tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post3329139901036586301..comments2024-03-29T01:22:33.864-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Cyrillic letter between kha che / SAT 11-3-12 / 13th-century empire founder / Politico Michael / Union in 1999 news / Antagonistic org in Simpsons movie / 1990s party name / What may follow NO / Speaker of film line This mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize itRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61268250323481954072020-11-03T19:04:18.410-05:002020-11-03T19:04:18.410-05:00@Sandy K 1:01 PM
Doing this puzzle Nov. 3, 2020 -...@Sandy K 1:01 PM<br /><br />Doing this puzzle Nov. 3, 2020 - I echo your experience! Did manage to NOT dnf, so both challenging and fulfilling. :)<br /><br /><br /><br />Peace 🕊bocamphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02524629632075020985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44527370770722751002013-03-16T06:05:40.357-04:002013-03-16T06:05:40.357-04:00Never thought that there are lots of strategies in...Never thought that there are lots of strategies in the game. Though sometimes I use <a href="http://www.anagrammer.com/scrabble-words/2-letter-words" rel="nofollow">scrabble two letter cheat sheet</a> just for the winnings. I only use it if I were playing it with my family :DErnie Boyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04075081291979441992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-3728496060165038752012-12-10T03:18:48.766-05:002012-12-10T03:18:48.766-05:00Thought some of the cluing was kinda clumsy, but Y...Thought some of the cluing was kinda clumsy, but YOST wasn't a problem (had it once I saw my first instinct - GAEDEL - wouldn't fit.<br /><br />How does SERIES make any sense for "Season finale?"? Is that referring to the World Series being the end of the baseball season? Just Series, without World?!? Are you kidding me?<br /><br />I also agree with an earlier complaint about FOX for "Young hunk, say" because hunk is male while fox is female, and while I'm at it, how does "young" illuminate the answer any?<br /><br />I also wasn't crazy about REORGANIZE for "Modify an order?" but I guess I can't put that one in the "unfair" category.<br /><br />My own natick was ACHESON/SEIS. I ended up with ACHERON/REIS, thinking that the word for a Spanish cardinal was similar to the word for king. Acheson should have been in my head somewhere.<br /><br />bananfishnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-33290006897744639022012-12-08T19:57:34.599-05:002012-12-08T19:57:34.599-05:00Had "eighteEn" for 3D.Had "eighteEn" for 3D.Hugh Hefnernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-77282881184317084052012-12-08T18:13:10.994-05:002012-12-08T18:13:10.994-05:00Time now to chew the QAT. Same gimmes as @rain wit...Time now to chew the QAT. Same gimmes as @rain with the exception of MYAIMISTRUE which took me forever to suss out. Strong commitment to VOLTMETER before WATTMETER made the SW more difficult than it needed to be abetted by GROUNDS before ROTUNDA. And had RAVAGED before RAVINED (huh?) in the mid-Atlantic area. Would have preferred a clew referencing Chairman Mao for TSE - luckily for me, Michael STEELE is such a fixture on CNN that even this Canuck is familiar with him. Got SEIS from its crosses but had to Google before understanding a connection to a Spanish cardinal anything.<br /><br />Always liked the fact that an anagram for PURITAN is A TURNIP. <br /><br />Time now for some refreshment before the Sunday crossword. A NIP of AQUAVITAE sounds promising.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Waxy in Montrealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04395751487137805245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-51835633141126450642012-12-08T13:25:46.045-05:002012-12-08T13:25:46.045-05:00Some crosses are Naticks for some, and gimmes for ...Some crosses are Naticks for some, and gimmes for others. I blanked for a period of time, and then scanned the puzzle for gimmes which turned out to be YOST, MYAIMISTRUE, LEEELDER, ACHESON, HAL, and ON NOW (once I got ACHESON). Everything else came quickly except for my personal Natick, the TSE/STEELES cross. I was sure the actress was EHLO (sounds more like a real name to me), and for me, Michael Steele is completely unknown. I plead Canadianism. Except for that cross this was easier than yesterday's for me.<br />It's hard to believe that some people hit by Sandy still don't have power. Hang in there, folks.rain forestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-37484613042956108402012-12-08T12:57:10.962-05:002012-12-08T12:57:10.962-05:00And that is why, @Amelia, I'm on a campaign to...And that is why, @Amelia, I'm on a campaign to rid grids of the awful scourge, the LONG/SHORT vowel sounds. Let me give an example of a SHORTO while expressing my displeasure: AAAAAUGH! STOP IT!!! My reasoning, beyond mere personal distaste, is that you can use any old word in your clue that has the requisite phonetic, thus sending the solver on an infinite number of wild goose chases. I'm getting too damn old to go off after "untamed fowl," as Spock would say.<br /><br />This was hard but gettable (just) for me. Gimmes ACHESON, HAL and RAMIS--the latter two representing two of my very favorite movies--were still not enough to bring my rating down. OFL, this may be hard to believe, but some of us are [gasp!] NOT fans of Elvis Costello. Without knowing OSMAN, THALIA, ASTANA or that album title (note: album titles were never that important to me, even of bands that I loved)--and battling endweek clues like "What may follow 'NO'"--today was no picnic. It all came BIT by BIT after much headscratching and pondering. I made a face at SOVIETRUBLE--wasn't it just called the ruble?--but I guess it's OK. 59a really threw me for a while before the aha! of EXXONMOBIL--I own some!--because I was stuck on the ORGANIZational meaning of "union." By now I should know better. And what a strange definition for AMORAL: "Not ikely to judge." TRUE enough, I suppose, but that has to be the kindest way to describe that word I've ever heard.<br /><br />Finished with no help or errors, but with a "Whew!"Spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80497305696511733102012-11-05T17:16:09.112-05:002012-11-05T17:16:09.112-05:00@Dirigonzo
Thanks so much for the kind words. It ...@Dirigonzo<br /><br />Thanks so much for the kind words. It is no imposition to provide a hot meal and shower (and newsprint) to people in their 80's. They're good company, too. They desperately want to go home to their own things, but no power yet. Dead zones abound in Manhattan, despite all the news you hear. As for the puzzle, the very last thing I got was longi. Longi? What the hell? Twenty minutes later, I (long I) got it.Amelianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-40358620583124161612012-11-05T17:01:51.313-05:002012-11-05T17:01:51.313-05:00@Amelia - congratulations on your persistence, you...@Amelia - congratulations on your persistence, your generosity and your appreciation of solving on paper. These are all commendable traits in my opinion! I hope your refugees are able to return to their own homes soon.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-63221837067051720212012-11-05T16:43:54.623-05:002012-11-05T16:43:54.623-05:00Easy to Medium????
Good grief. I just finished ...Easy to Medium???? <br /><br />Good grief. I just finished it. I didn't look up a single thing, but man I was struggling. I'm embarrassed that I didn't get PQR sooner. I was wondering why the NO was in all caps. As difficult as I found it, I enjoyed it immensely. Another thing. Because I have refugees from Hurricane Sandy in the house, I graciously gave up the newspaper and was doing the puzzle online. That's no fun at all! Give me newsprint every time!Amelianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-86826554876977707212012-11-04T12:31:20.430-05:002012-11-04T12:31:20.430-05:00Everything was fun until the NE. What follows &qu...Everything was fun until the NE. What follows "BULL".Notsofastnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24466707942545873302012-11-03T22:20:12.961-04:002012-11-03T22:20:12.961-04:00This week's relative difficulty ratings. See m...This week's relative difficulty ratings. See my 8/1/2009 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 6:25, 6:47, 0.95, 30%, Easy-Medium<br />Tue 10:10, 8:58, 1.13, 85%, Challenging<br />Wed 11:45, 11:50, 0.99, 52%, Medium<br />Thu 15:35, 18:47, 0.83, 21%, Easy-Medium<br />Fri 20:49, 24:24, 0.85, 25%, Easy-Medium<br />Sat 27:01, 29:06, 0.93, 34%, Easy-Medium<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:41, 3:41, 1.00, 55%, Medium<br />Tue 5:45, 4:41, 1.23, 97%, Challenging (7th highest median solve time of 175 Tuesdays)<br />Wed 6:23, 5:57, 1.07, 73%, Medium-Challenging<br />Thu 9:19, 9:22, 0.99, 57%, Medium<br />Fri 12:07, 12:10, 1.00, 52%, Medium<br />Sat 14:56, 16:30, 0.91, 33%, Easy-Mediumsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45128145453622440172012-11-03T20:23:10.034-04:002012-11-03T20:23:10.034-04:00YOST was also spelled JOOST. (Known from that gre...YOST was also spelled JOOST. (Known from that great board game, All-Star Baseball, where his at-bats were delineated by wide swaths for Walks.) Had enough trouble in the NE by having penned in ALMATY. And oops, left in FOE for FOX, figuring an EMAN was something comical.fergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-77504220236920765862012-11-03T20:00:28.872-04:002012-11-03T20:00:28.872-04:00I had completed the bottom half of the grid but wa...I had completed the bottom half of the grid but was in deep trouble up top when weekend puzzle partner stopped by and started popping in answers like she'd been doing Saturday puzzles for years (she still struggles with early week grids). Our combined efforts finished the puzzle pretty quickly (for us) with only OWS: MPiA/iSTANA. When she filled in the obvious "NO" follower to complete the grid all I could say was, "I taught you that".<br /><br />Loved the shout out to my favorite onomastician at 27a!<br /><br />My sympathy goes out to Rexites in the NY/NJ/mid-Atlantic area who are suffering the lingering effects of superstorm Sandy - the suffering and hardship caused by the storm are unimaginable but I hope life returns to some semblance of "normal" soon.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-30602676417286728982012-11-03T19:45:56.593-04:002012-11-03T19:45:56.593-04:00This was a tough one for me. I finished, with no m...This was a tough one for me. I finished, with no mistakes, but it took awhile. I have been doing the NYT puzzle, for many years. Am I that dumb(rhetorical)?Stevlb1https://www.blogger.com/profile/03814855846710624128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-39215838269385122752012-11-03T18:41:59.159-04:002012-11-03T18:41:59.159-04:00Not easy for me, but it's been a distracting S...Not easy for me, but it's been a distracting Saturday. I don't use AIR QUOTES myself, but I really should have gotten that one sooner. <br /><br />Was determined in having the 17A head-turner clue be something anatomical, so that took awhile as well. <br /><br />Good workout, just tougher than most. <br /><br />We almost named our first-born Allison, so MY AIM IS TRUE is a great entry. Milfordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04923019988243284636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-47931404474708695492012-11-03T18:22:57.130-04:002012-11-03T18:22:57.130-04:00My Politio Micheals and others were STOOLES.My Politio Micheals and others were STOOLES.Because it's funnier that way..noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-79342001596041930942012-11-03T17:29:39.879-04:002012-11-03T17:29:39.879-04:00Great puzzle. Easy-medium here also.
AIR QUOTES a...Great puzzle. Easy-medium here also.<br /><br />AIR QUOTES and MY NAME IS TRUE needed a LOT of crosses before emerging. YOST was clear from _O_T. HAL was a gimme; ditto LEE ELDER. AIR ACE for 44D, <br /><br />TRIADS for 35A, and SENATOR @ 53A were speed bumps. ARAB to me is an ethnic group; the horse is an Arabian. So the clue of 58A seemed a bit off to me, even though it is correct.<br /><br />The NW in particular was the most fun to solve - the whole puzzle, however, was a winner. Enjoyed 23A, which was SE_S, and the aha moment when I put in the I. Speaking of onomastics, I was looking here for something like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaime_Sin" rel="nofollow">Jaime Cardinal SIN</a>, perhaps my favorite name of all time.<br /><br />Thanks. Mr. Beckman. retired_chemisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13181126754941899228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-34377230161684546532012-11-03T17:08:07.640-04:002012-11-03T17:08:07.640-04:00Liked it, though I found it challenging. Would hav...Liked it, though I found it challenging. Would have been even more so if I did not know MYAIMISTRUE (part of the lyric from "Alison"). Really liked the AMI repetition in TSUNAMI, NAMING, RAMIS for some reason. Also really liked the clues and answers for AIRQUOTES & IHOPENOT. Could have had more fun with the clue for WINGMAN.<br /><br />I was intimidated a bit by all that wide open white space, but any Saturday that I don't have to google is a good day.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04551716499829677518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-19658596236874928112012-11-03T16:08:37.069-04:002012-11-03T16:08:37.069-04:00Heads up, all. BEQ puzzle tomorrow!Heads up, all. BEQ puzzle tomorrow!John Vhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10557037910799243636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-76833964301081295702012-11-03T15:22:16.058-04:002012-11-03T15:22:16.058-04:00West was medium, East was haunted by Big Gene, IMH...West was medium, East was haunted by Big Gene, IMHO. TSE? EHLE? Bah. RAVINED feels made up. Maybe I've just been too HURICANED or TORNADOED or NOREASTERED or WHATEVERED.<br /><br />NO trail was clever, liked that one.<br /><br />Okay, end of Sandy cranky pants. Power is supposed to come on today. Watched a kid from Oklahoma working atop a power pole, in front of Andy Rooney's old house, cowboy hat atop his safety helmet. Cool. John Vhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10557037910799243636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-84576156880246591832012-11-03T14:30:08.102-04:002012-11-03T14:30:08.102-04:00This one was apparently right in my wheelhouse (ev...This one was apparently right in my wheelhouse (even though I didn't know the Costello album), as I achieved my best-ever Saturday time, by a lot. My progression through the puzzle was basically NW, SW, SE, then a short hang-up in the NE. The ASTANA/YOST Natick was annoying, though — I just started randomly guessing plausible letters until the iPad app said I was good (for the record, 'S' was my third guess, after 'L' and 'N').<br /><br />Loved seeing EIGHT BIT in this puzzle, as it brought me back to my misspent youth playing Nintendo (and blowing in cartridges to make them work). I enjoyed all the long across entries in the NW. And AMORAL crossing AMORES in the SW was kinda cute. Like our host, I also enjoyed EXXON MOBIL for the double-Xs (which briefly made me suspect I'd screwed up down there).<br /><br />As far as some of the weirder ones go, I knew QAT from Scrabble, TRINES from a random computer game, and OSMAN from who knows where (not from crosswords, though). And somehow I remembered RAMIS immediately, which is unusual for me as I have a hard time remembering who directed what.<br /><br />So overall I found this a treat — fun enough for me to overlook EHLE and TSE (couldn't we get a less awful clue for TSE, though?), and the awkward adjective RAVINED.Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15336260911834780345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-40447638776916748512012-11-03T14:24:08.650-04:002012-11-03T14:24:08.650-04:00" " EASY MEDIUM" " LOL @ anon ..." " EASY MEDIUM" " LOL @ anon CJ! Admittedly My time would have been much shorter if I had trusted my first instincts,but time and again I balked and backpedaled.OSMAN and THALIA were pure GIMMEES;AQUAVITAE AND WINTER the few quess I went with. EHLE TSE STEELES TRINE LEEELDER YOST all WTH'S REORGANIZE my most regretted cowardice.syndyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16814698406887041710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26704231757854621762012-11-03T14:14:22.146-04:002012-11-03T14:14:22.146-04:00Got everything except NNW thanks to my fixating on...Got everything except NNW thanks to my fixating on AIR GUITAR, which sort of made sense, given air violins and such. It led me perfectly to GAT, UTAH, INCAN, and THALIA, then the gears clashed. Cold brown beers might be a cause for head-turning, but not HOT TAN ALES. And who know what a CHEAT'N HOST would give as a final answer, except to let an RSVP fall through the cracks. Grrr. But fun.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-55930884138200972032012-11-03T13:36:11.151-04:002012-11-03T13:36:11.151-04:00Naticked like many, but learning about Mr. YOST wa...Naticked like many, but learning about Mr. YOST was worth it. Coincidence, I guess, that he died just last month.<br /><br />Puzzle-husband came up with POTIT instantaneously...a great clue indeed!<br /><br />Like y'all pointing out TRINES crossing those three EEEs.<br /><br />Ha ha - ACME - you are an onomastician par excellence!<br /><br />@Rex - thx for the Michael STEELE pic.<br /><br />@J Caesar - you are my hero.Titahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368251255494687496noreply@blogger.com