tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post2778900135356624883..comments2024-03-29T04:46:57.646-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: 1978 Bob Fosse Broadway revue / SUN 1-6-13 / Blond bombshell of 50s TV / Kardashian spouse Lamar / 1942 Bette Davis film / James Bond's childhood home / Ladderlike in arrangement / Remove from mailing list informally / W.W. II marine threatRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger80125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-37632828560249075232013-01-14T13:33:58.900-05:002013-01-14T13:33:58.900-05:00I'd just like to point out that "on end&q...I'd just like to point out that "on end" (110 Across) does not mean "Seemingly forever." The setter has been misled by expressions like "days on end," in which a long time IS often indicated, but that's sloppy thinking. "On end" means "consecutive" or "uninterrupted." No fair making up your own definitions. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-92034244558409239352013-01-13T21:19:57.287-05:002013-01-13T21:19:57.287-05:00I really wanted to love this puzzle - I tried hard...I really wanted to love this puzzle - I tried hard to love it, but in the end there were just too many WTF clues for me. If only I'd known PLAXICO and ECLOGUE I might have stood a chance, but I didn't so DNF.<br /><br />But I still love seeing DOGOODER in the grid as that's my self-professed avocation. And the Patriots beat the Texans today, so life is good.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-71659513208793258802013-01-13T20:23:11.881-05:002013-01-13T20:23:11.881-05:00@Red...I'm as ignorant about American football...@Red...I'm as ignorant about American football too... no offense intended!Titahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368251255494687496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-28552534547111883382013-01-13T16:17:22.489-05:002013-01-13T16:17:22.489-05:00DNF because PLAXICO was PLAcIdO, which made XFL cF...DNF because PLAXICO was PLAcIdO, which made XFL cFL (silly me) and ECLOGUE EdLOGUE. (I agree @Spacecraft--good word to learn.)<br /><br />@Tita "maybe Canada got a football league?" Why, yes, we did. Back in 1958. <br /><br />@Rube--you were right about the Packers! (I don't follow football, but a friend is moping about because of the loss.) Guess @chefwen is buying lunch this weekend, once s/he's recovered, eh?<br /><br />@Kenneth--I have no problem with "senesces," but I do have a problem with senescing. sigh<br /><br />According to Wikipedia (that endlessly accurate site), the Maltese cat is not a breed. "<b>Maltese cat </b> is a name that is often given to any cat whose fur is either completely, or primarily, gray or blue and is of indeterminate breed."<br /><br />But a fun puzzle. Even funner that Rex didn't mention Acme. Too bad ED doesn't comment on Sundays...Red Valerianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04638265039015470938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-37636593737674344522013-01-13T11:20:18.380-05:002013-01-13T11:20:18.380-05:00@ArtO: Right with ya on the "Blues in the Nig...@ArtO: Right with ya on the "Blues in the Night" lyric earworm. This I got after trying to stretch KNICKERS into nine letters...three times! I kept thinking I must be missing a letter somewhere.<br /><br />I gotta get me a new reference book; my old Scrabble dictionary just isn't cutting it. Neither PILCROW nor SENESCE appears in it.<br /><br />Congrats, constructors, on managing to clue the wonderful UNSUB without mentioning "Criminal Minds" at all!<br /><br />NW was last to (SKY)FALL; I didn't know the Fosse work, so when I had __NC_N I assumed CANCAN. Now what is C_D that means "Pop?" I guess some "pops" are cads, but...eventually I figured that the double-A name had to be ISAAC, and DANCIN (') came in. Hi DAD!<br /><br />It almost seems as though there's a constructors' War of the Scrabblies. I'll see your COCCYX and raise you a JEJUNE and a PLAXICO. What tomorrow, AXOLOTL? Try this one: SYZYGY. Hah!<br /><br />Nice, medium (thanks to some convoluted cluing) solve, containing two of the most iconic films in Hollywood history: NATIONAL VELVET and NOW, VOYAGER.<br /><br />ECLOGUE DOES appear in my Scrabble dictionary, so I'll list that one as my newly-learned WOTD.Spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-47115272323161283172013-01-08T20:50:20.989-05:002013-01-08T20:50:20.989-05:00Quite difficult, but satisfying.
@OISK: It's ...Quite difficult, but satisfying.<br /><br />@OISK: It's not "Vardaros Nearon". It's "Vardalos/Nealon".<br /><br />I'll never forget Nia Vardalos after Greek Wedding. I think it's the first answer I got.<br /><br />Learned a new word with "eclogue".nurturinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02035395856164817422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46789256057496030962013-01-07T21:03:23.268-05:002013-01-07T21:03:23.268-05:00I had three Naticks! - PILCROW/WEND which I guesse...I had three Naticks! - PILCROW/WEND which I guessed right (but FEND seemed reasonable there as well), ECLOGUE/AGT which I guessed wrong having never heard of this 15%er before, and ARIOSO/ARA which I also guessed wrong. I ended up thinking I must not know how to spell JUJUNE, so I got that one wrong too. 3 mistakes :(<br /><br />BUT I KNOW MY FOOTBALL!Davenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10960645729673166142013-01-07T10:35:39.806-05:002013-01-07T10:35:39.806-05:00Am I the only one who thought there were too many ...Am I the only one who thought there were too many names in this puzzle?<br />ABAnnethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13674424949031830906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-32432745195335649022013-01-06T22:46:16.699-05:002013-01-06T22:46:16.699-05:00Thanks for your note, Dan! I saw ACME as coauthor...Thanks for your note, Dan! I saw ACME as coauthor and thought wow, Great, easy sunday, but it was indeed a workout. Easier as it went along, but a workout still. Yay ACME!!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-6746905664571811532013-01-06T21:30:33.229-05:002013-01-06T21:30:33.229-05:00As the one-time owner of a '55 Ford and a form...As the one-time owner of a '55 Ford and a former, gear-head, DAGMAR was actually the first answer I clued in - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagmar_bumpersbrianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02646519490239672312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56681861060148951422013-01-06T20:37:15.151-05:002013-01-06T20:37:15.151-05:00I knew Azeri from playing the video game Tom Clanc...I knew Azeri from playing the video game Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six back in ninth grade. I thought it was a common (enough) word. I may have been wrong.guruarchierothhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00333391504179411975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-58813045569623397622013-01-06T19:42:57.482-05:002013-01-06T19:42:57.482-05:00Googled my way through it after getting the theme ...Googled my way through it after getting the theme answers and stumbling on knee pants...I had kneesocts at the<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-90784032240539117662013-01-06T18:46:26.338-05:002013-01-06T18:46:26.338-05:00@6:41 - An agent (AGT) typically gets a 15% fee. ...@6:41 - An agent (AGT) typically gets a 15% fee. That one took me forever...<br /><br />@Richard W - no hard feelings...thx for being so gracious. There are far more egregious things one can do...<br /><br />@Dan - thanks for stopping by, I still need to go read The Rest of the Story at WordPlay.Titahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368251255494687496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-51622130930274427282013-01-06T18:41:52.152-05:002013-01-06T18:41:52.152-05:00Could someone explain 119D 15%-er? Thanks.Could someone explain 119D 15%-er? Thanks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-5890555775869146272013-01-06T18:10:25.769-05:002013-01-06T18:10:25.769-05:00Thanks for the comments, all! It's Dan, ACME&#...Thanks for the comments, all! It's Dan, ACME's protege. I am glad to have provoked a long and interesting post from Rex today, because that's always better than short and indifferent.<br /><br />I will defend the NE corner with AZERI all day long, because I think it's a word worth knowing (and sharing with others by putting it into a crossword). The problem with pangram pursuit/Scrabble-you-know-whatting is when it lowers the quality of the surrounding fill. I would plead innocent, because the short answers up in that corner are clean as a whistle.<br /><br />Sorry about the PLAXICO/XFL crossing, which is the very definition of Natick. I had to keep it, because that section is so cool overall... if Will felt that it crossed the line, he could reject the puzzle or ask for a rewrite. Overall, we were definitely going for a harder vibe than a typical Sunday, because there's not much challenge or fun involved in the theme.<br /><br />See you at the ACPT!Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11209543514266918480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-75862941477744677372013-01-06T18:04:29.047-05:002013-01-06T18:04:29.047-05:00This 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 5:45, 6:12, 0.93, 18%, Easy<br />Tue 7:31, 8:37, 0.87, 14%, Easy<br />Wed 14:17, 11:52, 1.20, 87%, Challenging<br />Thu 22:43, 17:05, 1.33, 91%, Challenging<br />Fri 19:54, 20:49, 0.96, 43%, Medium<br />Sat 18:13, 24:28, 0.74, 7%, Easy<br />Sun 32:04, 30:47, 1.04, 68%, Medium-Challenging<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:43, 3:39, 1.02, 58%, Medium<br />Tue 4:33, 4:57, 0.92, 18%, Easy<br />Wed 7:54, 6:34, 1.20, 90%, Challenging<br />Thu 13:38, 9:27, 1.44, 91%, Challenging<br />Fri 10:47, 11:47, 0.92, 29%, Easy-Medium<br />Sat 10:20, 14:32, 0.71, 5%, Easy (8th lowest ratio of 152 Saturdays)<br />Sun 21:55, 20:46, 1.06, 62%, Medium-Challenging<br /><br />With all the sports answers, I had to keep checking the by-line to confirm that I read it right. An enjoyable Sunday challenge from the Queen of Mondays and the King of ACPT.sanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-70987804383753203542013-01-06T18:04:23.597-05:002013-01-06T18:04:23.597-05:00It just depends on what you know. This one was eas...It just depends on what you know. This one was easy for me - one of the first clues my eye fell on was for "National Velvet" - a movie I know and Iove.<br /><br />That gave me the N-V theme and I was done in 50 minutes (very fast for me.)<br /><br />BUT the last clue stumped me - 15%-er - and I didn't know the term eclogue, so I had a missing G.<br /><br />Rex had a missing Z so I guess we're even!<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-51946545618048083682013-01-06T17:30:08.112-05:002013-01-06T17:30:08.112-05:00Completed the puzzle while watching my Ravens beat...Completed the puzzle while watching my Ravens beat the much hated (in Baltimore) Colts. So, the puzzle was meh, but the game was great! Plaxico, therefore, a gimme. Still have my Playbill for "Dancin'"Airymomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-13882825390405560662013-01-06T17:15:18.186-05:002013-01-06T17:15:18.186-05:00Not mentioning Andrea was Rex's way of needlin...Not mentioning Andrea was Rex's way of needling Andrea. He loves to do that. <br /><br />PLAXICO did me in. Really liked the LBJ/ABE misdirect.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91619448078204658412013-01-06T17:03:49.769-05:002013-01-06T17:03:49.769-05:00Too much pop culture for me to enjoy this one. I ... Too much pop culture for me to enjoy this one. I never even noticed the theme, which adds nothing to the puzzle (IMHO in any case. Since I don't know Nia's last name, and never heard of 'Kevin' of Weeds, there was one pop culture Natick. The other was mentioned by others, Laura Nyro - never heard of her, and Lamar Odom, never heard of him either. Nor Scott Caan, although it was gettable from the down clues.<br /><br />Odd week for me, as I missed four squared on Thursday after an hour of work, had no problems with Friday, and sailed through Saturday. <br /><br />My personal distaste for pop culture notwithstanding, I thought this was a well constructed puzzle, but that the NYRO ODOM cross and Vardaros Nearon ought to have been avoided. Better clue for someone my age...Former A;s pitcher nicknamed "Blue Moon". (remember him?)OISKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16808675378318214461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-17611614221791380662013-01-06T16:27:56.086-05:002013-01-06T16:27:56.086-05:00I was tempted to use Google but kept fighting it a... I was tempted to use Google but kept fighting it as things became clearer, and never used it. My only mistake was at the intersection of Greek Wedding and Weeds, where I guessed R instead of L. I loved the clues for LENSCAP, ASSISTS, EAGLE, NEE, BAM, PAWS, SITAR, OOHLALA. I learned where the largest naval base is, what the hell a pilcrow is, what London's elected leader is called, that a Maltese can be a dog or cat, and ECLOGUE (which I'll probably forget). What's there not to like about this? I would call this puzzle a medium. For me, just right for a Sunday. A strong Sunday puzzle. Bravo!Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09709142959535977331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-38688573752986427702013-01-06T16:03:04.631-05:002013-01-06T16:03:04.631-05:00Ooooh @Rube - Just for that you're buying lunc...Ooooh @Rube - Just for that you're buying lunch!chefwenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03999206352243329280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-59379635891620153302013-01-06T15:12:39.106-05:002013-01-06T15:12:39.106-05:00@Anon:
se·nesce (s-ns)
intr.v. se·nesced, se·nes...@Anon:<br /><br />se·nesce (s-ns)<br />intr.v. se·nesced, se·nesc·ing, se·nesc·es<br />To reach later maturity; grow old.<br /><br />(From the Free Online Dictionary)<br />JenCThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18290169184354765840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56540375036163233852013-01-06T14:56:31.924-05:002013-01-06T14:56:31.924-05:00First off, I loved the title. Nice to start off wi...First off, I loved the title. Nice to start off with a smile. <br /><br />I'm glad to hear others, too, took a while to see the theme ... even with the title! <br /><br />Like @Rex, I really admired the NAPAVALLEY, NOVACANCY, NOWVOYAGER stack smack dab in the middle. <br /><br />My favorite clues were, "Quarter back?" and "Miss identification?"<br /><br />Most enjoyable Sunday puzzle in my book. Oh, and I really don't like the term Scrabblef*cking."<br /><br />Thanks, Andrea & Dan!johohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12708487230515532492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-68473791055940738092013-01-06T14:46:56.630-05:002013-01-06T14:46:56.630-05:00MAC has let me know it is a cookie problem and wil...MAC has let me know it is a cookie problem and will be fixed soon. Thanks to the helpers. I am sure she will chime in as soon as she can. Be well one and all.Sparkyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11149915526159432838noreply@blogger.com