tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post341186616024018994..comments2024-03-28T08:03:29.498-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: SUN 7-20-14 / Most hip / Low numero / Swaddles, e.g. Rex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger120125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9052536467887329742022-10-23T00:47:00.299-04:002022-10-23T00:47:00.299-04:00Once I got the basic theme (gain a pair, lose a pa...Once I got the basic theme (gain a pair, lose a pair), I felt it was a well-constructed theme, worth doing, but just a hair of slogging. That was about the time that I bothered to finish the center reveal -- and realized that the pairs were all from that central answer. I spent the remaining solving time in awe, such that I almost forgot whether the rest of the puzzle was "fun" -- the amazement carried me through.<br /><br />Just "wow".<br /><br />The theme answers were also interesting, not merely arcane or obsolete references to execute the theme. They're accessible words both with and without the bigrams. For this, I'll suffer a lot of crosswordese -- and there was very little outside the horrid east and west sections that buttress the reveal.Prunehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00224476641730508311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-90438812000985399662014-08-03T17:51:13.459-04:002014-08-03T17:51:13.459-04:00Messed up a bit with my Spanish at 42 D, had CASA ...Messed up a bit with my Spanish at 42 D, had CASA before SALA (and I should know better!)<br /><br />But from what language was the 9:38 AM post machine-translated?Bob Kerfufflehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02615811802419025933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-11285018517791231482014-07-28T19:54:55.261-04:002014-07-28T19:54:55.261-04:00@Rainy, your comments about @Spacy's post had ...@Rainy, your comments about @Spacy's post had me... just say I bespewed.<br /><br />No time yesterday to post, so I'm a day late to the party. Can't waste the golf weather we're having in the Pacific NW.<br /><br />I read the instructions before beginning and it seemed like an IQ test to just understand what the gimmic was. After reading it twice, with my lips moving, I decided to dive in and figure it out during the swim.<br /><br />There was no real AHA! moment - it just sorta slowly dawned on me what was happening. I actually think this was fun and very clever. And I wonder how long it took Eric to put this puzzle together.<br /><br />920 - L is for Loser.Solving in Seattlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04249420848844874936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31892789120991711152014-07-28T00:03:03.752-04:002014-07-28T00:03:03.752-04:00This was easier than average and more fun than ave...This was easier than average and more fun than average for me. I like when Sunday is novel. Kudos to the constructor.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-52450748105730892142014-07-27T21:24:44.944-04:002014-07-27T21:24:44.944-04:00This was a really interesting puzzle. Pretty easy ...This was a really interesting puzzle. Pretty easy solve in which I figured out the funky parts without really understanding the directions.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-37963257973033153322014-07-27T19:20:59.151-04:002014-07-27T19:20:59.151-04:00This one made me slap my Mama!
Now to cure my achi...This one made me slap my Mama!<br />Now to cure my aching head and hair I'm off to imbibe in a triple Cadillac margarita! At least tomorrow when my head hurts, I can remember the fun of a fiesta! KariSeattlehttp://yahoo.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-78564447260526539332014-07-27T19:13:46.784-04:002014-07-27T19:13:46.784-04:00Here here!
And ye shall know them by the fruit the...Here here!<br />And ye shall know them by the fruit they bear: Tom Cruise, ya hear?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-5521886455572116862014-07-27T18:59:13.631-04:002014-07-27T18:59:13.631-04:00I thoroughly disliked this puzzle. Omitting a coup...I thoroughly disliked this puzzle. Omitting a couple of letters was one thing; forcing you to unscramble them into a line was just too much when there were words that had to be made without the circles that had nothing to do with solving the puzzle really. Sure it was difficult; I am all about hard puzzles. This one was tedious and not fun.EmilyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12006745743125782939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8632410340002350002014-07-27T15:52:22.296-04:002014-07-27T15:52:22.296-04:00I think the directions really are not clear. I un...I think the directions really are not clear. I understand removing two letters to create a new word, but not adding two to create a new word. Fore example, #8 (yolk surrounder) requires a new word. The obvious word is "white," but in the context of this puzzle, that is itself a new word. I find it hard to believe that the puzzle creator could not have given clearer directions. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44603184999632067852014-07-27T15:48:28.811-04:002014-07-27T15:48:28.811-04:00Veni, vidi, vici, after a fashion. I need to "...Veni, vidi, vici, after a fashion. I need to "see" an answer in my mind's eye when I solve so adding and removing letters makes it extra challenging for me. Happily my paper has lots of room in the margins for me to write things and add/subtract letters to my heart's content and eventually I found all of those pesky bi-thingy critters and got them in their rightful places. In the end I have to conclude that "a little give and take" is a good thing.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-21935279473672287322014-07-27T15:00:20.097-04:002014-07-27T15:00:20.097-04:00I actually loved this puzzle, even though it was c...I actually loved this puzzle, even though it was challenging. Or, maybe because it was so challenging. The first one I got was trial/trivial and then I took off. Whoever remembered Keir Dullea...I do too...remember the movie being reviewed in Seventeen Magazine when I was about fourteen. Odd the things that stick. Anyway...the construction of the puzzle was brilliant, and I felt great when I finally solved.Junipernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-47772519035405865012014-07-27T14:39:01.877-04:002014-07-27T14:39:01.877-04:00@still confused - PRIVATE is one of the words from...@still confused - PRIVATE is one of the words from which two consecutive letters must be removed, in this case, IV. Removing them gives you PRATE, which means babble on. Note: the IV are then inserted into the starred "Piddling" at 88A, turning TRIAL into TRIVIAL.<br /><br />Also, in my previous post, I meant to say ENflag. Gettin' old.rnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-37411109234921482112014-07-27T14:30:09.612-04:002014-07-27T14:30:09.612-04:00If anyone is still reading at this late (syndicate...If anyone is still reading at this late (syndicated) date, can you explain BABBLE ON=PRIVATE?Still Confusednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-2415103736825127192014-07-27T14:23:16.548-04:002014-07-27T14:23:16.548-04:00@Spacey Man, you are the bees' knees. Your c...@Spacey Man, you are the bees' knees. Your comments are way more entertaining than the blogger's. I totally got "the point" re UP TO IT. When my sweetie asks me whether I'm UP TO IT, it's completely determined by my mood. <br /><br />I'm not a flagger, but if I were, I don't think I'd beflag 1A, but I always dorse your opinion, in a "we're all here together" sort of way.<br /><br />Well! I loved this puzzle, for the same reasons that others who loved it have stated. It is a rare Sunday where you don't feel like you are on a forced march, and the gradually revealed landscape is stunning. Mixing metaphors there, (beflag me). <br /><br />What is Photo Sphere? If I Google it, will I be bespammed? I'll go to the addresses instead.<br /><br />Aha! 135 I'll take cash.rain forestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10643884134914090472014-07-27T14:11:22.473-04:002014-07-27T14:11:22.473-04:00Haven't been here in a while. I'd forgotte...Haven't been here in a while. I'd forgotten what nerds you all are. <br /><br />I got 72a fairly early on, off three or four crosses combined with maybe five of the bi-grams. Once that was filled in the task was to fill in the remaining bi-grams. Got stuck for a while with two KE's when I wrote in SIleNce for "shaddup". Once I revisited that and corrected to SIT ON IT the rest was easy. REBU(KE)S and L(EG)ION were the last two to fall. <br /><br />Completed in about 75 minutes, which is faster than usual for me, and thanks to the multidimensional cross checking this puzzle's gimmick afforded I was able to enjoy a rare guess-free experience.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-35529014746662791462014-07-27T12:32:38.807-04:002014-07-27T12:32:38.807-04:00I wouldn't say this was a 48d. All Sunday grid...I wouldn't say this was a 48d. All Sunday grids, with their extra size, tend somewhat toward the SLOGgish, but this no worse than usual. It was kinda fun figuring out the words never clued: both shortened and extended. Just another gray-matter calisthenic; y'know, use it or lose it.<br /><br />Along with tedium, Sunday tends to produce questionable fill, just because there is so much of it. Today we have a couple of beauts--starting with 1a.<br /><br />[Okay, folks, as you all know, all pro sports leagues tweak their rulebooks each year. As the resident xword ref, I am no different. Here is the rule change for the 2014 season:<br /><br />ALL WORDS BEGINNING WITH "EN", WHEN THE ROOT WORD MEANS THE SAME THING AND IS IN COMMON USE, AND WHOSE "EN-" FORM IS NEVER USED OUTSIDE OF POETRY TO CORRECT THE METER, ARE HEREBY FLAGGABLE.]<br /><br />Thus, like ENSNARE before it, ENWRAPS gets the hankie. Since we now seem to be using letter grades rather than yardage, let's make it "automatic loss of one letter." So, the best Mr. Berlin can do out of the GATE would be B.<br /><br />Now let's go on another journey. Port of departure will be "In the mood;" destination UPTOIT. I hope there's a stopover on this trek, say, in Vladivostok or somewhere. I'd hate to go all that way without an opportunity to s-t-r-e-t-c-h (get the point?) my legs.<br /><br />Is there such a thing as an AIRPARK? For once, I don't mind the Romanumeral, since it has the CAESAREAN approval. What the hey, ya gotta allow ONE in such a big grid. So far, B-.<br /><br />The rest of the fill is as good as it gets. Theme and execution are marvelous. Someone complained that the bigrams weren't in order or symmetrical; that IMO would be asking way too much. It was a brilliant enough coup to pull off as is--enough to take the minus off and leave a straight B. See? I can do ALITTLEGIVEANDTAKE too!<br /><br />663 = 6, fair but beatable.spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-87217266806843516072014-07-24T19:26:19.245-04:002014-07-24T19:26:19.245-04:007/24/14
D says for the first time in 40 years he w...7/24/14<br />D says for the first time in 40 years he was defeated by the puzzle but A says this was lots of fun.<br /><br />Love,<br />D and AAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44967943739094195492014-07-21T22:13:56.863-04:002014-07-21T22:13:56.863-04:00I liked this one. Easier on paper with the instru...I liked this one. Easier on paper with the instructions, as noted. My objection is to "Sci-fi" to describe LRON Hubbard. Hubbard was a charlatan who has ruined many lives. As a fan of good science fiction, I'd never consider Hubbard a sci-fi writer.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-87721326953180446292014-07-21T22:10:17.357-04:002014-07-21T22:10:17.357-04:00There were instructions??? Stupid iPad app!!There were instructions??? Stupid iPad app!!Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07413506079474832736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-53999944242904301802014-07-21T20:34:44.872-04:002014-07-21T20:34:44.872-04:00Dang.
Now I'm thinking about mouse milk...Dang. <br /><br />Now I'm thinking about mouse milk...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-77504730310784685272014-07-21T12:31:22.184-04:002014-07-21T12:31:22.184-04:00This puzzle was like milking a mouse. Lots of int...This puzzle was like milking a mouse. Lots of intricate, difficult work and in the end not very much milk. And mouse milk at that.Bill Palmernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45784645585744184772014-07-21T09:29:54.135-04:002014-07-21T09:29:54.135-04:00To: jae; norm; Dansah; Joe Depinto: I agree compl...To: jae; norm; Dansah; Joe Depinto: I agree completely. Much easier and less irksome to solve if you ignore the instructions, forget about which missing letters go where (you don't need them) and solve as you would any puzzle, from the crosses. So my hair didn't hurt from this puzzle like it might have.Nancynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-85357426480114559562014-07-21T01:22:50.947-04:002014-07-21T01:22:50.947-04:00Realized partway through that there were some inst...Realized partway through that there were some instructions that were utterly missing from the new iOS app. Then I noticed that the new app also doesn't show puzzle titles on Sunday.<br /><br />But worst of all? As far as I can tell, the new app doesn't provide the name of the constructor if you pull up an older puzzle from the calendar (i.e., where "older" means any puzzle that is not the current one). If I were a constructor, I would be a touch annoyed about that lack of attribution.Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15336260911834780345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-23324195901092205732014-07-21T00:54:10.057-04:002014-07-21T00:54:10.057-04:00I hate to argue with you, @FredRom, because I thin...I hate to argue with you, @FredRom, because I think you're a honey, but you're wrong. I'm just quick with language and have an eye for detail. It's all spangles and flash; there are bigger and better brains than mine scattered all over the landscape.<br /><br />The only thing I'll say carefully about the Evil D is that he seems quick to judge.<br /><br />I do thank you for the complimentary thought, however.Leapfingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14243620614139990887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-34443655649955606092014-07-21T00:21:12.049-04:002014-07-21T00:21:12.049-04:00@John. Congratulations! I still remember the fi...@John. Congratulations! I still remember the first Sunday I completed. BTW, I think they get easier after that because you know that they're all about the same difficulty and you know that *you* can handle that difficult (not that I always finish, even now, but usually). :)<br /> Carry on, sir. paulsfohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07721639286466422944noreply@blogger.com