tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post3443290225021678163..comments2024-03-29T09:37:45.612-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Italian actress Eleonora / FRI 11-1-13 / Pre-WWI in automotive history / Fiacre to taxi drivers / Croupier's stick material / Tourist attraction on Texas Pedernales River / Isaac Bashevis Singer settings / Champagne for one sleuth / Arcade game prize grabber / Classic kitschy wall hangingRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-25404112158317661842022-06-19T20:44:07.750-04:002022-06-19T20:44:07.750-04:00I had good, tough fun with this until the Naticks ...I had good, tough fun with this until the Naticks ruined the (lack of) finish for me. I'm familiar with DOCTOROW as an author, but only by surname. LORI, DUSE, and NIENTE are all outside my wheelhouse -- although I have to accept a penalty for not remembering Lori Loughlin, whom I have seen in a couple of things.<br /><br />I also got shot down in the NE, where I had LOW CAL and JILTED, further complicated by mis-writing BROACH from ... well, I was on the wrong clue, and mis-read *that* due to the radio interview in the background. Still, I don't see myself getting the E of JILTEE/THEM. Still a Natick there.Prunehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00224476641730508311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-76009046077972213472013-12-06T18:53:11.727-05:002013-12-06T18:53:11.727-05:00@rainy sez he went in 'fits and starts', w...@rainy sez he went in 'fits and starts', well I went in 'fits and stops'. <br /><br />The SW was easiest, knew DUSE, LORI and of course COUGAR; we have a fine WSU campus here in Vancouver. Also knew FALLENHEM, (it happens when a high heel gets caught). Most of the rest was WOE and WTF. Guessed right on TARNISH, after guessing right on PETAL, but there were many places where I had no guess at all. <br /><br />After a Google or 2 or 3, and some other cheating, I got-er-done, and looking at the completed grid I think 'How could I not have gotten that?' My congrats to everyone who finished.<br /><br />The Hawks figure to have a real test this Sunday, an away game, with a short week to get ready. GO HAWKS! Gingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07156872089175084024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-54605771781112397902013-12-06T18:02:47.555-05:002013-12-06T18:02:47.555-05:00I didn't know either Loughlin or Petty of Holl...I didn't know either Loughlin or Petty of Hollywood, or the Italian actress; the crosses were no help. DNF but got a lot further than I expected to when after about an hour into it I was staring at a still mostly-empty grid.<br /><br />Didn't we recently see the Bay TREE in a puzzle with the same concerns expressed in the comments as today?Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-66342660653456684352013-12-06T17:56:20.717-05:002013-12-06T17:56:20.717-05:00As with @spacecraft, MAO was a gimme but little el...As with @spacecraft, MAO was a gimme but little else. Had to google FIACRE - even with SAINT in place - as it meant NIENTE to me and (shame) THEM, as I was certain 18A was jilteD.<br /><br />Had BLUEFISH, TALLY, PESTO (before PETAL), OLIVIA (right play, wrong character) and IMPAINED, none of which helped.<br /><br />Loved VELVETELVIS and the subtle reference to the VELVETFOG in the same grid. Not so much FALLENHEM and TORTREFORM which took a lot of slogging for minimal enjoyment.<br /><br />Overall, a very fun Friday (as my grandkids say).Waxy in Montrealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04395751487137805245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-23349981995662788852013-12-06T17:18:00.025-05:002013-12-06T17:18:00.025-05:00This puz was TRying. BROaCH/FaTO here. witch befor...This puz was TRying. BROaCH/FaTO here. witch before CRONy before CRONE. My croupier'stick was first made of bAmboo. Only learned CLAWCRANE last week while being show an arcade in Seattle. Was head faked by 9D, throwing in thealamo with no crosses. Took awhile to work through the @Diri country. <br />Of the many languages I do not know Yiddish is one of them, so SHTETLS was totally on crosses and I schtill didn't believe it.<br />OVERBID is what I did a lot of during my college bridge playing days.<br />Brad Wilber gave us a bunch of gimmees here, but also a bunch of tough meat to chew.<br /><br />Have a good weekend, Syndies, and Go Hawks!<br /><br />Capcha: shotom. A very tired yoga chant?Solving in Seattlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04249420848844874936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-5600016319490696962013-12-06T16:38:52.151-05:002013-12-06T16:38:52.151-05:00Being a native Baltimoron, BLUECRAB went right in....Being a native Baltimoron, BLUECRAB went right in. Oh, for a reliable supply of it out West. Whenever I visit Maryland, my first stop is always G&M Restaurant in Linthicum, home of fabulous, softball-sized crab cakes.<br /><br />Never heard of CLAW CRANE. When I was a kid going to Gwynn Oak Park we always just called them claw machines.<br /><br />Would NIENTE have worked as the Dracula reflection?<br /><br />There's another really great LOKI character in Daniel Suarez's <i>Daemon</i>, a sci-fi novel which, along with its sequel <i>Freedom™</i>, I highly recommend.<br /><br />It took a while, but I teased everything out except for the NE, with a big hinder from the aforementioned CLAWCRA??. I figured mi esposa would know about Miss Havisham, and penned in JILTEd. Which gave me the mysterious THdM. Given how much I know about JC Oates, why not?<br /><br />Loved seeing a really fine contemporary musician who is not some pop crapster/rapster: the wonderful Ms. Bonnie Raitt.Cary in Bouldernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-63633039407603272632013-12-06T13:48:35.665-05:002013-12-06T13:48:35.665-05:00Challenging but gettable. I put in NONTITLE witho...Challenging but gettable. I put in NONTITLE without a cross, and changed OILsands to OILSHALE when I parsed BEERCAN, and from there went in fits and starts. Lucky guess on SHTETLS and a wtf on BRASSERA (was brass the shiny metal of choice on cars back then?). Another guess on IMRUINED, and getting ELDOCTOROW, gave me the LORI, DUSE, ORSINO triumvirate. <br /><br />Is that thing that picks up teddy bears really called a CLAWCRANE?<br /><br />I don't think that @Spacecraft has reason to throw a flag here. Granted, FALLENHEM comes close.<br /><br />Pretty solid puzzle, overall.<br /><br />capcha: yearfar. Could be 2045rain forestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-7496086470442781322013-12-06T13:20:20.361-05:002013-12-06T13:20:20.361-05:00ENORME DNF for me; got the NW, SE and E, and that ...ENORME DNF for me; got the NW, SE and E, and that was it. Had VELVETELVIS and VACANT--and even MAO, a rare gimme--in place, but could go no further. The only fox hunt cry I know is "Tally ho!" and I didn't think you could just use "tally" by itself, without the "ho." Never heard of FOGIN. And so on. This thing was riddled with the twin woes of "that could be anything" and WTF??? DUSE, really? We have a serious challenger for Miss Obscurity 2013, folks!<br /><br />Also, a big frown for "Culmination" as a clue for ACME. I see the connection, I guess, but it's really threadbare. I don't think I'd have gotten much--if ANY--farther with ACME, but that clue still gets the spacecraft flag.spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-36906990038152176612013-11-09T14:50:10.330-05:002013-11-09T14:50:10.330-05:00Never say die. Finally finished with no cheats. V...Never say die. Finally finished with no cheats. Very enjoyable and difficult puzzle from a master.<br /><br />D and AAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-28086591931467753512013-11-02T06:58:31.433-04:002013-11-02T06:58:31.433-04:00The orange garnish on sushi is sea urchin roe. Bay...The orange garnish on sushi is sea urchin roe. Bay laurel is a shrub, not a tree, only grows 3-4 feet high. Oil shale is a source for crude, not an alternative. The puzzle was easy, but several clues were off. johnrantahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18348548766177225135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31254003942543590662013-11-01T23:56:16.385-04:002013-11-01T23:56:16.385-04:00This 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 7:13, 6:07, 1.18, 97%, Challenging (8th highest ratio of 201 Mondays)<br />Tue 7:16, 8:15, 0.88, 16%, Easy<br />Wed 11:06, 9:44, 1.14, 81%, Challenging<br />Thu 20:04, 16:44, 1.20, 81%, Challenging<br />Fri 23:02, 18:38, 1.24, 88%, Challenging<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 4:16, 3:46, 1.13, 91%, Challenging<br />Tue 4:36, 5:09, 0.89, 13%, Easy<br />Wed 6:15, 5:37, 1.11, 79%, Medium-Challenging<br />Thu 13:11, 9:30, 1.39, 89%, Challenging<br />Fri 12:57, 10:42, 1.21, 81%, Challengingsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-85999695468513035892013-11-01T20:12:14.681-04:002013-11-01T20:12:14.681-04:00E.L. Doctorow: a wonderful novelist who gets the d...E.L. Doctorow: a wonderful novelist who gets the details right. Unlike a tome recently reviewed by S. King (NY Times Bk Review). Its Chapter One occurs at the Metropolitan Museum. The author refers to the Grand Staircase as the "Great Staircase," and has a firefighter near 79th leaning off the truck able to see the Temple of Dendur, only three blocks away, at the north side of the museum. But the first chapter has such other serious problems (did the author mention the young boy had a terrible headache?) these were minor mistakes. Cured me of trying fiction for another ten years...other than classic. Still so many of those, still to do.. <br /><br />@Acme: the LBJ play up on Brattle Street sold out in like, 5 minutes.<br />Can you say, in like five minutes here? <br /><br />@ AliasZ Nero Wolfe a gourmand? Because he was huge? With Fritz in the kitchen, Nero Wolfe was a true gourmet.<br />Oh, and Mr. Stout produced the Nero Wolfe Cookbook with the authentic recipes of menus featured in the books, with comments by Archie Goodwin, whose appetite was hardy- Midwestern, as appropriate to one from Chillicothe. But Goodwin also became a gourmet, sitting 'at table' with Wolfe three times a day.balanchinenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-88050278260163090572013-11-01T20:03:33.487-04:002013-11-01T20:03:33.487-04:00This one was chock full of stuff I didn't know...This one was chock full of stuff I didn't know at all. Thankfully, it also had a lot of stuff I did, allowing me to finish about two minutes outside my usual Friday time. I like to think of myself as fairly well read, but every now and again a crossword puzzle reminds me that I'm only well read within thin veins of personal interest. I've heard of Doctorow but have never read anything he's written and couldn't name a one. Ditto, Singer, whose name just screamed out: "He writes about life in SHTETLS!" Never read <i>Great Expectations</i>, so the only Ms. Havisham I know is from <i>Caddyshack</i>. FIACRE? Pfffft! Secured exclusively from crosses. By the same token, WOLFE went in like buttah. <br /><br />Dug guessing RATTAN correctly and knowing LBJRANCH off the clue. Mini music theme with the Beatles, TORME, RAITT, ELVIS and a tip o' the cap to Lou Reed? <br /><br />Liked it. Challenging. Fun. Not a lot of gunk. <br /><br />But...it's the CRANE CLAW that picks up the prize. Sheesh!August Westhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09919963003128838777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-4917098010798577892013-11-01T19:57:12.732-04:002013-11-01T19:57:12.732-04:00If you ignore the SW, this was a really good puzzl...If you ignore the SW, this was a really good puzzle--VELVET ELVIS in particular brought up fond memories of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPE3p4kLgL8" rel="nofollow">Weird Al.</a><br /><br />But the SW? Ugh. "Hmm, all that's left is OR?INO and NI?NTE. I don't read many plays and I don't know Italian, so the crossing will have to finish this puzzle off for me. Oh how convenient, the crossing is basically a <i>combination</i> of the two things I didn't know."Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15336260911834780345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-83131335311393391252013-11-01T18:52:07.077-04:002013-11-01T18:52:07.077-04:00DNF. Got the bottom half, next to zippo on top. M...DNF. Got the bottom half, next to zippo on top. Me no likee, due to my lack of knowledge of Maryland seafood, arcade games, LBJ, boxing, obscure saints, Joyce Carol Oates's oeuvre, clues for ACME that don't involve Wile E. Coyote (OK should have gotten that one). Also slavish devotion to SHALE OIL (OIL SHALE is a source, not a product like crude), WITCH (I live in Salem MA) and JILTED.<br /><br />Enjoyed the struggle though.Andy from bawstinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-3635623273244564472013-11-01T18:51:09.447-04:002013-11-01T18:51:09.447-04:00wow, fabulous, @AliasZ!
(esp the TORTeREFORM!)
Lov...wow, fabulous, @AliasZ!<br />(esp the TORTeREFORM!)<br />Love when a puzzle like this inspires folks like you or @Joho or @GillP to create a whole story...<br /><br />I like how VELVETELVIS looks like a palindrome...<br /><br />not to mention the LORI/LOKI is sort of cool!<br /><br />(Still trying to get back down to LA...LAX finally reopened.<br />Nightmare. But the bar mitzvah must go on!)ACMEnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26076636874511560932013-11-01T17:34:16.027-04:002013-11-01T17:34:16.027-04:00Stared blankly at first and then I got ASSTS, ACTI...Stared blankly at first and then I got ASSTS, ACTIV and VELVETELVIS and I was in!<br /><br />Burned in the NE. Even with TORTRE_OR_ I couldn't get it. Had nOnFAT on top and couldn't work through it. DNF.<br /><br />So be it. Still enjoyed it.gifcanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12612467417938884430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-30962349759682005512013-11-01T17:21:44.406-04:002013-11-01T17:21:44.406-04:00Nero WOLFE, the private detective of Rex Stout nov...Nero WOLFE, the private detective of <i>Rex</i> Stout novels, was a gourmand. Isn't it funny that a guy named Stout writes about a rather corpulent private eye?<br /><br />I can imagine WOLFE sitting in a French BRASSERA, whose PATRONS AIN'T bad looking at all, dining on BLUE CRAB and SMELT ROE, and finishing it off with some Darjeeling tea (JILTEE for short), and red velvet cake in the shape of Elvis, advertised as the VELVET ELVIS cake. No LOWFAT diet for him. He was rather ENORME, and has always gotten the LION's share at dinner. He would also RAITT his fridge regularly. He never went camping as a kid because he hated to fold DETENTES. He was not very physically ACTIV, rarely left his brownstone in NYC (he never visited CHI), and he liked his food rather SALTI. He had a real BOND with his Hispanic-Russian physician whom he lovingly called EL DOCTOROW. Whenever the good doc BROOCHed the subject of weight loss, he'd pop open a BEERCAN in his face. Had he heeded the doc's advice, he could've lost some weight with a little TORT REFORM, that is, eating less torte.<br /><br />Now I'm going to listen to my favorite CRONEr, the VELVET FOG, Mel TORMÉ, in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVCDZaApwV8" rel="nofollow">A FOG-IN Day in London Town</a>. Won't you join me?AliasZhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03477396362209386037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-70579513754212304492013-11-01T17:07:51.987-04:002013-11-01T17:07:51.987-04:00A real slog for me. Took forever to get a foothol...A real slog for me. Took forever to get a foothold and continued to the bitter end when JILTEd was corrected and the NE fell. Some great answers, VELVETELVIS my favorite. SHTETLS presented quite the challenge - gHetTos looked mighty good. In all, the kind of challenge I love on a Friday.Chip Hiltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11944056030047563287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-11401872247384219682013-11-01T17:06:13.564-04:002013-11-01T17:06:13.564-04:00Bounced around like a certain editor's ping po...Bounced around like a certain editor's ping pong ball on this one.<br /><br />Rereading Time to Kill so oddly TORTREFORM was top of mind.<br /><br />And as always loved seeing ACME in the fill.<br /><br />🌟🌟 (2 Stars)<br /><br />Genrally I was elated as the answer for yesterday's puzzle showed all blanks for the MIRROR DRACULA clue (65A). Life confirmations are so few and far betweendkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17317008233459295376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56813746246058743702013-11-01T17:00:44.718-04:002013-11-01T17:00:44.718-04:00@Bob Kerfuffle and @Z
Thanks.@Bob Kerfuffle and @Z<br /><br />Thanks.DJGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14169359183650145099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-22798281335955998372013-11-01T16:56:03.989-04:002013-11-01T16:56:03.989-04:00@Mark, me too for the PLAY ON clue misread. It was...@Mark, me too for the PLAY ON clue misread. It was the LORI cross that fixed it for me. I've seen other people complain about that one, but for me it was one of the few gimmes in this puzzle.Scarabnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-21392277638828174412013-11-01T16:22:08.411-04:002013-11-01T16:22:08.411-04:00@DJG - I just tried the link from Rex's site, ...@DJG - I just tried the link from Rex's site, got the same message. <br /><br />@Steve J - I've been to Tulsa. Great barbecue there. Don't know if going farther south would matter. Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-18434071926625493442013-11-01T16:11:55.083-04:002013-11-01T16:11:55.083-04:00Wanted VELVETJESUS, but, alas, 'twas ELVIS. G...Wanted VELVETJESUS, but, alas, 'twas ELVIS. Got the South, but that was the end of it. I usually do better on Brad's puzzles, but today was not to be. So it goes.John Vhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10557037910799243636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-65639742920211031532013-11-01T16:04:10.019-04:002013-11-01T16:04:10.019-04:00@DJG - Tried your link to cruciverb.com and only g...@DJG - Tried your link to cruciverb.com and only got the message<br /><br />"Table './smf-cruciverb/smf_sessions' is marked as crashed and should be repaired"Bob Kerfufflehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02615811802419025933noreply@blogger.com