tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post4065240346754730320..comments2024-03-29T08:11:31.723-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: All or Nothing rapper 2005 / FRI 6-22-12 / Breakers ahead / Algebraic unknowns / Traveler in 1957 news / Tree related to ylang-ylang / King who consulted witch of endor / Literally pick me up / Ancient rival of Judah / Tree whose leaves were once smoked by IndiansRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger85125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-47599936351864503782012-07-28T18:59:31.134-04:002012-07-28T18:59:31.134-04:00There probably won't be any more comments this...There probably won't be any more comments this late in the game, but I came back to check the box for follow-up comments anyway, just in case.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-18089644083097210492012-07-28T18:52:52.496-04:002012-07-28T18:52:52.496-04:00Started the puzzle this morning before work, finis...Started the puzzle this morning before work, finished it after work. I wanted "offanDon" for "Intermittent" at 11d, so that gummed up that whole corner for too long. Then, with only the H and B in place at 33d, I thought the referenced king must be a HoBbit (they have kings, don't they?), until SAUL came along to show me the error of my ways.<br /><br />With this one finished, I LEAPTAT (sorry, @Spacecraft) the chance to start the Saturday puzzle (but you won't read how I did for 5 weeks).Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-4702425380973025872012-07-28T00:15:01.696-04:002012-07-28T00:15:01.696-04:00Impossible!
BUZZKILL??????????? HUH???
LEAPTAT? ...Impossible!<br /><br />BUZZKILL??????????? HUH???<br /><br />LEAPTAT? Yeah, I understand it's "leapt at," But come on, if you're going to use a phrase it has to be at least faintly recognizable. No one in the history of human language ever said "leapt at" to mean "eagerly accepted." I mean, it does, but still, no one ever said it. Bottom line: ungettable.<br /><br />KITSCHY? Where on Earth do you GET this stuff?<br /><br />Plus, a rapper clue automatically means a Google for me--but it was just one of eight anyway. And even after rhat, I couldn't get it done. The NE just sat there and laughed at me (and had the loudest laugh, too, when I found out that after all this terrible, convoluted nonsense, that ____Lisa was just MONA after all.<br /><br />You guys should just put in a solid week loaded with rap and hiphop clues (so I know when to go on vacation) and then BAN THEM FOREVER!Spaccecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-3912706249912805552012-07-27T19:54:37.758-04:002012-07-27T19:54:37.758-04:00Didn't finish this one. Got the top half, mai...Didn't finish this one. Got the top half, mainly off knowing ZOE and figuring there had to be two Z'a, guessed ZIRCON, which I didn't expect. My mother, born Christma Eve, always wore a turquoise as her stone.<br />The bottom half was a wash of clues outside my arena. A Madonna song, an Apollo actor, and a strange clue for PERIL on the left. On the right a rapper, some Book of the Bible, some team. Got LA, but wanted LA something, Ram, Jet, Net.....? Threw in the towel!<br />Still don't understand BUZZKILL. I was looking for something like "wet blanket" or "police raid". Maybe tomorrow!DMGrandmanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-25252646527363612622012-07-27T18:34:47.928-04:002012-07-27T18:34:47.928-04:00Some days you beat the puzzle, some days the puzzl...Some days you beat the puzzle, some days the puzzle beats you.<br /><br />I so wanted 34a to be TIMBUKTU. But everything that led me to TI_ _ _ISU was just too solid for me to consider the possibility of a massive re-write. But I didn't (and still don't) have a clue about TI_ _ _ISU.<br /><br />I missed MS DOS because I had already talked myself out of BED (<i>every </i>day? not in my house. Not even in some hotels when that do not disturb sign hangs out there all morning and afternoon and night). So in running the alphabet on 3-letter alternatives I finally settled on MET, which (every day) can mean "made"...as in met/made ones goal. But eventually I concluded that was too obtuse to be anything other than an extremely difficult Saturday clue, and since the crosses would take me nowhere I just left it blank and finished with four empty squares.<br /><br />With BED I would have seen the familiar MS DOS, leaving me with a guess at MID_IB, and it's tough to imagine anything but an R there. So in essence, this puzzle beat me because some days I don't bother to make my BED.<br /><br />post script:<br />I just googled TIRAMISU and a Giada De Laurentiis recipe showed up. Any google that leads to Giada is a good google.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80400842887266409702012-07-27T18:15:27.123-04:002012-07-27T18:15:27.123-04:00Tough, but fun and fair puzzle. Also great cluing....Tough, but fun and fair puzzle. Also great cluing. Thanks, Josh.<br /><br />This was a slow slog for me. Got BUZZKILL off ZOE. I figured if it was wrong I was toast anyway. I wandered all over the grid trying to get a beachhead. <br /><br />Ultimately, my only write over was shoaL for PERIL.<br /><br />The "German leader" clue had me shaking my head. Totally on crosses I fill in SOFTG, and wondered what word it was in German... "softig" spelled strangely? So I came to Rexville. Oh, duh, SOFT G.<br /><br />I owned an antique, black, 4-door, '57 Desoto in college. I think I drove it for two years without putting anything but water and gas in the beast. Great car.Solving in Seattlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04249420848844874936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-25568069417079552172012-06-23T00:43:25.367-04:002012-06-23T00:43:25.367-04:00This week's relative difficulty ratings. See m...This week's relative difficulty ratings. See my 8/1/2009 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 8:48, 6:50, 1.29, 100%, Challenging (highest median solve time of 156 Mondays)<br />Tue 14:01, 8:57, 1.57, 100%, Challenging (highest median solve time of 157 Tuesdays)<br />Wed 11:26, 11:47, 0.97, 45%, Medium<br />Thu 15:51, 18:55, 0.84, 22%, Easy-Medium<br />Fri 28:21, 24:44, 1.15, 77%, Medium-Challenging<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 4:47, 3:41, 1.30, 100%, Challenging (highest median solve time of 156 Mondays)<br />Tue 7:05, 4:38, 1.53, 100%, Challenging (highest median solve time of 157 Tuesdays)<br />Wed 6:20, 5:53, 1.08, 77%, Medium-Challenging<br />Thu 7:48, 9:20, 0.84, 24%, Easy-Medium<br />Fri 14:56, 12:15, 1.22, 83%, Challengingsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61835067604400107672012-06-22T21:57:50.804-04:002012-06-22T21:57:50.804-04:00Serious DNF.
Inexplicably put hardG at 47A, which ...Serious DNF.<br />Inexplicably put hardG at 47A, which gave me rATJOE for the rapper. Perfectly plausible.<br />garnet for December stone, wanted a dog or chimp, then Gagarin. Clever misdirect towards a being, not a thing.<br />Was just not on the right wavelength. Too bad, cause it was a good'un!<br />Goodnight all.<br />Tomorrow will be teaching my niece to sail - my 14.5' sloop amidst the hundreds of Saturday jetskis and skiboats on the lake.Titahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368251255494687496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-74506175059314827582012-06-22T20:37:52.108-04:002012-06-22T20:37:52.108-04:00Tuvalu??? Amine??? Tough one!!!Tuvalu??? Amine??? Tough one!!!Stevlb1https://www.blogger.com/profile/03814855846710624128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-16041165256624062012-06-22T19:56:53.274-04:002012-06-22T19:56:53.274-04:00Long day, just getting this done now. Knew from BU...Long day, just getting this done now. Knew from BUZZKILL that it would be fun, and it didn't disappoint.Sue McCnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-20231210828941758682012-06-22T19:49:54.468-04:002012-06-22T19:49:54.468-04:00Very enjoyable puzzle, more medium than challengin...Very enjoyable puzzle, more medium than challenging for me. Had episodic and sporadic before periodic (which, as others have said, doesn't seem quite right). And also had Tom Hanks until I vaguely remembered that Ed Harris was in the movie (which I've only seen parts of).<br /><br /> Both the cluing and the grid were great.michaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-82820904461207505152012-06-22T18:45:23.314-04:002012-06-22T18:45:23.314-04:00Errata: (1) meant Friday, not Thursday; (2) TUpEL...Errata: (1) meant Friday, not Thursday; (2) TUpELO, not TuPELO.<br /><br />Addendum: I was thinking Zoe Wanamaker all along. Wrong actress, right answer.lawprofnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-18726906875527093422012-06-22T18:38:50.451-04:002012-06-22T18:38:50.451-04:00@miriamb - I spent almost three years in the USAF ...@miriamb - I spent almost three years in the USAF at Whiteman AFB and during that time we lived in an apartment in Warrensburg, MO, about ten miles due west of the base. Warrensburg is not in the Ozarks. It is about 50 miles east of Kansas City. Actually it is a college town with a very nice park and tennis courts where we spent many hours playing with the local residents. It is a very nice community that at that time had a Dog 'N Suds drive-in, where we would eat out after our first son was born. We would go play bridge once a week in Cliinton, 20 miles south and that is part of the Ozarks. About 20 miles east is Sedalia where the cattle trail once ended and from there they would ship the cattle to the Chicago stock yards. <br /><br />I believe the Ozarks are further east and south. <br /><br />We would return to the Chicago area for vacation and spend a week at my father-in-law's cottage on Little Paw Paw Lake, Michigan. Nearby there was Big Paw Paw Lake. That was many moons ago and until today's puzzle I never knew a Paw Paw from a Papaw....<br /><br />JFCAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-88960586641006329182012-06-22T18:30:11.025-04:002012-06-22T18:30:11.025-04:00My first take on this puzzle: nothing, nada, zilc...My first take on this puzzle: nothing, nada, zilch -- until I got to 26A ____Lisa. Thought MONA, nah, too easy for a Thursday, so I continued on down. Still nothing. I was frantic that I might end up with a complete bagel, so I did enter MONA -- just so I'd have SOMETHING, even if it was wrong. Then I spotted 4D ZOE, which gave me BUZZKILL, which led to ZIRCON, and then it was off to the races. <br /><br />My favorite puzzles are those that at first appear impossible, then you get a tiny toehold, then another, and bit by bit it all comes together. Sort of confirms one's faith in persistence: if you keep at it long enough, it'll fall (like the room full of typing monkeys eventually writing the Bible...or the works of Shakespeare...or whatever).<br /><br />In the end, though, after coming here, I discovered an error at 59A/49D: TpA/TuPALU. I was thinking "Tennessee Pingpong Association" -- yes I was. And Tupalu's application to join the U.N. is still pending. I mistakenly thought they'd been admitted last year, but China's threatened veto is apparently holding things up.lawprofnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-2563728217663955572012-06-22T17:33:42.187-04:002012-06-22T17:33:42.187-04:00My late husband told me that his mother, who haile...My late husband told me that his mother, who hailed from Warrensburg, Missouri, in the Ozarks, used to sing Way Down Yonder in the Pawpaw Patch. See this website:<br /><br />http://rurification.blogspot.com/<br /><br />Can you say "truly rural" three times?<br /><br />eorgton: a prehistoric monster resembling a dysphoric toy donkey.miriam bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506593846362044050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-87190676646109629922012-06-22T17:17:08.623-04:002012-06-22T17:17:08.623-04:00@Rex, you know Dennis Leary resembles William Dafo...@Rex, you know Dennis Leary resembles William Dafoe more than Ed Harris. They both have hair and a gap between their two upper front teeth. Ed Harris almost never shows his teeth in his pictures. Also, my wife likes Ed Harris (I think he has blue eyes like mine) and can't stand Dennis Leary. I'm not sure if she knows Dafoe at all. Next time Ed Harris is in the puzzle I suggest you get a picture of Phil Harris. He and Jack Benny were contemporaries and Phil was on Benny's show before he had his own show.<br /><br />I cannot believe the captcha is geek ti 11....<br /><br />JFCAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-34950161214940507862012-06-22T17:15:25.522-04:002012-06-22T17:15:25.522-04:00@Martin: those sound delicious! Despite common n...@Martin: those sound delicious! Despite common name usage, though, I still stand by my earlier post.JenCThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18290169184354765840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-55425493479362028662012-06-22T16:43:45.747-04:002012-06-22T16:43:45.747-04:00Wonderful puzzle. I had Tom Hanks as well, What a ...Wonderful puzzle. I had Tom Hanks as well, What a guy without crosses and finished the whole thing without help, although it took a long time. Need a nap now.machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-37398311692184745822012-06-22T16:32:11.548-04:002012-06-22T16:32:11.548-04:00@JenCT,
Both the papaya and Asiminia triloba are ...@JenCT,<br /><br />Both the papaya and <i>Asiminia triloba</i> are called pawpaw and both are also spelled papaw. The clue narrows it down to the latter.<br /><br />Its (annona) family produces many custardy fruits that are eaten. The sweetsop and soursop are two, both grown in Central America. Soursop nectar (sold in cans in Latino markets as guanabana) is a wonderful drink. The king of the family is the cherimoya, whose fruit tastes of banana, pineapple and mango. It's grown in California now and if you see one in the market, do yourself a favor and try it. It's ripe when it has a slight give, like an avocado. I've made cherimoya sorbet and it's wonderful too.Martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-2894962015559585122012-06-22T16:03:16.642-04:002012-06-22T16:03:16.642-04:00@Sparky: Apparently, the fruit known as PawPaw is...@Sparky: Apparently, the fruit known as PawPaw is <i>Asimina triloba</i>; whereas PAPAW is <i>Carica papaya</i> and is commonly known as Papaya.<br /><br />Something new for me, too!JenCThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18290169184354765840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-37782788542248534432012-06-22T15:58:59.893-04:002012-06-22T15:58:59.893-04:00@Evan - Thank you for the reference to the fascina...@Evan - Thank you for the reference to the fascinating article. I've been using "read the riot act" for years, without having any idea that there really was a Riot Act - that really had to be read! Thanks also for the musings on BED :)Carolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15971759975067250908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-54071746254614692852012-06-22T15:48:18.210-04:002012-06-22T15:48:18.210-04:00@Evil: "Heard of Desilu, heard of True Value...@Evil: "Heard of Desilu, heard of True Value, heard of tiramisu, but never of Tuvalu." LOL<br /><br />I have NO memory at all of that Madonna song.<br /><br />Tried JA RULE before FAT JOE (same # of letters.)<br /><br /> @Mel Ott: SOFT G - those get me every single time too!<br /><br />Got SUMAC just off the S - don't remember how I know that.<br /><br />@Anon. 11:38: there are plenty of non-dairy liquid creamers in the refrigerated section.<br /><br />Had to walk away from this for a while & come back to finish.JenCThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18290169184354765840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-17418974659221134382012-06-22T15:28:02.383-04:002012-06-22T15:28:02.383-04:00Or maybe you could try singing Tuvalu to the tune ...Or maybe you could try singing Tuvalu to the tune of Rescue Me.<br /><br />JK and I are not related, btw. dk, neither.pknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-89451977622355099982012-06-22T15:25:29.518-04:002012-06-22T15:25:29.518-04:00Hey @Pierre - nice reference to the recent Dick Cl...Hey @Pierre - nice reference to the recent Dick Clark puzzle. The only time I danced to a Madonna song was with my girlfriend and it was a slow dance.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-22162700306580601542012-06-22T15:24:43.603-04:002012-06-22T15:24:43.603-04:00Wanted Buzzkill so badly for 1A, but knew it could...Wanted Buzzkill so badly for 1A, but knew it couldn't be right. So I wrote it in the margin (in pencil) to remind me to mention it to you guys in hopes of cracking you up at my stupidity. But THEN, tentatively confirmed the two Down Z's (both unknown to me even tho my birthday is in December) and still couldn't believe in it.<br /><br />So moved over to 9D - PFC, a gimme, and 15A - Flesh, also a gimme. Only tree I could think of that started with P was Pecan, so I put that in, which gave me the A for Astonish (12D). Pecan was not correct, of course, but the P and A were. There is no EL function on my cell phone (I checked), so that fixed that.<br /><br />Same problem with Piano/Pianist as others - thought the Piano was set in Pawpaw, or someplace like it.<br /><br />@chefwen, also loved Cookiejar and Tiramisu!<br /><br />Try singing Tuvalu, Tuvalu, Tuvalu to the tune of Figaro, etc. if you want to have a fun puzz geek experience.<br /><br />Kudos, JK, a fantastic puzz! I think that makes it pretty much Anonymous on this blog.pknoreply@blogger.com