tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post2816245808126020782..comments2024-03-29T05:08:37.783-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: SATURDAY, Nov. 10, 2007 - Dana MotleyRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-41813362253640962282007-12-26T18:11:00.000-05:002007-12-26T18:11:00.000-05:00OK - I too had Uris for a LONG time, but I must ha...OK - I too had Uris for a LONG time, but I must have been the only one to get hung up on mashed pear instead of mashed peas. As to what isn't an ester - you should also wonder what German city isn't Essen or what golfer isn't Ernie Els. Same story - the word fits in crosswords easily.<BR/><BR/>OTOH a lot of compounds aren't esters. - proteins, sugars, DNA, RNA, most inorganic compounds..... some compounds are ethers, though, and that has hung me up occasionally.<BR/><BR/>Greetings from syndicationland.<BR/><BR/>Chemist_EmeritusAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-42108178744563873582007-12-23T14:40:00.000-05:002007-12-23T14:40:00.000-05:00rikki west,I looked up "I need a bun engine mine B...rikki west,<BR/><BR/>I looked up "I need a bun engine mine Benny Lava!" and found this video on YouTube.<BR/><BR/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA1NoOOoaNw&feature=related<BR/><BR/>Now I'm laughing, too!<BR/><BR/>I'm a six weeks behinder and I know no one will see this, but for any stragglers here, check out the video.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-59390310685161978832007-12-22T10:39:00.000-05:002007-12-22T10:39:00.000-05:00I guess I'm the lamest...not only do I live in Syn...I guess I'm the lamest...not only do I live in SyndicationLand, but I found this puzzle hard. Lil Army Kid that I am (artillery officer dad) I got Caisson and for Materiel had AMMO... and gradually I got large chunks. With no real theme, it was harder to get my mind set on an angle...ultimately I did google Hornsby, Apis, and Monterey Park. The NE corner, of all things, left me in a FOG (Mist did not work at all)... so, thanks for the grid!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-47926038609053085462007-11-18T17:59:00.000-05:002007-11-18T17:59:00.000-05:00HiWhat fun to find this blog!!!! I am a lone solve...Hi<BR/>What fun to find this blog!!!! I am a lone solver up here in Salmon Arm, British Columbia, Canada. I check your blog when I am stumped and nearly done. Thanks so much for sharing!!! (no smirk intended)<BR/>MollyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-32381937716936049262007-11-11T16:22:00.000-05:002007-11-11T16:22:00.000-05:00A nightmare. At the end of my first pass through ...A nightmare. At the end of my first pass through the puzzle, I had one answer filled in and it was wrong. After another 20 minutes or so I four answers I was confident of and a few guesses sketched in, and I just gave up and started Googling left and right. Made me feel like a beginner again.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-81281191375032793522007-11-11T10:13:00.000-05:002007-11-11T10:13:00.000-05:00I mentioned the NOMAS clue/answer pairing recently...I mentioned the NOMAS clue/answer pairing recently as my Favorite Crossword Puzzle Clue Ever. Actually, the first time I saw it, it was "Spanish uncle?" which I love. But I hated this one. The language is Spanish, not Mexican. So this one just seemed, I don't know, racist to me. I picture some redneck slob getting all indignant: "What are ya speakin' over there? Mexican?"PuzzleGirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09017772879976436923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-14298753658206016142007-11-11T03:08:00.000-05:002007-11-11T03:08:00.000-05:00All I could think of when it came to the rajah was...All I could think of when it came to the rajah was...<BR/><BR/>I need a bun engine mine Benny Lava!<BR/><BR/>I'm still laughing, Rick :DRikkihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10554251289879770640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9693120942575663392007-11-11T01:37:00.000-05:002007-11-11T01:37:00.000-05:00Long day. We had company so I worked this one off...Long day. We had company so I worked this one off and one all day long and it seemed like that's all I really did. Definately, harder than yesterday's for me, but at least I did not need to google (although I was tempted). My only aids were checking the spelling of CAISSON (which I had spelled wrong intitally) and asking my house guest from Orange County about Monterey Park (he said Watts and I infered EASTLA). NW was last to fall because (1) I didn't want to believe ESTER (I guess everything is one) and (2) I had DAIRIES for DAISIES (hey, milk is fresh, right?). Tough but doable. <BR/><BR/>BTW I think Orange talked about the Mexican Uncle?/NOMAS clue a few weeks ago? I remembered it from somewhere so it was a gimme.<BR/><BR/>My take on RST and SCH is the same as michael, beth, et. al.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-16797106583541701732007-11-11T00:35:00.000-05:002007-11-11T00:35:00.000-05:00This puzzle made me say NO MAS. (One of the few c...This puzzle made me say NO MAS. (One of the few clues I got correct.)<BR/><BR/>I could only think of Leon URIS and assumed CHAD for CHAR.<BR/><BR/>Maybe because we were getting ready for company, but I just couldn't get into this one AT ALL. well, it happens.<BR/><BR/>In retrospect, EAGLE, QUIZ SHOW and the aforementioned NO MAS were my favorite answers. Otherwise - yeesh.<BR/><BR/>I'm torn between humming the theme to BONANZA or Cheech Marin's "Born in East LA" (title song from the movie).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-48048120244178964652007-11-10T21:05:00.000-05:002007-11-10T21:05:00.000-05:00While RAJAH could be some Boston Brahmin mangling ...While RAJAH could be some Boston Brahmin mangling of Rogers it is most probably a reference to the east which was popular in the 20's.<BR/><BR/>Everyone was the Sultan of this or the Rajah of that and with Sultans out ranking Rajahs it was probably a play on Babe Ruth's nickname as the best hitter in BB and Hornsby being not quite as great.<BR/><BR/>I have no idea if this is true but loved tieing together Brahmins, Rajahs, Sultans, India and Boston pronunciations in one post.<BR/><BR/>rickAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45636491371564724842007-11-10T20:54:00.000-05:002007-11-10T20:54:00.000-05:00Thanks Orange. I knew I was in for a head slap. It...Thanks Orange. I knew I was in for a head slap. It was just that kind of puzzle for me. I was thinking of every other meaning for the word "angle" (point of view, position of entry, bias, etc.) and was thinking of an axil as more of a stem and not that it literally makes an angle.Rikkihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10554251289879770640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-36158819644374171632007-11-10T19:32:00.000-05:002007-11-10T19:32:00.000-05:00Rikki, just Google up a definition for axil. It's ...Rikki, just Google up a definition for axil. It's a plant term. (Not to be confused for axle or Axl or axel.) Closely related, as Martin hinted, to axilla, the Latin name for our armpit. (The royal we have our armpit?)<BR/><BR/>Hobbyist, the senior class goes to school, so the seniors' ctr. is a SCH. Does that work for you?<BR/><BR/>Poindexter is dead on. An NYT crossword consisting of two Thursdays, two Fridays, two Saturdays, and a Sunday would be awesome. Actually, make it two Thursdays, four Saturdays, and a Sunday. That would suit me fine.Orangehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12433254398377357737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-57038127180897239012007-11-10T18:39:00.000-05:002007-11-10T18:39:00.000-05:00I'm with Wendy on this one. I just couldn't get ho...I'm with Wendy on this one. I just couldn't get hold of it. Started late last night and the puzzle was literally blurry. <BR/>I had so few things on the first couple passes through. I thought I was brilliant for putting "psycho" for "before analysis and after a". I still love it, except for it being WRONG. Got tripped up by Uris, and had goalies for toadies, which I also thought was a great clue/answer until it was WRONG. Loved no mas and idiot was the first thing that came into my mind and was RIGHT. <BR/><BR/>How is an axil a botonist's angle? <BR/><BR/>Those Brits and their mushy peas. Great pub lunch side. <BR/><BR/><BR/>Woke up with a fresh eye, but still found this one challenging and not as much fun as yesterday. But, buggery is in the eye of the buggered and I could barely breathe all morning because my son, at 20, made his debut with the Orchestra of the Swan outside of London. (Brag...)<BR/><BR/>Cheers!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-3291253878203726592007-11-10T17:30:00.000-05:002007-11-10T17:30:00.000-05:00Hobbyist - sch. is school for seniors center.Hobbyist - sch. is school for seniors center.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-85725645555013020592007-11-10T17:26:00.000-05:002007-11-10T17:26:00.000-05:00hobbyist:sch. for seniors center = schoolAt least ...hobbyist:<BR/><BR/>sch. for seniors center = school<BR/><BR/>At least that's my guess.Michael Chibnikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04700426644898924644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-38318980037488258312007-11-10T17:23:00.000-05:002007-11-10T17:23:00.000-05:00Loved this puzzle. The NW fell fairly easily with ...Loved this puzzle. The NW fell fairly easily with Eagle and Ester, and the SW came next. Had a little trouble with the SE as I wanted Nape to be Neck, but Easel and Creel had to fit so it led nicely to the middle west and the NE. Bill James has a great article in his Historical Baseball Abstract about the types of nicknames that were popular in each decade.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67068578129709970082007-11-10T17:16:00.000-05:002007-11-10T17:16:00.000-05:00Yeah. what is this sch. for seniors center? Please...Yeah. what is this sch. for seniors center? Please elucidate, somebody...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-76254505866404907742007-11-10T17:08:00.000-05:002007-11-10T17:08:00.000-05:00Memory time, Fergus. Caissons. No wonder I got i...Memory time, Fergus. Caissons. No wonder I got it so quickly. Highly memorable caissons. I was there and as we heard the caissons approaching someone in the crowd who had his portable radio on proclaimed "Oswald's been shot!".<BR/><BR/>Talk about your hysterical historical moments ...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-16171291744027525002007-11-10T16:16:00.000-05:002007-11-10T16:16:00.000-05:00Northwest was the last to fall, and then only afte...Northwest was the last to fall, and then only after Googling Leon Edel. I had the last half of 17A and thought it must surely be wrong; a knee problem ought to be a "strain," but the crosses made "stain" unavoidable. For 54A, I initially mashed up "tofu" because I wanted the oil holder to be "cruet." That sorted itself out pretty quickly, though.franceshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00621834159626715995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-7668577376509770622007-11-10T15:37:00.000-05:002007-11-10T15:37:00.000-05:00I have to add that I liked the "Multiple of LXX" c...I have to add that I liked the "Multiple of LXX" clue because there were so many combinations that would fit: CXL, CCX, DLX, DCC, CMX, MMC. Definitely not a gimme!<BR/><BR/>As for Rajah- remember that TV show,"What's Happening"? That character, Roger, was also called Raj. (I didn't figure this out, though, until late in the solving process.)<BR/><BR/>All in all, a pretty fun puzzle.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-19854581097285218832007-11-10T15:29:00.000-05:002007-11-10T15:29:00.000-05:00I thought the level of difficult for a Saturday wa...I thought the level of difficult for a Saturday was about average. I got through it, but it took a while (a lot more than Rex's 15 minutes). One clue I got right away was rajah for Roger Hornsby, but when I wrote it in I thought that this was really obscure for most people. But I guess that's Saturday solving...Michael Chibnikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04700426644898924644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45410514932053998432007-11-10T15:25:00.000-05:002007-11-10T15:25:00.000-05:00Learned CAISSON at a very young age watching the J...Learned CAISSON at a very young age watching the JFK funeral on TV.fergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-15241098978172177172007-11-10T15:20:00.000-05:002007-11-10T15:20:00.000-05:00Wendy, Tony Soprano once mixed up MOFO with Amour ...Wendy, Tony Soprano once mixed up MOFO with Amour Fou in one of his finest malapropisms. Maybe bad drivers are thinking crazily about their beloved?<BR/><BR/>Rex, Why the qualification about Rogers Hornsby? All time best, I would say, though perhaps you're giving Carew a shout? And Leon EDEL has to be one of the finest literary biographers (just getting through all of the late Henry James is testament enough) though Richard Ellmann, with his works on Joyce, Wilde and Yeats, is probably the most deservedly celebrated.<BR/><BR/>Last time I was in LA drove out to Monterey Park, expressly to dine at 'Dumpling Master' because the name sounded so appealing. Definitely would go there again. Many, many Chinese EATERIES there.<BR/><BR/>I still don't understand SCH for Senior ctr.? High school HISTory students' locale? And EXIT has the most nebulous of clues. That bumped me into a DAZE from the erstwhile HAZE. QUORUMS seems a bit odd, too. Wouldn't Sufficient groups be more appropriate?<BR/><BR/>The one-word clues, like Up and Beat, are very cleverly much broader in possibilities later in the week than earlier. This is worth looking into more closely since the one-word clues on Monday and Tuesday always seem so exact. Maybe my expectations color this observation, though?fergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-35909740226031081002007-11-10T15:08:00.000-05:002007-11-10T15:08:00.000-05:00Not too bad for a Saturday puzzle – didn’t seem to...Not too bad for a Saturday puzzle – didn’t seem to have to stretch or twist to make sense of clues but did have a real bare knuckler right down to the final round. I had an odd lack of confidence today which prevented me from putting down what turned out to be correct answers. I usually refuse to give up wrong answers but today I refused to accept answers I had that were correct. Didn’t’ get NE correct until I checked in with Rex. Had EPIC/APIL and ECES. Botany and French are Greek to me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-74454812383803283882007-11-10T14:50:00.000-05:002007-11-10T14:50:00.000-05:00Deion, you're right, "caisson" has at least 2 mean...Deion, you're right, "caisson" has at least 2 meanings.<BR/><BR/>This was a VERY tough puzzle for me, but now that it's finished all the clues and answers seem fair.<BR/><BR/>I wanted Leon URIS for the longest time. I had IDIOTS and CAISSON but knew they couldn't be right because they conflicted with "move" (instead of STIR) and "gameshow" instead of QUIZSHOW. Played around with neck, back and side endlessly before finally getting NAPE. Had haze for DAZE, ammo for ARMS, ratted for TEASED.<BR/><BR/>But in the end, great puzzle.<BR/><BR/>Rex, love your comment on ESTER. couldn't agree more.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com