005955752402011-07-08T02:06:18.046-04:002011-07-08T02:06:18.046-04:00This week's relative difficulty ratings. See m...This week's relative difficulty ratings. See my 7/30/2009 post for an explanation. 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 5:52, 6:52, 0.86, 5%, Easy (5th lowest median solve time of 106 Mondays)<br />Tue 8:54, 8:55, 1.00, 56%, Medium<br />Wed 10:31, 11:52, 0.89, 27%, Easy-Medium<br />Thu 25:10, 19:07, 1.32, 93%, Challenging (9th highest median solve time of 108 Thursdays)<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:19, 3:40, 0.91, 12%, Easy<br />Tue 4:53, 4:35, 1.07, 72%, Medium-Challenging<br />Wed 5:21, 5:51, 0.91, 32%, Easy-Medium<br />Thu 13:46, 9:16, 1.49, 96%, Challenging (5th highest median solve time of 108 Thursdays)sanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-18581330956806088852011-07-08T00:23:54.698-04:002011-07-08T00:23:54.698-04:00@Matt, it seems that way at first, if you're f...@Matt, it seems that way at first, if you're focusing on one word turning and you think its continuation is not crossed. But in fact it is not the case. So, if you look at the ITERS area, you see NEU-RON, which starts as a down and turns across, and it feels as if the remaining TAL that's down after NEU is just dangling there. But in fact that TAL completes BRU-TAL, which starts as an across and ends as a down, as it hits the same U. So, the T in ITERS is gettable through BRU-TAL. <br /><br />At every U there are in fact two words that are broken up in that way, as summarized under Rex's theme answers. This is really the genius of the puzzle. It takes a while to uncover it.foodiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13052189131129098616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-17363607718254978402011-07-07T23:59:13.703-04:002011-07-07T23:59:13.703-04:00@JenCT
Are you still on? You should get in touch ...@JenCT<br />Are you still on? You should get in touch Brian Cimmet who is at <br />brian@bemoresmarter.com (other info about Lollapuzzoola is on Rex's blog at the top under "crossword events")<br />It's a church on the upper East Side, I would be surprised if it weren't accessible! But do check, it would be awfully nice to meet you!acmenoreply@blogger.com