tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post3755615354401393249..comments2024-03-29T01:22:33.864-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Fluffy neckwear / SUN 11-3-2019 / Egg on / Spoil, as a ParadeRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger88125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-81762849134966585652019-11-22T04:05:24.266-05:002019-11-22T04:05:24.266-05:00Born in 1963 and loved it.Born in 1963 and loved it.Dudehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05848178612313927374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-21544681051492514082019-11-17T20:46:09.518-05:002019-11-17T20:46:09.518-05:00@anon 8:00 - Will Shortz does the editing and the ...@anon 8:00 - Will Shortz does the editing and the scheduling. When things look familiar a day or two (or somewhat close) apart, that's in the editing. For instance, today the clue was 'all vowel avowal' and the answer was AYE. Recently for the exact same clue the answer was OUI. Editing is not at all random. Some of THESE puzzles have been in the queue for a coupla years. Will and staff decide when they get printed.rondonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-36859424155396639652019-11-17T20:00:46.338-05:002019-11-17T20:00:46.338-05:00First time posting. Does anyone else think it'...First time posting. Does anyone else think it's curious the last two days include both a serious abundance of punnage as well as clues involving James Joyce?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-48898400817178772882019-11-17T15:29:18.989-05:002019-11-17T15:29:18.989-05:00Medium difficulty, but hardly fast, for me. I ran...Medium difficulty, but hardly fast, for me. I ran into a lot of places where I had to do a lot of sussing. Hate that. Then I would race through a section until I hit another roadblock and more sussing. <br /><br />Got the theme right off the bat, and that helped with a couple of themers (RAGING BULLY, A HARD DAY'S NIGHTIE), but there were some movies I didn't know (was JOHN WIK a movie?). Also, MONEYBALL confused me for a bit until I realized it wasn't a themer.<br /><br />Toughest section for me was the SW corner which was a bit of a gnarl. Other than that, and some obscure names, puzzle flowed reasonably smoothly overall.<br /><br />OK.rainforestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-64309493702965827282019-11-17T15:05:04.208-05:002019-11-17T15:05:04.208-05:00Thurston Howell III returning from Moscow? - "...Thurston Howell III returning from Moscow? - "From Russia with Lovey"<br />Johnny and Edgar are thin - "Winters Boney"<br />Black Sabbath magician - "The Wizard of Ozzy"<br />Near limitless options on this theme.<br /><br />OLE'S here, but not Sven.<br /><br />As a Mann I could make a Case for either AIMEE or NEKO. Yeah baby.<br /><br />This was OK, a little wackier (see above?) woulda been better.rondonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-20583320036887472942019-11-17T14:15:22.103-05:002019-11-17T14:15:22.103-05:00D.B.A. SATYRIC SIREN
When AIMEE meets a JOHN for ...D.B.A. SATYRIC SIREN<br /><br />When AIMEE meets a JOHN for a MONEYBALL,<br />she'll PRETTYUP to KEEP the IMAGE PRICY.<br />She's AMISS who went ASTRAY to EARN it all,<br />and she DIDTHEJOB in a HARDDAY'SNIGHTIE.<br /><br />--- ISAAK "SCUZZ" GAMERABurma Shavenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-25460842933096089602019-11-17T12:56:40.998-05:002019-11-17T12:56:40.998-05:00Welcome, @jqym. A prodigious themer list indeed. Y...Welcome, @jqym. A prodigious themer list indeed. You must construct someday.<br /><br />I had fun with this one; it certainly wasn't gimme easy, but I DIDTHEJOB without too much tooth-gnashing. So, say, medium? Fill-wise, I curled my lip at TTEST, and learned about OSCAN and a few other tidbits.<br /><br />Sorry, I have to go out-of-puzzle for today's DOD: daughter-in-law Nicole is running in the Rock 'N' Roll Half-marathon today. You go, girl!! And oh yeah, she qualifies.<br /><br />STRANGERSONATRAINEE may be a kooky theme entry, but the movie was one of Hitchcock's best ever. Robert Walker's Bruno remains one of the scariest psychopaths ever. Birdie (on a wire?)spacecrafthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09125304293611865503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56305050114847715952019-11-05T10:50:58.500-05:002019-11-05T10:50:58.500-05:00Completely agree, WAY too many obscure proper name...Completely agree, WAY too many obscure proper names. I DNF'd which is rare.<br /><br />Completely agree with your last paragraph, Jeff.<br /><br />And as a bonus, EAT ME was the sought-after special postcard in Rex's thank-yous for donations. Sadly, I didn't get that one, but I liked the one I did get nonetheless...<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-84842081382669856802019-11-04T17:12:44.795-05:002019-11-04T17:12:44.795-05:00LAME LAME PatKShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11527048302847956744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9814859693890500252019-11-04T14:53:58.221-05:002019-11-04T14:53:58.221-05:00Booty Judge instead of Boot Edge Edge. You heard i...Booty Judge instead of Boot Edge Edge. You heard ig here first.<br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-82700875653215137742019-11-04T13:11:44.992-05:002019-11-04T13:11:44.992-05:00Why is 114 across "zone"?
Also, intere...Why is 114 across "zone"? <br /><br />Also, interesting how the majority of those ripping today's guest blogger are anonymous. Nicknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-59881500180131194562019-11-04T09:54:19.363-05:002019-11-04T09:54:19.363-05:00Aha. Right. Thanks, @JC66.Aha. Right. Thanks, @JC66.Nancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16737377749030219974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10463973214964206882019-11-04T09:18:27.691-05:002019-11-04T09:18:27.691-05:00@Nancy
@Annabelle usually does the 1st Monday wri...@Nancy<br /><br />@Annabelle usually does the 1st Monday write-ups, so maybe that's the problem. JC66https://www.blogger.com/profile/05324615675333287919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-43628212821685930092019-11-04T09:16:07.228-05:002019-11-04T09:16:07.228-05:00So I'm back here though it's now Monday, w...So I'm back here though it's now Monday, wondering where Rex is today? Could it be that he assigned the same guy he had cover for him yesterday (Sunday) and the guy decided to take his marbles and go home because people on the blog were mean to him yesterday? Just a thought. But a Rexblog that isn't there at all is highly unusual.Nancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16737377749030219974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-17087849172915391832019-11-04T07:13:33.049-05:002019-11-04T07:13:33.049-05:00@tb - There was a movie called John Wick. 'Joh...@tb - There was a movie called John Wick. 'John' is slang for a toilet. A 'wiki' is a website that allows user edits, the most famous example being Wikipedia.kitshefhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10014225555838850414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-74801329863030667032019-11-03T21:31:00.828-05:002019-11-03T21:31:00.828-05:00@Joe Dipinto: I am pleased and relieved that my em...@Joe Dipinto: I am pleased and relieved that my emotional response actually corresponds correctly with whether the chord is major or minor. Whew!<br /><br />But here's the real IRONY. I'm a lyricist, and yet my emotional response to a song is always determined almost completely by the music. The lyrics will add to the emotion of the music when the two are in sync, but when they're not, it's the music that invariably gets the last word. Some examples:<br /><br />"Loch Lomond" -- Hearing it or singing it always makes me feel happy. Even though "me and my true love will never meet again." Ditto "One for my Baby". The melody and chords of "We're drinking my friend to the end of a brief episode" raises my spirits, actually. <br /><br />On the other hand, take "I've Got the World on a String". Can there be a happier lyric that's ever been written ("sitting on a rainbow...lucky me, I'm in love") and yet the song depresses the hell out of me. Of course it does. It's because of the music, and, guess what, it's Harold Arlen again :) <br /><br />Nancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16737377749030219974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-2364229903276644582019-11-03T21:21:10.431-05:002019-11-03T21:21:10.431-05:00I was quite thrown by the lower left corner (i gue...I was quite thrown by the lower left corner (i guess you people call it the SW corner). Everybody under a certain age is going to say 'what's a typewriter?' in response to 92d. And TABSET? I am over a certain agen and I actually learned to type on a typewriter (albeit a semi-computerized electric one) and I completely failed to recall TABSET as being an 'Adjustable feature of a typewriter.' I also had THROB instead of THROE for 97 down, which didn't help with my SW problem. I found the rest to be enjoyable and relatively easy. Perryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09041738770359978139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-48255327052881262962019-11-03T19:59:56.215-05:002019-11-03T19:59:56.215-05:00@Nancy – I didn't remember the song either; it...@Nancy – I didn't remember the song either; it's on an all-Harold Arlen album Tom Wopat did – which, coincidentally, also includes "Over The Rainbow". "Over The Rainbow" starts on a major chord for the word "somewhere", moves to a minor chord for "over the rainbow", then to a major chord for "way up"...to a sort of weak major chord on "...high". So the major/minor transitions do correspond to how you say the phrases sound to you. It's definitely a melancholy song, but it's tonic key is major. "Man That Got Away" is the same. Arlen used a lot of flatted sevenths in his harmonies, which sound bluesy – and work well for torch songs.<br /><br />Anyway, I don't want to ramble on about technicalities...it can't really be reduced to a set formula. But the lyrics do their share of the work too, of course. "It Never Entered My Mind", by your fave Richard Rodgers, is built almost entirely on major chords but still manages to come across as pretty darn sad. <br />Joe Dipintohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07922691457886440325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-85539048087497497292019-11-03T19:47:15.100-05:002019-11-03T19:47:15.100-05:00I absolutely cannot parse JOHN WIKI. I absolutely cannot parse JOHN WIKI. tbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03575766261758987936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8300861239213173022019-11-03T19:27:35.758-05:002019-11-03T19:27:35.758-05:00@Nancy — if this puzzle can bring us to The Man Th...@Nancy — if this puzzle can bring us to The Man That Got Away, then I absolutely love it. Actually, I found it kinda okay, kinda fun, kinda not, and nothing personal, but the write-up did not thrill me. But The Man That Got Away is the most amazing three or four minutes ever put on film. Ever. mmorganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18375430572178263265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-84643330465938673052019-11-03T19:06:08.615-05:002019-11-03T19:06:08.615-05:00@Nancy (6:30) -- I think the mood of "Somewhe...@Nancy (6:30) -- I think the mood of "Somewhere over the Rainbow" is driven by the story's context rather than the musical details. Dorothy wants to protect Toto from a powerful force she can't control. No one is taking her seriously. Angst aplenty. So she sings about something besides what she and we see: the gloomy landscape of a farm in the middle of nowhere in the daytime-twilight of an approaching tornado. In this context, whether the key is major or minor is of secondary concern (and possibly more tension-creating for being major). <br /><br />The Vikings lost today, so I think I know what I'm talking about.Birchbarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09292725119040462686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-38950743836675617672019-11-03T18:53:36.957-05:002019-11-03T18:53:36.957-05:00@Jyqm, great additions to the puzzle theme. My per...@Jyqm, great additions to the puzzle theme. My personal favorite, as a lefty, is DO THE RIGHTY THING. MANY IN BLACK, BEN, HURRY, and THE JERKY also gave me a chuckle!!Teedmnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12832353448839187816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-85400372843235911352019-11-03T18:30:23.312-05:002019-11-03T18:30:23.312-05:00Obviously you knew, @Joe Dipinto (9:05), that I wo...Obviously you knew, @Joe Dipinto (9:05), that I would think the "Dissertation" song you posted was in a minor key. And I surely did think that. Yet you say it's in a major key. So I guess I need a crash course in what I'm hearing and <b>why</b> I'm hearing it that way. I didn't like the song especially and would call it "music to slit your wrists by".<br /><br />So it must have something to do with the chords, right? Or the relationship of one chord to another? Suppose I tell you that with "Over the Rainbow" here's what I hear. Both notes of "Somewhere" sound happy. All 5 notes of "over the rainbow" sound sad or wistful or melancholy. All 3 notes of "way up high" sound happy. "There's" sounds sort of unhappy and "a" sounds very unhappy. But "land" sounds happy again. I could go on...but I won't. Can you figure out why I'm reacting the way I am? Can anyone else on the blog?<br /><br />But "Rainbow" really isn't all that sad-sounding for an Arlen song. As I say, more wistful or melancholy. For really unhappy-sounding Arlen, I'd turn to "The Man That Got Away." And "Dissertation" even more. It's not well known and I'd say for very good reason. I saw "The Country Girl" -- which I loved -- back in the 50s and I don't remember the song. Nancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16737377749030219974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-12262561531989695562019-11-03T18:12:26.850-05:002019-11-03T18:12:26.850-05:00This is one of the worst crosswords ive ever done....This is one of the worst crosswords ive ever done. How on Earth did it get published??? I award you no points and may God have mercy on your soul. BenMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01208675520984336202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-6498971325401253802019-11-03T17:33:07.062-05:002019-11-03T17:33:07.062-05:00Hey Jeff, speaking of vacuums, “SUCK IT”Hey Jeff, speaking of vacuums, “SUCK IT”Bill Blythenoreply@blogger.com