tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post3798729051659312804..comments2024-03-28T06:44:48.044-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Words on returned mail / MON 12-3-2018 / "Bus Stop" dramatist William / Bring home, as a runner / Ricelike pastaRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger82125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10437621789158949322019-01-07T20:09:41.015-05:002019-01-07T20:09:41.015-05:00Skipped Sunday's puzzle, so missed @rainforest...Skipped Sunday's puzzle, so missed @rainforest's statement of withdrawal, but saw today's comments opposing it. Add my name to that list.<br /><br /> I've considered withdrawing from time to time--regardless of Rex's rough critiques, which tend to provoke others not in his class--because of real-time commenters' often coarse egos and ids. We also have some especially good real-timers like LMS and M&A, among others, to keep us amused and interested. Same, on a smaller scale, with our congenial group of syndies.<br /><br />Come back, Shane, come back!leftcoastTAMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-12482030321245649692019-01-07T13:35:13.449-05:002019-01-07T13:35:13.449-05:00Had no beef with this one -- replaced it with MEAT...Had no beef with this one -- replaced it with MEAT and all went down well.<br /><br />Also liked the clean theme. <br /><br />Thanks, Lynn Lempel.<br /><br />leftcoastTAMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8553835801897711322019-01-07T13:27:12.775-05:002019-01-07T13:27:12.775-05:00What's up with @Rainy?
PS Is anyone here doing...What's up with @Rainy?<br />PS Is anyone here doing the New Yorker Monday puzzles? Today's was a bit easier than normal for me...thefogmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01870509029973778266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8513800675261997502019-01-07T13:14:49.556-05:002019-01-07T13:14:49.556-05:00Easy enough--and yet I have a big inkblot. where? ...Easy enough--and yet I have a big inkblot. where? At #6: I went with WOW and WIDEN. Oops! But it seemed so natural! I always enjoy a Lempel; today was no exception. To pick a nit, the French themer probably sounds more like "derr" than "DOO," or maybe halfway between. But it ain't the hill I wanna die on.<br /><br />@Rainforest: I think we should stop saying "Rainy" because that evokes a turn-down day, but rather the full screen name, which brings to mind a picture of lush vegetation...OK, maybe the use of the word "lush" is questionable...I better quit before I get too deep in the hole. Anyhoo, please decide to return and tough it out. You can count us Syndilanders on one hand as it is. I cannot promise to go all Pollyanna; I give feedback in an effort to keep improving the output. Lately I have hit a few puzzles hard; I certainly hope that didn't influence your decision. I will try to lighten up on my old pet peeves that I ought to just accept as inevitable. I am sure @rondo will try to do the same about TAR, ha ha. C'mon back, please!<br /><br />The OLSENs and DIANA are worthy subjects indeed. DOD goes to AMELIA Earhart, a true pioneer. Birdie.spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44763669727037565262019-01-07T12:29:08.525-05:002019-01-07T12:29:08.525-05:00Synders untie! Bring back @Rainy! (see Sunday fo...Synders untie! Bring back @Rainy! (see Sunday for more commentary) He brings colour and international flavor to he comments. Will the centre hold?<br /><br />DIANA, Goddess of today's puzzle, and rounder-upper of Synders!Diana, LIWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-49561657934576066422019-01-07T12:00:45.053-05:002019-01-07T12:00:45.053-05:00@DIANA makes the puz again. How DUE you DEW?
@rain...@DIANA makes the puz again. How DUE you DEW?<br />@rainy – we’ll miss ya. In any EVENT, live long and PROSPER.<br />Wondered if it was going to be a DOG theme with DOG and ASTRO and SCOOBYDOO in the NW, but no, what can ONE DO? MOO and COO like a WOOER, I guess.<br /><br />A very proper usage of the word TAR, though as a TOXIN.<br /><br />In the 1970s and 80s PABST was my beer of choice, but something changed and so did I.<br /><br />I’ll go BIMODAL and give both of the OLSEN waifs a yeah baby.<br /><br />EZ puz to DO, didn’t lose a STEP.<br />rondonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31768944745121206102019-01-07T11:42:46.911-05:002019-01-07T11:42:46.911-05:00A fine Monday offering. Lots of fun and never saw...A fine Monday offering. Lots of fun and never saw the do thing. Did we not have UPDO just a short while ago?centralscrewtinizerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03404913280254786506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26154508609202782262019-01-07T11:25:26.370-05:002019-01-07T11:25:26.370-05:00. . . OAR ASTRO
DIANA lost her canine BERINGs –
.... . . OAR ASTRO<br /><br />DIANA lost her canine BERINGs – <br />a SINE that she NOCANDO –<br />MANY FINED they’re SCAREd of caring<br />for a DOG like SCOOBYDOO. <br /><br />--- KNUTE OLSEN<br />Burma Shavenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-33913785914159615682019-01-07T11:06:33.726-05:002019-01-07T11:06:33.726-05:00This was the easiest Monday for me in quite some t...This was the easiest Monday for me in quite some time. I didn't see the theme until after completion, then the light clicked on after reading the long answers out loud. Everything is nice and tidy, clever and good with the exception of PASDEDEUX. I'm being a bit picky but the word deux is not - or should not be - pronounced the same way as DEW. I chuckled a bit when I noticed DOO was under DOG at 15A. No write-overs for me this time. Like Annabel, I also thought of putting Marmaduke down for 17A but held off because I started in the NE corner and already had letters that did not match up. Had I started in the NW corner it might have been a different story. Cheers to Lynn Lempel for a great gateway puzzle to get new solvers hooked for more.thefogmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01870509029973778266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-53474663440428928982018-12-06T11:06:46.936-05:002018-12-06T11:06:46.936-05:00@ Sue in France 2:19
Ah, but the vowel sound in “...@ Sue in France 2:19<br /><br />Ah, but the vowel sound in “deux” does exist in English. It is the same vowel sound in the words “put” and “foot.”<br />As another commenter noted, if you pronounce deux as “doo,” it becomes “doux” in French, and takes on another meaning.<br />French is very, very consistent in its pronunciations. When I used to construct puzzles for the NYT, Will Shortz was very particular <br />about consistency, so I was surprised to see “pas de deux” pass rhyming muster.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61687896575191541902018-12-03T21:50:26.528-05:002018-12-03T21:50:26.528-05:00Re Sue in France (2:19 p.m.). If your online Merr...Re Sue in France (2:19 p.m.). If your online Merriam Webster gives an "American" pronunciation of *deux* so that it rhymes with doo or dew, then it is time to throw that stupid dictionary out. It reflects the modern trend, confusedly called progressive, of deeming anything heard as "alternative." Dictionaries should be establishing standards, not repeating nonsense. My own pronunciation of French is awful, but I would rhyme *deux* with something like *purr* (yes, I know, technically inaccurate), but much closer than something like *dew*.<br /><br />If Merriam Webster makes *deux* into dew, they also bungle the pronunciation of liqueur, very often mispronounced in English. They give LEE-CUE-ER as an alternative. This is simply an error--they should be telling us how to pronounce this word, instead of following common errors.<br /><br />This reminds me of the naming of the Verrazano Narrows bridge. The Italian-American group insisting on this naming presided over the dedication--maps were renamed, signs were erected, etc. Then it was pointed out that Verrazano was actually spelled Verrazzano. The Italian-American geniuses put their heads together and proclaimed: Verrazzano is the correct Italian spelling, but Verrazano is the correct American spelling! The Merriam Webster replication of errors, ostensibly "progressive," is fundamentally reactionary. The Italian-American group was militantly reactionary as well--besides the bridge initiative, their other great endeavor as an offer of $1000 to any Italian-American girl/woman who remained a virgin until she was into her late teens. My head swims when I think of how this was to be enforced!<br /><br />No modern dictionary should be trusted. I still use my Funk and Wagnalls of 1963. I wouldn't mind having an OED--but beware of anything like Merriam Webster that professes to be *democratic*. <br /><br />Anon. i.e. Poggius Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-59924333953552213602018-12-03T21:27:49.311-05:002018-12-03T21:27:49.311-05:00Do.
Do.
Do.
Duh.
Nope. Do.<br />Do.<br />Do.<br />Duh.<br /><br />Nope. ZenMonkeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01351161309102608706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31560390075430257602018-12-03T20:59:59.433-05:002018-12-03T20:59:59.433-05:00Can't believe I snoozed on 49A. Chapter 58 Bri...Can't believe I snoozed on 49A. Chapter 58 Brit is the most poetic chapter in a very poetic book, Moby-Dick.<br /><br />I've been thinking about BALKS all day. Don't see them as much lately, the metrics on stealing second base are not as valued as they once were. I see most BALKS now occur with a runner on third. Rarely see them argued.Larry Gilstraphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15493069947477383208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-382941476181076452018-12-03T20:44:41.918-05:002018-12-03T20:44:41.918-05:00@Language Sleuth: Fascinating infö on "Baske...@Language Sleuth: Fascinating infö on "Basket Case." Seriously. Word origins are interesting and certainly how they evolve. I see how some may cause a wince or two but in this case, I fail to understand how someone can be insulted. It really boils down (oops is that non PC) to every human beings interpretation, doesn't it? <br />My Mexican friends (and I have a ton of them) refer to me as "La Yanqui" I.e. "Yankee." It's endearing to me although Its been pointed out that it's derogatory. I don't look like I speak Spanish (it happens) and yet I can speak them under any tequila bar. So....I guess if one person is offended, then it becomes an issue?<br />So many more things to worry about and so many other words that are truly offensive.....but..... GILL I.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05605766053820226324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-86852499323930429722018-12-03T20:02:40.132-05:002018-12-03T20:02:40.132-05:00In cases of word or phrase origins, if it sounds a...In cases of word or phrase origins, if it sounds a little too neat or clever or a word purports to be an acronym (like some of the false etymologies of words like "golf" or "posh" or a variety of curse words; Cutesy acronym etymologies are almost always false) it's probably B.S. Use etymonline.com for word origins if you don't have access to the OED (as I don't.) For phrases, a bit of googling usually sorts it out. Throw in "fake" or "false etymology" or "urban legend" in there to see if it's been flagged as a suspect phrase. Peter Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05358201722058061544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31850486806266543552018-12-03T19:45:12.294-05:002018-12-03T19:45:12.294-05:00Emily, if you scroll to the bottom of the page the...Emily, if you scroll to the bottom of the page there is an arrow pointing right. Click on it and it will take you back to Sunday.Teddi and Teddyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00141694808773880586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10199117603627487332018-12-03T18:54:56.232-05:002018-12-03T18:54:56.232-05:00Nike says "Just Do it." Mike says "...Nike says "Just Do it." Mike says "Just Doo-Doo." Loved the puzzle.crabsofsteelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13395961726023130183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-69316467219716451862018-12-03T16:54:49.315-05:002018-12-03T16:54:49.315-05:00Very interesting. Makes me wonder about other clai...Very interesting. Makes me wonder about other claims of word origins.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-68643496259731228882018-12-03T16:20:19.961-05:002018-12-03T16:20:19.961-05:00The Grammarphobia Blog
The “basket case” myth
Augu...The Grammarphobia Blog<br />The “basket case” myth<br />August 20th, 2014<br /><br />Q: I found a photo online, apparently from the early 20th century, of a disabled man in a basket chair. Could this be a clue to the origin of “basket case”?<br /><br />A: The man pictured in the basket chair (a three-wheeled woven rattan wheelchair) is nowhere near as disabled as the original basket case—had such a basket case ever existed.<br /><br />The Oxford English Dictionary says the colloquial term “basket case” originated in the United States shortly after World War I, and meant “a person, esp. a soldier, who has lost all four limbs.”<br /><br />However, the phrase, which initially referred to American soldiers supposedly left limbless by the war, was a product of the postwar rumor mill in the US. No quadruple-amputee American soldiers existed, and there’s no evidence that any head-and-torso survivors from any country were carried around in baskets.<br /><br />Nevertheless, word spread that limbless soldiers were being warehoused in one place or another in the US. As a result, the Surgeon General of the Army, Maj. Gen. Merritte W. Ireland, said in 1919 that the rumor had absolutely no foundation in fact.<br /><br />“I have personally examined the records and am able to say that there is not a single basket case either on this side of the water or among the soldiers of the A. E. F. [Allied Expeditionary Force],” he explained.<br /><br />Furthermore, the general said in his March 28, 1919, statement, “I wish to emphasize that there has been no instance of an American soldier so wounded during the whole period of the war.”<br /><br />According to newspaper accounts of the time, only one Allied combatant, a Canadian soldier, is known to have survived the war after a quadruple amputation.<br /><br />He was Ethelbert (Curley) Christian, a Pennsylvania-born African American who had settled in Canada and joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force. After he was gravely injured in April 1917 in the Battle of Vimy Ridge, surgeons amputated both arms below the elbows and both legs below the knees.<br /><br />But he was no “basket case.” He was fitted with prosthetic legs, and family photos show him standing upright. He is even said to have devised an arm prosthesis that enabled him to write. He lived a productive life, dying in 1954.<br /><br />The OED’s earliest citation for the use of the phrase “basket case” dates from January 1919, two months after the war ended. It’s from Oak Leaves, a local newspaper in Oak Park, Ill.: “There were seven ‘basket cases,’ men without arms or legs.” [The account was apparently inaccurate.]<br /><br />The term “basket case” isn’t used anymore in that original sense; it refers now to an emotionally disturbed person or an ineffective organization, nation, business, and so on.<br /><br />The dictionary’s first citation for the phrase used in its ineffective sense is from the Feb. 16, 1948, issue of Life:<br /><br />“The U.N. may become a more pathetic basket case than the old League of Nations after the Japanese nullified the decision on Manchuria.”<br /><br />In the early 1950s, the phrase came to mean “a person who is emotionally or mentally unable to cope, esp. because of overwhelming stress or anxiety,” the OED says.<br /><br />The dictionary’s earliest example of this usage is from Polly Adler’s 1953 autobiography, A House Is Not a Home:<br /><br />“By New Year’s, 1935, after three months in the new house, I realized I’d wind up a basket case if I didn’t take a vacation.”<br /><br />[Note: This post was updated on Aug. 16, 2018. We’re grateful to a descendant of the Canadian soldier Curley Christian, who wrote to us about him and supplied photos and newspaper clippings.]<br /><br />Language Sleuthnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-53459553501484018992018-12-03T15:32:07.419-05:002018-12-03T15:32:07.419-05:00Here are a couple of suggestions. Learn to pronoun...Here are a couple of suggestions. Learn to pronounce words in whatever language they're in and if a phrase turns out to have racist origins, don't say it anymore. That way you won't sound stew-pid or mean in any language. Curmudgeonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-41050378939201425462018-12-03T15:14:50.917-05:002018-12-03T15:14:50.917-05:00Can anyone tell me why I can’t see Sunday’s 12/02/...Can anyone tell me why I can’t see Sunday’s 12/02/2018 puzzle? The mobile version of the app use to have several days answers... but not now....emilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02158563048349811103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44953049044137880182018-12-03T14:40:39.284-05:002018-12-03T14:40:39.284-05:00Hey All !
@Dr Dolittle 1:43
Bit by a toxic snake w...Hey All !<br />@Dr Dolittle 1:43<br />Bit by a toxic snake would turn you into SnakeMan, like SpiderMan. Har. Why is it only males are the ones bitten/stung/toxic-ified? <br /><br />Nice MonPuz. As @Lewis said, lots of OOs here, COO(twice), DOO, WOO, MOO, TOO. So, where's the ROO?? :-)<br /><br />In the DEUX-sounds-good-to-me camp for a rhyme. Who cares how the French pronounce it? Americanized English is the way to go.*<br /><br />Do-Do-Do-Do-Da-Da-Da-Da<br />It's all I want to say to you...<br /><br />1 F - it's like no on cares... :-)<br /><br />FINITE NINNY<br />RooMonster<br />DarrinV<br /><br />*That was a joke, people. I'm not ignorant of others language and/ or culture.<br /><br />RooMonsterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14103892151115549684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-37738006582804181152018-12-03T14:19:38.000-05:002018-12-03T14:19:38.000-05:00I'd like to chime in on the pronunciation of P...I'd like to chime in on the pronunciation of PAS DE DEUX, which is not the same in French and in English. As this is an English language puzzle we must consider the English pronunciation, not the French, whether we know French or not. The online Merriam - Webster dictionary gives two suggestions, and the second one shows the expression rhymes with the other themers. Please note that the vowel sound in DEUX does not exist in English.Sue in Francehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04327395018500461077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61295642572140652672018-12-03T14:13:20.467-05:002018-12-03T14:13:20.467-05:00@Mr. Benson--Thanks for the background on "Mo...@Mr. Benson--Thanks for the background on "Morning Dew". The Moonshiners were a group I saw perform live when I was a freshman in college, back when The Great Folk Scare was reaching its peak. Theirs was the only version I had ever heard so, another day when I learn something either from the crossword or its commentators. Good stuff.pabloinnhnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-32890958695262912432018-12-03T13:43:18.632-05:002018-12-03T13:43:18.632-05:00Bit by a toxic snake? Better get some anti-toxin.
...Bit by a toxic snake? Better get some anti-toxin.<br />The bite of a venomous snake is toxic because of the toxins.<br />Close enough for crosswords.Dr. Doolittlenoreply@blogger.com