tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post4012304923809050669..comments2024-03-28T18:01:16.957-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Card game popular in Germany / TUE 10-5-10 / Van Gogh locale / Malfoy's look / Cleavage-revealing dress feature / French brainchildRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger78125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61184239049846553712020-10-11T17:42:31.695-04:002020-10-11T17:42:31.695-04:00A message from the future, should anyone do this p...A message from the future, should anyone do this puzzle & come to this blog. Ten years later & Rex is as crotchety as ever.<br />I liked this puz, but not a huge fan of the song.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02410198809183164965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-69167718730397589522010-11-10T07:08:30.703-05:002010-11-10T07:08:30.703-05:00Eggs have YOLKs, of course.Eggs have YOLKs, of course.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-49847343420374190362010-11-10T02:15:02.549-05:002010-11-10T02:15:02.549-05:00I liked the puzzle. "American Pie" is pr...I liked the puzzle. "American Pie" is probably my father's favorite rock song, so I thought of him as soon as I twigged to the theme.<br /><br />My only write-over was ROY ROGERS, because I blanked on the spelling and added a superfluous "D" to his last name. The error became obvious when I ran out of squares before I ran out of letters, though I checked the crosses to make sure it wasn't rebused.Nullifidianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15207390447020990907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46207642220184910142010-11-09T16:59:56.440-05:002010-11-09T16:59:56.440-05:00Would have finished much quicker if I had only rem...Would have finished much quicker if I had only remembered that oxen wear YOkes but eggs have YOKEs. Also that Malfoy's look was not a Stare but a SNEAR. Both were easily fixed, but am I the only one who confidently filled in bible for 59a and had to wait for the crosses to produce KORAN? Really, was I the only one? Anyway, glad to see KORAN in the grid and even more glad (gladder?) to see it didn't produce any outrage here.<br /><br />Last couple of posts have "gone missing" so trying this one with fingers crossed.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-42006467396249106212010-11-09T14:07:14.868-05:002010-11-09T14:07:14.868-05:00In my syndipaper, 62A refers to four italicized, r...In my syndipaper, 62A refers to four italicized, rather than starred, clues then doesn't bother to print any clues in italics! (No *'s either.) So the challenge of the day morphed to became one of identifying the clues referencing 62A once DONMCLEAN hove into view. Not hard but different.<br /><br />Also, kudos to George NYC for sticking to his guns 5 weeks ago concerning baseball LINGO and the definition of a hit. Anyone detect a minor baseball theme linking SAC, EARLE Combs and the PRIDE of the Yankees (Lou Gehrig)?Waxy in Montrealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04395751487137805245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-83123119866011312372010-11-09T14:03:07.622-05:002010-11-09T14:03:07.622-05:00Just a quick thanks for the photo of Oscar with ha...Just a quick thanks for the photo of Oscar with hat on FRO. Laugh out loud funny. Definitely **not** a good look.timhttp://timwarner.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-70983687629413714552010-11-09T13:32:01.573-05:002010-11-09T13:32:01.573-05:00I'm 90, could hardly write the answers in rapi...I'm 90, could hardly write the answers in rapidly enough on this one! I long for the puzzles of Eugene Maleska, classical Latin, Operas, Literature!!! Gone forever unless someone can tell me where to find that variety? <br />Modern sports heroes, so-called music?, leave me in the dust fairly often. That's where I belong? Not yet... Fit and active at 90!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-78269811977030474932010-10-06T04:20:16.542-04:002010-10-06T04:20:16.542-04:00Oops, 'found', of courseOops, 'found', of courseEvgenynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-62609476162630833952010-10-06T04:19:05.464-04:002010-10-06T04:19:05.464-04:00@ Just Curious: German puzzles write out the umlau...@ Just Curious: German puzzles write out the umlauts the way they would be fount in Latin: 'ae' for 'ä', 'ue' for 'ü' and 'oe' for 'ö'. On that note 'ß' is always a double-s in crossword.<br /><br />@Ulrich: i solve the "Die Zeit" weekly cryptic, which is, together with SZ's, the hardest to be found in mainstream press. You really should give it a try! It's a bit like an nyt fri or sat, not solvable at first, but once one gets into their scheme of thinking it becomes a fun challenge. Plus, it's free - to solve online or download as pdf.<br /><br />http://spiele.zeit.de/ecke/<br /><br />p.s. 1. FC Köln - really? Seems, nobody's without faultEvgenynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-35669551636543560542010-10-06T01:55:50.330-04:002010-10-06T01:55:50.330-04:00This week's relative difficulty ratings. See m...This week's relative difficulty ratings. See my 7/30/2009 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 5:46, 6:57, 0.83, 1%, Easy<br />Tue 8:41, 8:55, 0.97, 50%, Medium<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:16, 3:43, 0.88, 3%, Easy<br />Tue 4:37, 4:36, 1.00, 57%, Mediumsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-6781453220037072682010-10-06T01:43:49.719-04:002010-10-06T01:43:49.719-04:00The thing about a sac fly...
(Kidding!) Actually ...The thing about a sac fly...<br />(Kidding!) Actually I was happy to see the song, thought that really clever, yet agree with Rex esp about the middle entry. <br />If it had indeed been CENTRAL instead of AFRICAN, same amount of letters AND it would have been CENTRAL to the puzzle :) But much harder to define, but prob without that weird cringe feeling of feeling is this somehow nonPC on some level.<br /><br />I liked that it had an atmosphere, the thing @foodie alluded to that I'm forever bitching about...but this one had a female vibe...what with E.R.A., SCOOPNECK, refs to defining things MALE by their counterparts (ie Indira, Pocahontas, and Smith)<br />I find the MALE in this context reasonable bec you usually say "All-male college", so re: colleges, MALE seems appropriate, tho it's interesting to learn there are indeed men there as well as a big transsexual population.<br /><br />I think BYEBYELOVE, altho couldn't be bec it starts the clue and is wrong amount of letters to match DONMCLEAN also would tip too much that this was about another song.<br /><br />But totally agree about the whole CENTRAL vs AFRICAN thing and CUTIEPIE really would have made this more snappy. <br />Loved the idea tho. Total theme envy here :)<br /><br />And I loved shout out to KOKO, the name of my cat of 16 yrs who isn't doing too well at the moment.<br /><br />And hand up here for EPITOMES as abstracts being news to me! It's such a weird word to begin with to say and spell...andrea central michaelsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-38085449927416845242010-10-05T23:09:20.368-04:002010-10-05T23:09:20.368-04:00Have to side with GeorgeNYC and Stan re the faux p...Have to side with GeorgeNYC and Stan re the faux pas of a sacrifice being called a hit--it aint! That's why it's called a sacrifice for gawd's sake. <br /><br />Error Shortz!deerfencernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67319122781822378782010-10-05T22:55:07.328-04:002010-10-05T22:55:07.328-04:00Yikes, I am on a completely different page today. ...Yikes, I am on a completely different page today. The clues that Rex found "awkward," "strange," "awkwardly phrased," and "awkward," I thought were kind of elegant and subtly misdirective.<br /><br />But the theme reveal filled me with horror (I really do not like that song). I'll spare everyone the analysis, but let's just start with "whiskey and rye" -- isn't that like saying "wine and chianti" or "mammals and elephants"?<br /><br />I do agree that a "sac fly" is not any sort of baseball hit. No big deal, but the fact-checkers made an error on this one.Stanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02681342234536407419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-336328181710188982010-10-05T22:46:52.522-04:002010-10-05T22:46:52.522-04:00George NYC
(Damn, I'm in baseball withdrawal u...George NYC<br />(Damn, I'm in baseball withdrawal until the Yankees play tomorrow).<br /><br />I think the clue was OK.<br />22d. ___ fly (certain baseball hit, for short) <br /><br />Like the definition said:<br />b : to come in contact with<br />c : to strike (as a ball) with an object (as a bat).<br /><br />The ball was "hit" by the bat and deep enough to move the runner over.<br /><br />Official scorer ruled it a SAC fly.<br />'nough said!!!Tinbenihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14661395078047234853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-90447400679256513162010-10-05T22:13:06.634-04:002010-10-05T22:13:06.634-04:00You just proved my point!
By definition, a sacrif...You just proved my point!<br />By definition, a sacrifice fly is NOT a "base hit." A "single" or a "double" etc. is a base hit. A sacrifice fly not only is not counted as a base hit, it is not even counted as an at bat, which is the whole point. It's like a sacrifice bunt, which is also not a base hit, and therefore not a hit.<br />As per your citation, a base hit is a hit, but the reverse is not the same thing.George NYChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11844466463123158982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-12735227986125395472010-10-05T22:10:26.304-04:002010-10-05T22:10:26.304-04:00Back when I did the Kreuzwortratsel in Brigitte - ...Back when I did the Kreuzwortratsel in Brigitte - a very easy one, like TV Guide, it was totally different. This must have been 20 years ago, before any internet. It was not symmetric to an x=y line, as is the American signature. The Umlauts were orphaned, or unchecked. The crosses were not crossed at many places. Note: as easy as they seemed then, I probably couldn't do them now.<br />I've seen the Italian Cruciverbi which are almost solid words both ways, with diagonals of black squares running through. They're blessed with vowels, and few diacriticals, but don't go for the "American" symmetricality.<br />Basically, I'd say Europeans have there own types of puzzles.<br />For instance, they like Soduko which works in any language.Sfingihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06903616949048940858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-3062803036835119242010-10-05T20:55:29.207-04:002010-10-05T20:55:29.207-04:0022d. ___ fly (certain baseball hit, for short)
H...22d. ___ fly (certain baseball hit, for short) <br /><br />HIT<br />Transitive <b>verb</b>1a : to reach with or as if with a blow b :<b> to come in contact with </b> c ::<b> to strike (as a ball) with an object (as a bat,</b> club, or racket) so as to impart or redirect motion <br /><br />hit<br /><b>noun </b>1 : an act or instance of hitting or being hit 2a : a stroke of luck b : a great success 3 : a telling or critical remark 4 : <b>base hit</b>Crosswords involve Wordplaynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9958870532427445692010-10-05T20:37:34.319-04:002010-10-05T20:37:34.319-04:00Oh yes, @Ulrich, you nailed it about año and ano. ...Oh yes, @Ulrich, you nailed it about año and ano. I cringe (and laugh a little -- but mostly cringe) every time I have to type in the latter.<br /><br />It's almost as bad as the fact that every time you see the Spanish word "mate" (the yerba) in English they have to spell it "maté" -- which would make it mah-TAY. <br /><br />Those anos!mmorganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18375430572178263265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-23888517219715590522010-10-05T20:20:54.709-04:002010-10-05T20:20:54.709-04:00@mickey,
Yes, and you have to HIT the ball to prod...@mickey,<br />Yes, and you have to HIT the ball to produce a foul ball. But no one calls that a "hit." Baseball has its lingo, and if you go there you should follow it. Without context, a "hit" refers to the getting on base kind, as opposed the "hit into a double-play" kind. No runs, no hits, no errors doesn't mean no one "hit" the ball.George NYChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11844466463123158982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-15499723321766018232010-10-05T19:46:54.535-04:002010-10-05T19:46:54.535-04:00You have to HIT the ball in order to make a sac fl...You have to <b>HIT</b> the ball in order to make a sac fly. Just sayin.Mickeynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-52370637127141179052010-10-05T18:32:14.481-04:002010-10-05T18:32:14.481-04:00@Anon 4:49
Never said they weren't the "...@Anon 4:49<br /><br />Never said they weren't the "lyrics".<br /> <br />Not sure what your point is about a 13 year old and drinking and driving, tho.<br /><br />The song (and chorus) are set in 1970, looking back at the previous 10 years.<br /><br />.../Glitch (3/3)Glitchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14940000404613329056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-88634010087708550542010-10-05T18:31:05.479-04:002010-10-05T18:31:05.479-04:00@Howard B: Thx
@Glitch: Thx, too. It seems I have...@Howard B: Thx<br /><br />@Glitch: Thx, too. It seems I have to give up a favorite mondegreen...<br /><br />@Just curious: Truthfully, I don't remember. I don't do typical German xword puzzles b/c they extend over an entire page in a newspaper so that the clues fit into the adjacent black squares, which eliminates one of the charms of American puzzles: creative cluing, for which the space provided is too small. And the cryptic puzzles in the more cerebral periodicals are just too hard for me.Ulrichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02086202853174403008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-20704544541012008962010-10-05T18:17:17.493-04:002010-10-05T18:17:17.493-04:00Spanish crosswords are just a bunch of Os, As and ...Spanish crosswords are just a bunch of Os, As and Ss.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-89359278745770543222010-10-05T18:08:14.822-04:002010-10-05T18:08:14.822-04:00@Ulrich or anyone else who knows: I know they hav...@Ulrich or anyone else who knows: I know they have German crossword puzzles, because I have glimpsed them, but never tried to solve because I don't know German. So, how do they handle umlauts?<br /><br />For that matter, is anyone familiar with crosswords in any of the many languages that have more diacritical marks than English? How do any of them deal with them?Just Curious . .noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-14145395661102490452010-10-05T17:37:23.662-04:002010-10-05T17:37:23.662-04:00@Rex - forgot to thank you for disapproving of the...@Rex - forgot to thank you for disapproving of the common use of MALE/female. Leave it for "sexing" hamsters.<br /><br />SAC fly would have worked yesterday as a flip-flop. Fly Sac, yummy. <br /><br />@Ulrich - I'm still waiting for the Umlaut puzzle in which the Umlauts really work. No Haagen-Dazs or Husker Du (no point in putting them in here).Sfingihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06903616949048940858noreply@blogger.com