tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post283012890480348138..comments2024-03-28T06:38:18.999-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: 2011 title role Chris Hemsworth / SAT 4-23-11 / President after Ten-Cent Jimmy / Cultural org with HQ Beverly Hills / Sulker's expressionRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger70125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-83759996901826941272011-06-02T09:48:44.222-04:002011-06-02T09:48:44.222-04:00Agree with all who thought it a fun puzzle -- fres...Agree with all who thought it a fun puzzle -- fresh cluing and fun answers.<br /><br />Had a total mental block at 44A ("turns brown, maybe") and could only come up with AGES. DYES? Who in the world would ever dye something brown?? <br /><br />Of course this left me with AEISM instead of DEISM for 44D, but I figured maybe AEISM is the belief that words spelled with -ae plural endings are annoyingly academic. Made sense to me!<br /><br />And totally agree on the dumbness of MOUE . . .Sudsy in Chicagonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-66945561854725394182011-05-14T21:34:27.145-04:002011-05-14T21:34:27.145-04:00It's May 14th and I just finished this. And s...It's May 14th and I just finished this. And sports clues are easy for me. And I knew a bunch off the bat , like Lovecraft whom I read obsessively in younger days.Jainesynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-37494553278218734442011-04-25T23:46:50.766-04:002011-04-25T23:46:50.766-04:00BILZ80 said...
Post Rex et al, I thought 14A was m...BILZ80 said...<br />Post Rex et al, I thought 14A was more ingenious than credited: Proxima Centauri (lit. Closest STAR to EARTH in the Centaurus Constellation) is actually second-closest because our own SUN is also a STAR at 91 million miles versus < 4 light years for Proxima.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-40018514808749437412011-04-24T14:29:30.263-04:002011-04-24T14:29:30.263-04:00@tim: Blogger ate my previous comment, so I'l...@tim: Blogger ate my previous comment, so I'll try again: NLER is National Leaguer; Cubbie refers to the Chicago Cubs.JenCThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18290169184354765840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-34764445371500198202011-04-24T11:47:24.884-04:002011-04-24T11:47:24.884-04:00I breezed through al the dweeby esoterica (Proxima...I breezed through al the dweeby esoterica (Proxima Centauri and H.P. Lovecraft are no-brainers for former nerdy 12-year-old boys) but was utterly stymied by that repulsive "NLER" "SUPERG" knot. Both of these looked like nonsense words to me and still do. I found the explanation for "SUPER G" in the comments section but I still don't understand what "NLER" could mean, much less how it relates to "Cubbie". Can someone help me out here?timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00149897512395950733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-83689397001669934302011-04-24T09:00:37.294-04:002011-04-24T09:00:37.294-04:00Hey, all! First time poster, long time reader her...Hey, all! First time poster, long time reader here. Posting because this is the very first time I've finished a Saturday! I had to do some research to get some of the answers (like the sports answers), and got stuck a bit in the south, but finally finished it!<br /><br />A little disappointing that it's considered an "easy" Saturday, but I figure now that I have one under my belt, the rest will come easier. Yay!Jace Harkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06105278308961432743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-20762511164012860482011-04-23T23:32:21.752-04:002011-04-23T23:32:21.752-04:00I used to work with a guy who claimed to be a &quo...I used to work with a guy who claimed to be a "devil worshipper" but he was just an odd duck who read H P Lovecraft. He pronounced<br />CTHULHU ca-'thoo-loo. FWIW.Bill from NJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10103923612595508277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24483144665119754642011-04-23T22:29:10.107-04:002011-04-23T22:29:10.107-04:00sorry, AMPAS / GIBBS / SUPER G is like a tricorn N...sorry, AMPAS / GIBBS / SUPER G is like a tricorn Natick of specialized, tunnel vision knowledge to me. otherwise, A-OKRoss G-Whizhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10683375689024190242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-36538878596051064222011-04-23T21:12:43.093-04:002011-04-23T21:12:43.093-04:00Hair-splitting I guess, but I think Proxima Centau...Hair-splitting I guess, but I think Proxima Centauri is only PROBABLY the closest star to the sun. There might be something closer -- already named Nemesis. See<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemesis_(hypothetical_star)stan wagonhttp://stanwagon.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-52703674263030192402011-04-23T20:20:07.453-04:002011-04-23T20:20:07.453-04:00@andrea I too had Honey Fitz at first@andrea I too had Honey Fitz at firstchefbeahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15195945085405126511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10989249944680874362011-04-23T19:30:23.636-04:002011-04-23T19:30:23.636-04:00@Hazel
You were kidding, right? I mean I almost h...@Hazel<br />You were kidding, right? I mean I almost had a heart attack with all the sports stuff (some of my mistakes: giAnts/BRAVES, aLER/NLER, sTl/OTT, and worst: bIBBS/GIBBS as I had CELIAn/nOb for Peon...)<br /><br />Throw in SUPERG, THOR, and PROXIMACENTAURI, apU/STU and I cry "Boy puzzle!" (DUSTMOP be damned!)<br /><br />That said, the musical/theater SRO, TEATRO, AMPAS, EMO, SKA, sort of balanced things out a bit for me...and, of course, KIBBITZ is my middle name!<br /><br />RPI I learned from Young Tyler, as it's his alma mater and I've seen "Wordplay" at least 5 times.<br /><br />When I see ANVIL I think of Wile E. Coyote and ACME, of course!<br /><br />Toughest part for me by far was 3Down! I had HONE----- I tried HONEyfitz (wasn't that JFK's dad's nickname?) HONEybear (I thought maybe a nickname for GHW Bush, so thoroughly have I erased Reagan from my cortex) and I even considered HONEycomb. I need to HONE my skills, clearly.<br />(MOUE face here)<br /><br />Don't mean to be Scrooge-like, but I get weirded out seeing Xmas clues (STOCKINGSTUFFER) in April.<br /><br />As for Kenny G., @ Rex, I have an idea!!! Sir, I pick up your gauntlet! Wanna work together?andrea kibbitz michaelsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-7447309480282525022011-04-23T19:20:59.133-04:002011-04-23T19:20:59.133-04:00Got it, but would not call it easy (even for a Sat...Got it, but would not call it easy (even for a Saturday). Actually, I found Friday's considerably easier, but cam see that I'm the minority.<br /><br /> I don't why, but I'm still sometimes surprised by this group I was going to write something about Pete Orr, obscure, seldon-used second baseman for the Phillies, and saw that several people had already done so.michaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26069284347340609562011-04-23T19:06:59.956-04:002011-04-23T19:06:59.956-04:00Not the least surprised by today's Easy, but I...Not the least surprised by today's Easy, but I did Yesterday's today too, and that seemed an order of magnitude more difficult -- twice as hard on a logarithmic scale.fergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8576987174766753462011-04-23T19:05:08.957-04:002011-04-23T19:05:08.957-04:00Wow...only 4 hours of sleep...no wonder I'm ra...Wow...only 4 hours of sleep...no wonder I'm rating this one a medium and it seemed easy at the time...only to find everyone saying how easy it was. Oh well, just happy to see Mr. HP. Great write-up, Rex. You've been less curmudgeonly of late. Happy spring!Shamikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11635283729322415150noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-85032402145196882482011-04-23T18:05:48.090-04:002011-04-23T18:05:48.090-04:00This 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 6:14, 6:53, 0.91, 17%, Easy<br />Tue 6:53, 8:55, 0.77, 2%, Easy (2nd lowest median solve time of 96 Tuesdays)<br />Wed 10:04, 11:45, 0.86, 21%, Easy-Medium<br />Thu 17:19, 19:06, 0.91, 37%, Easy-Medium<br />Fri 24:43, 26:11, 0.94, 37%, Easy-Medium<br />Sat 24:31, 30:29, 0.80, 8%, Easy (7th lowest median solve time of 89 Saturdays)<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:21, 3:40, 0.91, 16%, Easy<br />Tue 3:53, 4:35, 0.85, 6%, Easy (6th lowest median solve time of 96 Tuesdays)<br />Wed 5:11, 5:47, 0.90, 28%, Easy-Medium<br />Thu 8:57, 9:13, 0.97, 56%, Medium<br />Fri 10:55, 12:53, 0.85, 23%, Easy-Medium<br />Sat 13:01, 17:21, 0.75, 7%, Easy (6th lowest median solve time of 88 Saturdays)sanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56620686615652394812011-04-23T18:02:17.201-04:002011-04-23T18:02:17.201-04:00just wanted to check in. busy all day. No time to ...just wanted to check in. busy all day. No time to finish the puzzle or read all the comments. Hopefully I can do the puzzle tomorrow.<br /><br />captcha..reted=soaked flax. Gosh how did I remember that???chefbeahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15195945085405126511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-66356775337579320612011-04-23T17:54:02.111-04:002011-04-23T17:54:02.111-04:00davko, Good question about SRO.
With fire codes to...davko, Good question about SRO.<br />With fire codes today I doubt they can sell more tickets than seats.<br />Perhaps our teatro guru @Greene can give us his observation.<br />It was a novel clue for a frequent answer.Two Ponieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06896743444873087885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-81764060065352626832011-04-23T17:41:08.578-04:002011-04-23T17:41:08.578-04:00@I skip M-W: LOL - although, I think what you mig...@I skip M-W: LOL - although, I think what you might call the HSGS is just the Downhill.<br /><br />If anyone watches the Winter Olympics, they say "Super-G" all the time, as in "Bode Miller won the silver medal in the men's Super-G," or "Lindsey Vonn took home the bronze in the women's Super-G."JenCThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18290169184354765840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-18255747935706663882011-04-23T17:19:52.321-04:002011-04-23T17:19:52.321-04:00@jackj - right you are! i won a night of free drin...@jackj - right you are! i won a night of free drinks from a bartender in Princeton for getting that right. <br /><br />And for the Pete Orr fans, he was a utility infielder for the Braves for a few years. Though he's a hustler, he's got his work cut out for him before he's a household name...hazelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04627015904603641109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50522590139451198382011-04-23T16:44:35.449-04:002011-04-23T16:44:35.449-04:00So is next week going to be just brutal???So is next week going to be just brutal???Tobias Duncanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14828873893205954337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-25828664968793712792011-04-23T16:34:24.308-04:002011-04-23T16:34:24.308-04:00Like @joho I was missing the C in COG and thought ...Like @joho I was missing the C in COG and thought of dOG, so I Googled dog peon and up pops Dog Peon Cartoons and Comics. The first comic is a must read for all Rexites.<br /><br />Any Saturday that I can complete is reason for celebration. Had a couple of write-overs like DYES over tans, but all in all pretty darn clean.<br /><br />joho - glad your little puppy avatar is back, I was missing him the last few days.chefwenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03999206352243329280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-47111206436527539412011-04-23T16:33:39.088-04:002011-04-23T16:33:39.088-04:00Excellent puzzle! Most of it went very smoothly an...Excellent puzzle! Most of it went very smoothly and exceptionally fast for a Saturday, but then I needed twice as much time for the middle section.<br /><br />In the end I had two wrong letters: son for cog. Probably though scion instead of peon. <br /><br />Agree that you should NEVER say that line to someone who is already a procrastinator, and a tart is a shell with filling. The shell, when bought ready-made, is a tart or pie bottom.machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-7111512896230738972011-04-23T15:53:33.003-04:002011-04-23T15:53:33.003-04:00@ Mel Ott: The Phillies' second baseman Pete ...@ Mel Ott: The Phillies' second baseman Pete Orr is no household name yet, but is hitting .375 this year. If he keeps that up, maybe he'll earn a place in a NY Times crossword someday.<br /><br />Loved this puzzle for its traps, "aha" answers (like SUPER G), and referential winks (i.e., ALFA/PROXIMACENTAURI; BRAVES/NLER). Didn't care for the two UP- prefixes crossing in the NW, nor the "comment" to a procrastinator, but otherwise Nothnagel really delivers, as usual.<br /><br />Query: for all the times SRO shows up in puzzle after puzzle, has anyone actually <i>seen</i> such a sign in theatres (or, for that matter, TEATROS)? I, for one, never have... not even at sellouts.davkohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09661794533403708226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9673263095561973762011-04-23T15:48:16.717-04:002011-04-23T15:48:16.717-04:00@Mel Ott: The Phillies have a second baseman named...@Mel Ott: The Phillies have a second baseman named Pete Orr so there's hope for a baseball clue in his honor. All he has to do is keep Chase Utley off the diamond and establish himself as a player worthy of crossword inclusion. Yet to be seen...Chip Hiltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11944056030047563287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-78773907675422864992011-04-23T15:32:38.018-04:002011-04-23T15:32:38.018-04:00hazel@11:17 am-
The Braves broke my young heart ...hazel@11:17 am- <br /><br />The Braves broke my young heart when my favorite team, (and favorite player, Sam Jethroe), left Boston for Milwaukee and I haven't followed them since they left in that fateful winter of 1953. <br /><br />Still, I vaguely recall that the only player to be a Brave through all the moves was Eddie Mathews.jackjnoreply@blogger.com