tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post3207457637745312840..comments2024-03-29T09:29:30.755-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Cloud Shepherd artist / SUN 12-22-13 / House committee chairman Darrell / Vintage wedding gown fabrics / Spanish cession in Spanish-American war / Majority owner of Chrysler / Rao Serpent Rope novelist / 1997 PGA champ who captained 2012 US Ryder Cup teamRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger76125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-53915311679455164442014-01-01T15:06:14.046-05:002014-01-01T15:06:14.046-05:00I solve the NYT puzzle with my wife - a great join...I solve the NYT puzzle with my wife - a great joint activity for us. I didn't see expected commentary regarding the miss-use of "tokenism" - which definitionaly would subvert equal rights; not support them. Or am I missing some grander design?Jisaacs2noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-19157820020218273402013-12-30T15:19:39.878-05:002013-12-30T15:19:39.878-05:00Like @Rainy, I, too, only solve the NYTcwpuz, main...Like @Rainy, I, too, only solve the NYTcwpuz, mainly so I can visit Rex's blog and catch some humor and insight from the posters. I don't have a dog in the fee foo fight, but I'm guessing there are constructors who would do it for free to be published in the NYT.<br /><br />As for Liz's Sunday "Angel" themed puz, there sure were a lot of variant spellings. No big deal.<br /><br />Didn't know RENVOI, and the "F" in FUELTANK came tough. "Give it the gas" is stretching it as a clue.<br /><br />Wouk is one of my favorite authors. I once attended a corporate off-site where we watched "The Caine Mutiny" as a management training tool.<br /><br />If you haven't seen Angel CABRERA hit a golf ball, it's an amazing sight.<br /><br />Capcha: morown suspended. Probably for bad spelling.<br />Solving in Seattlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04249420848844874936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9808056215828331162013-12-29T19:06:33.915-05:002013-12-29T19:06:33.915-05:00Faced with a one in two chance I will guess wrong ...Faced with a one in two chance I will guess wrong most of the time, so when the odds against me are worse than even I don't even bother to hazard a guess. Such was the case with FA_/_ENVOI.<br /><br />It's clear there is a dire need for constructors to organize and demand higher pay/more respect for their puzzles - they could call their organization CPCU (Crossword Puzzle Constructors Union), which I'm sure would find it's way into a grid almost instantaneously (put there by some Scab, no doubt).Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-81572301500657633592013-12-29T16:06:26.579-05:002013-12-29T16:06:26.579-05:00Though I tend to be ambivalent about circles and p...Though I tend to be ambivalent about circles and post-solve pictures, I realize the constructor is probably indulging a desire to do something different or challenging. I have no problem with that, and in this case, admire the feat<br /><br />A lttle trouble with the NE and the SE, but FAR dawned, as did TOKENISM. Overall, very enjoyable.<br /><br />As to what the dollar value is of an effort like today's, I really have no opinion. Considering the labour involved, as @M&A has discussed, some sense of the $/hr should be addressed. I'm sure some puzzles will only consume a few hours (or less) for a talented constructor, while others may need to toil longer. I don't think you can use time taken as a means of determining value. So, what of the esthetic/artistic/entertainment value of a puzzle? How do you factor in the prestige and publicity a constructor derives from having their work published in the NYT? <br /><br />Rex says that $200 for a weekly puzzle, and $1000 for a Sunday is too little. Does the LA Times pay more? Do puzzle anthologies pay more? Who knows? <br /><br />I only do the NYT puzzle. I don't buy books of collected puzzles, nor do I visit other xword sites. I think that whatever the constructors get from the NYT is what it is. Refusing to contribute is one way of stating your opinion, I guess. But others will, and we will attempt to solve them, and we will enjoy the challenge and the opportunity to contribute to this blog, with or without OFL's puzzles to solve.<br /><br />However, that said, I do enjoy this blog, and I know it is a non-profit, and I REALLY appreciate the efforts of OFL, 4-oh, Rex, Michael, despite the fact I frequently disagree with him, and so, as soon as I solve my capcha, I will make a contribution to the site.<br /><br />Go 'Hawks, Eagles, and Patriots (Canadian, eh?),rain forestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-81140354535663865492013-12-29T12:53:52.898-05:002013-12-29T12:53:52.898-05:00I do not draw. So far I have not seen one of these...I do not draw. So far I have not seen one of these dot-connect puzzles that couldn't have stood alone, without yer stupid circles, and without yer stupid pictures. Today is no exception.<br /><br />I liked the theme, the interesting ways to use the word ANGEL, the inclusion of it in the marquee answer and the idea that Michelangelo certainly deserves central billing. And yes, I do realize that it adds considerably to the construction effort to place letters in alphabetical order in certain spots on the grid--but the puzzle is just fine without that.<br /><br />Couple of spots gave me pause: I had to run the alphabet with FA_ for "Much." FAB? FAV? FAY? The cross was no help: _ENVOI; whatever that letter was, I wouldn't know the word. I finally thought about FAR--and actually recalled the Sidney Carton quote. FAR it was, but wow! What a clue! The same area made me fill in NERVED; that's not in common usage, at least in my experience. That was a frowner.<br /><br />Then the finish in the SE, troubling for the many unknowns there. I always spelled the Earth goddess GAiA, so it was a while sussing out TREETOPPER and that moneymaking PRINTAD. Tough corner, but I got through it all.<br /><br />Nice golf mini-theme, with the cleverly-separated DAVISLOVEIII (definitely the most delightfully original way to sneak in a triple-I that I've ever seen!) and the themer CABRERA.<br /><br />GO EAGLES!!!!spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67509284216854505232013-12-26T06:49:10.445-05:002013-12-26T06:49:10.445-05:00What does WSJ pay constructors for Saturday puzzle...What does WSJ pay constructors for Saturday puzzles?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26605716279065105012013-12-24T17:40:31.674-05:002013-12-24T17:40:31.674-05:00Drawing the angel gave me a few more squares which...Drawing the angel gave me a few more squares which made the puzzle easier for me. Still FAR RENVOI QUEEG is too rote for my tastes. That sort of thing d<br />So ruins it for me.Billynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91593321127327539282013-12-23T11:39:03.885-05:002013-12-23T11:39:03.885-05:00Sorry Rex, but Angel Of The Morning is really a M...Sorry Rex, but Angel Of The Morning is really a Merrilee Rush song.David Stehlenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-3955616116831303572013-12-23T09:55:43.652-05:002013-12-23T09:55:43.652-05:00Loved the puzzle and unlike Rex, it played medium-...Loved the puzzle and unlike Rex, it played medium-to-difficult for me. <br /><br />As for the rest of the post -- bingo. The crossword is 99 percent of why a hard copy of the NYT hits our driveway each day.nicknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-83595615732274155202013-12-23T00:40:46.033-05:002013-12-23T00:40:46.033-05:00To unknown at 5:17 PM
Angel investors who back sh...To unknown at 5:17 PM<br /><br />Angel investors who back shows. <br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_investorAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-221379967982875132013-12-22T22:23:00.807-05:002013-12-22T22:23:00.807-05:00People are still submitting to the NYT. Why does t...People are still submitting to the NYT. Why does the price need to go up? I don't think many people are suddenly going to stop solving the NYT crossword in the near future.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-57002316277599826542013-12-22T21:06:55.426-05:002013-12-22T21:06:55.426-05:00Nice diversion. Somewhat disappointed that it was...Nice diversion. Somewhat disappointed that it was not a more fitting tribute to the Anniversary, but I got over that.<br />I didn't read the blurb, so had a tough time in New England and Mid-Atlantic... Finally read the blurb, and figured out that it was an F and an I, had to ask Puzzle Spouse for ISSA, and finally finished.<br /><br />I was born in New Rochelle, founded by HUGUENOTs escaping persecution, so that was a gimme.<br />I've taken the TGV to La Rochelle - beautiful city.<br />@Gill - naybe we're related...<br /><br />I've also been to Les Baux, the eponymous town where BAUXITE was discovered - another French gimme crossing the other. There is a stunning castle there, on a spectacular outcropping of pure white limestone.<br /><br />@Bob K - I hope to be in Wesport - it's great that you'll be there! Anyone else?<br />Oh - and you had the same thought re" BLEU as moi.<br /><br />Oh - not having read the blurb, and my first two [blurb] answers from crosses were GOLFERCABRERA and MICHELANGELOSCULPTURE, I thought - "OK - A Michelangelo is scultupre is a "good one", and as far as golfers go, I guess the CABRERA guy is a "Good one" - so that's what I thought the trick was. Made it harder for me.<br /><br />Thanks, Liz, twas fun.<br /><br /><br />(Wow - my captcha was all numbers - a blessed street sign for me to be free human OCR for, and a very easy-to-read string of 8 numbers!)Titahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368251255494687496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-17957043339040137272013-12-22T20:30:19.986-05:002013-12-22T20:30:19.986-05:00Think Dickens: "It is a far far better thing ...Think Dickens: "It is a far far better thing I do.." - you could certainly use "much" as a synonym for "far" in that sentence.<br /><br />So I went with r, thinking "renvoi" sounded possible.<br /><br />As for NYTimes pay: disgraceful!<br />They should be ashamed. And all of you constructors need to organize a strike. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-2756859218352989762013-12-22T20:21:48.845-05:002013-12-22T20:21:48.845-05:00I think it a bit ironic that our host goes on abou...I think it a bit ironic that our host goes on about how the NYT underestimates the value of the puzzle. There is evidence that he underestimates the value of the contributions of posters to this blog. For example, in his commentary on the recent LMS snakes on a plane puzzle with Jeff Chen there was no appreciation of her contributions to this blog.<br /><br />There should be a revenue sharing policy for the main contributors to this blog (I do not consider myself one of them). The book "Who Owns the Future" by Jaron Lanier discusses this inequity.<br />r.alphbunkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00657275501845781384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-70671445468711375432013-12-22T18:07:07.525-05:002013-12-22T18:07:07.525-05:00This 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 7:08, 6:13, 1.15, 93%, Challenging<br />Tue 7:27, 8:12, 0.91, 21%, Easy-Medium<br />Wed 10:28, 9:56, 1.05, 66%, Medium-Challenging<br />Thu 24:56, 17:56, 1.39, 93%, Challenging<br />Fri 16:51, 19:47, 0.85, 25%, Easy-Medium<br />Sat no data<br />Sun 29:53, 29:48, 1.00, 55%, Medium<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 4:30, 3:49, 1.18, 95%, Challenging (11th highest ratio of 208 Mondays)<br />Tue 4:56, 5:09, 0.96, 35%, Easy-Medium<br />Wed 6:29, 5:58, 1.09, 73%, Medium-Challenging<br />Thu 16:33, 10:24, 1.59, 95%, Challenging (11th highest ratio of 208 Thursdays)<br />Fri 9:50, 11:32, 0.85, 25%, Easy-Medium<br />Sat no data<br />Sun 20:23, 20:23, 1.00, 47%, Mediumsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-81660495238436799652013-12-22T17:31:34.288-05:002013-12-22T17:31:34.288-05:00@Unknown - See the sixth definition@Unknown - See the <a href="http://www.thefreedictionary.com/angel" rel="nofollow">sixth definition</a>The Free Dictionaryhttp://www.thefreedictionary.com/angelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-73292110199404191102013-12-22T17:17:52.150-05:002013-12-22T17:17:52.150-05:00Feeling kind of dumb, but I don't understand h...Feeling kind of dumb, but I don't understand how SHOW BACKER is a definition of Angel...Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17958839694868513328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-30428174156713910242013-12-22T15:53:43.698-05:002013-12-22T15:53:43.698-05:00The Wall Street Journal just had this theme on Fri...The Wall Street Journal just had this theme on Friday, minus corny angel drawing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-11322719463705640302013-12-22T14:59:00.304-05:002013-12-22T14:59:00.304-05:00@Benko--yep. If yer puz is in a book, it would onl...@Benko--yep. If yer puz is in a book, it would only be respectful for you to at least get sent a copy of the book, autographed with the editor's thanx. And if that editor wants to slip in somethin extra for the old tip jar, more power to him/her.<br /><br />My $50 per U is on top of the $200/1000 base, btw. <br /><br />fave weejects: ACK, QUA, ZAP, ALG, GRR. Seems like QUA and ACK should have a future life together, in some sorta weird-ball puz theme.<br /><br />har, har, har... M&Arry Christmas.Last Silver Bulletnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-3960978453416145692013-12-22T14:52:20.579-05:002013-12-22T14:52:20.579-05:00@Benko: Really good point regarding the royalties....@Benko: Really good point regarding the royalties. There are very few creative works where the expectation is that you sell the work to the publisher for unlimited, exclusive use in perpetuity with no royalties (the norm is either nonexclusive and/or limited-time licensing, or exclusive/perpetual license with royalties). Given how many times puzzles may be republished and resold (through books, classic NYT puzzle packages for various crossword apps, etc.), that could represent a good amount of additional income opportunity. I'm sure it wouldn't represent a ton of money on an individual puzzle basis, but on principle it's a raw deal. Steve Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15185067739452052656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8838592414558269532013-12-22T14:39:15.573-05:002013-12-22T14:39:15.573-05:00Re: Constructor Pay
The thing that bothers me a l...Re: Constructor Pay<br />The thing that bothers me a lot more than the small pay for daily publication is the fact that constructors don't get paid any royalties for the reprinting of their puzzles. There are like 50 different NYT Crossword books at my local bookstore, and the constructors don't make a dime off of being sold that way. There should be some kind of royalty system for those puzzles good enough to sell on their own.<br />Re: Today's Puzzle<br />I also found that NE frustratingly difficult compared to the rest of the puzzle! Gorski always has a great sense of how to make a visual component to her themes.Benkonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-82863411459339435412013-12-22T14:38:00.777-05:002013-12-22T14:38:00.777-05:00P.S. I was looking forward to learning about this ...P.S. I was looking forward to learning about this 8D:MICHELANGELO_SCULPTURE, but can't find anything other than this apparent art-history footnote, a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_(Michelangelo)" rel="nofollow">20-inch marble statue</a> in Bologna. Was that really what the constructor had in mind? The other theme entries work as crossword clues for ANGEL, though 14D and 53D are mercifully unattested in xwordinfo; but cluing the word as "a sculpture in Bologna's basilica" based on that minor work would be technically correct but evil.<br /><br />As for 70D:TREE_TOPPER — just in case you don't know <a href="http://www.naute.com/jokes/angel.phtml" rel="nofollow">*why* there's an angel atop the tree</a>…<br /><br />NDENoam D. Elkiesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31821602943597021382013-12-22T14:26:52.844-05:002013-12-22T14:26:52.844-05:00Wanted FELTED and then MELTED(??) before settling ...Wanted FELTED and then MELTED(??) before settling on BELTED. Never heard of RENVOI. <br />@cascokid san at 12:23 - heh. I like it.GRnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-21484673164905175242013-12-22T13:48:32.143-05:002013-12-22T13:48:32.143-05:00p.s.
Suggested payscale: $50 per U.
har.p.s.<br />Suggested payscale: $50 per U.<br />har.M and Alsonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-5130031176339255022013-12-22T13:36:50.213-05:002013-12-22T13:36:50.213-05:00Obvious critique of this puz: Good One!
It's ...Obvious critique of this puz: Good One!<br /><br />It's Christmas Time, and time to agree with 4-Oh on (almost) everything, no matter how wobbly or not:<br /><br />1. sUnthUmbsUp. E-O-leven U's; lil angels.<br /><br />2. How many hours does a constructioneer spend on a daily nytpuz? If two, then that's 100 bucks an hour, less postage and handling. If twenty hours(like me), then less than minimum wage. So, life of poverty, but thrill of torturing millions of New Yorkers. I say that's icing on a mighty thin cake; let them eat the cake, too -- and pay em what they deserve. Whatever that is. <br /><br />3. Fireball puzs are the best, pound for pound. But they only have to crank out 45 masterpieces a year. Try tellin Michaelangelo to crank out one every day-um day. He'd squawk a lot, and you'd get a few meh ashtays amongst the artworks. I'm not sure this has anything to do with what 4-Oh just said, so probably I digress... so what else is new?<br /><br />Peace on Earth, and Good Will toward Weejects,<br />M&AMasked and Angelicnoreply@blogger.com