tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post4564279178580673566..comments2024-03-29T10:48:14.820-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Philosophy in Bedroom author 1795 — SATURDAY, Nov. 21 2009 — Egyptian king credited with founding First Dynasty / Emperor's Snuff Box novelistRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger72125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61200370185127571692009-11-24T00:18:42.987-05:002009-11-24T00:18:42.987-05:00Els winning 7 WMPC's and not Tiger enhances ho...Els winning 7 WMPC's and not Tiger enhances how golf is different than other sports. Even the lame explanations of "why" do little to explain the actual process of the WMPC. <br /><br /><br />Els is croswordsy, I thought that you puzzlers just memorized this stuff. Luckily most novice to mid puzzle-solvers don't even try Saturday and have to read/endure such comments. But ... that's why I almost always try to read them.<br /><br />Els not only is good croswordese, but a top golfer, ascending to #2 but never #1. I guess that makes him a nobody, especially since he's not Tiger.<br /><br />hahaha <br />jesus ...xyzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08287781952915413013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-86841902841844529562009-11-22T13:52:52.233-05:002009-11-22T13:52:52.233-05:00I went and looked it up in a Greek dictionary. Th...I went and looked it up in a Greek dictionary. The feather prefix ought to be PHTER-, but it obviously never caught on spelled appropriately for some reason.<br /><br />I solved the puzzle bottom up. It was mostly medium pace until I hit the top. I was convinced the "Green line" was ENVIROsomething from the V crossing AVATAR. When I got the final NET, I was thinking, ah, some dolphin-safe NET is a "green" fishing line, right? That didn't help.<br /><br />And I tried WEEDAGE before I considered SEEDAGE. But I held back entering ELY (the bridge player) for ELS, since "Match Points" are what you play for in pretty much all bridge tournaments, but Ely is a first name. And I had ORALASSESSMENTS at first. So the top pretty much took twice as long as the rest of the puzzle.<br /><br />Hesitating over LEMS and DEANE down below, simply because we had just seen them, didn't slow me down much down below, though.william e embanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-71692622037579048432009-11-21T23:33:54.528-05:002009-11-21T23:33:54.528-05:00andrea not clearest michaels: I am as sure you don...andrea not clearest michaels: I am as sure you don't drink as I am sure I do. But, as with my friend Slim in Rockport, Massachusetts, it is as if you are always drunk. (Slim drinks, but you cannot tell Slim drunk from Slim sober, unless you are counting imbibements.) I might have had a point, but darkman is not sober at this time and will not be till morning (martinis at zero paces).slypetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05537129206516720012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-16102280888016484202009-11-21T22:38:58.565-05:002009-11-21T22:38:58.565-05:00@ Martin You're right. I didn't know that...@ Martin You're right. I didn't know that abyssinia was a slangy way of saying "good-bye." I thought the constructor had thought up this on his own.<br /><br /> My mistake.michaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-38695821143762812912009-11-21T22:01:52.726-05:002009-11-21T22:01:52.726-05:00@joho and @martin:
Thanks for the pterrible news ...@joho and @martin:<br /><br />Thanks for the pterrible news on pter. <br /><br />Now I am wondering why I had time to do a Saturday xword, read & comment on a blog, go play a game of bridge, all before heading to work (another thing that's harder on a Saturday), but I didn't have time to look up etymology like you two did...<br />;-)Jim Hnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-52624971168922794992009-11-21T21:45:15.344-05:002009-11-21T21:45:15.344-05:00@ mac: It is I. Former farmer, former skeptic, t...@ mac: It is I. Former farmer, former skeptic, there was something with weasels once, etc. When the blog first appeared I used to write more and use my full name, but Google scares me now, so I just use the first name.Eli the formernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-5666223636769532552009-11-21T21:22:18.665-05:002009-11-21T21:22:18.665-05:00@mac
It depends on where you are coming from in th...@mac<br />It depends on where you are coming from in the puzzle...I had RAGS for tatters, RODS for Staffs and it took me a while to figure out what had a head on it, as a non-drinker I did not think about beer.<br />(My first thought: PIN)<br />So, one MANS easy is another's DEER assessments!<br /><br />@Two Ponies<br />She apologized, sort of, as have I, sort of. Obviously bigger issue is why I triggered that response in her period.<br />(Since you are one of the few who can follow my train of thought, I will trust you to parse that last sentence correctly and realize that it had nothing to do with her period!)<br /><br />By the way, Noam or someone, is MENE MENE parkel atechem or whatever it is about the writing on the wall to do with MENES?<br />(oops "tekel Upharsin" I see on Google but I'll leave my original in to show how off-base I was! OK, it's nothing to do with MENES)<br />Nevermind.andrea not clearest michaelsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-79528353530237451272009-11-21T21:13:44.061-05:002009-11-21T21:13:44.061-05:00How things change in a year and a half. NABE is na...How things change in a year and a half. NABE is nary an issue. Who remembers <a href="http://rexwordpuzzle.blogspot.com/2008/04/friday-apr-18-2008-joe-dipietro-bygone.html" rel="nofollow">April 18 2008 </a> when all we could talk about was NABE?Jeffreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01699404861773455504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-40321490467108208252009-11-21T20:49:48.557-05:002009-11-21T20:49:48.557-05:00@joho and Michael,
Cluing one slangy way of sayin...@joho and Michael,<br /><br />Cluing one slangy way of saying "goodbye" with another slang way of "goodbye" is not a punny clue. The fact that many solvers didn't recognize "Abyssinia" as a slangy way to say goodbye made it a hard clue. That sometimes happens on Saturday.Martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80891731244862998842009-11-21T20:07:44.475-05:002009-11-21T20:07:44.475-05:00@Michael ... it's OK to have a pun in the NYT ...@Michael ... it's OK to have a pun in the NYT puzzle, but not OK to have the whole puzzle be about puns and anagrams unless it's the second puzzle on a Sunday. Some of us feel that way, others thought the "regular" puzzle being about puns and anagrams was just fine. So. Sorry I answered your question because I'm sure you're more confused now than before. Anybody?johohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12708487230515532492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31822379678696628072009-11-21T19:31:04.349-05:002009-11-21T19:31:04.349-05:00It was a medium-challenging for me, but I'm ve...It was a medium-challenging for me, but I'm very busy and a little distracted. What I found unusual is that there a couple of oddly easy clues in this Saturday puzzle: 22D staffs, 25D It has a head, 28D degenerates and 26D tatters.<br /><br />I had Wimpole instead of Walpole; don't ask, a street in Chelsea/London. I was so proud to dig up the Canadian Nabe and figure out silva with no crosses. I expected something like pina or pine to start a feathery word. Center ice was hard to parse, never heard of it.<br /><br />@Eli: are you the former farmer?<br /><br />@Orange: excuses, excuses;-).machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61249956995137582222009-11-21T19:17:16.774-05:002009-11-21T19:17:16.774-05:00@Two Ponies: I think seedage is terrible! I have...@Two Ponies: I think seedage is terrible! I have never used that word. I'd rather see it clued as "advent of flowering plants" or "reduced germination cause" or ... with answer SEED AGE.PlantieBeahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01960277851368508036noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31402034057516144712009-11-21T18:59:52.110-05:002009-11-21T18:59:52.110-05:00@ PlantieBea,
I was counting on you for some rati...@ PlantieBea, <br />I was counting on you for some rational justification of seedage. No comment on that?<br />@ edith b, Agree completely about classic-style perseverance and lack of factoids. You are on the mark, as usual.<br />@ Andrea, I'm glad you noted the mess room. I forgot to mention it earlier and can't believe no one else did. I like your stream of thought and, FWIW, I can follow it! Scary, huh?<br />Have you spoken to your friend with the parking "issue"?Two Ponieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06896743444873087885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-79170086321123583882009-11-21T18:27:18.550-05:002009-11-21T18:27:18.550-05:00@fergus-
NABE was the way that the movie industry...@fergus-<br /><br />NABE was the way that the movie industry thru Variety magazine distinguished a neighborhood theater from a chain one when gross receipts were represented back in the days when those things actually mattered to the motion picture industry. Kind of archaic in this day and age.Bill from NJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10103923612595508277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-65125455961278251532009-11-21T18:25:24.894-05:002009-11-21T18:25:24.894-05:00This week's relative difficulty ratings. See m...This week's relative difficulty ratings. See my <a href="https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=35115061&postID=3588389571383499624&isPopup=true" rel="nofollow">7/30/2009 post</a> 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 />All solvers (median solve time, average for day of week, ratio, percentile, rating)<br /><br />Mon 6:38, 6:54, 0.96, 42%, Medium<br />Tue 9:02, 8:37, 1.05, 65%, Medium-Challenging<br />Wed 11:25, 11:46, 0.97, 47%, Medium<br />Thu 18:46, 18:33, 1.01, 58%, Medium<br />Fri 26:11, 26:06, 1.00, 54%, Medium<br />Sat 33:35, 29:36, 1.13, 81%, Challenging<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:27, 3:41, 0.94, 37%, Easy-Medium<br />Tue 4:20, 4:25, 0.98, 51%, Medium<br />Wed 5:52, 5:47, 1.01, 61%, Medium-Challenging<br />Thu 8:11, 8:57, 0.91, 23%, Easy-Medium<br />Fri 12:23, 12:27, 0.99, 55%, Medium<br />Sat 17:23, 17:12, 1.01, 60%, Mediumsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-66654889957169049062009-11-21T17:58:14.900-05:002009-11-21T17:58:14.900-05:00This was hard for me. Sticking points included PU...This was hard for me. Sticking points included PUMP up sales, LEAN for rangy, REC(eiver)S for touchdown makers, and NICK for the local theater. CENTER ICE and MINER were good, but I really disliked the N TEST, SEEDAGE, and ANTA. I'm glad you all explained TA TA. On to Sunday.PlantieBeahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01960277851368508036noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-38496130753057970792009-11-21T17:57:39.396-05:002009-11-21T17:57:39.396-05:00@Anonymous 2:16
The LEM was officially the LM (lu...@Anonymous 2:16<br /><br />The LEM was officially the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Lunar_Module" rel="nofollow">LM</a> (lunar module) and comprised descent and ascent stages. When called LEM, the E stood for "excursion," not escape. That was the job of the ascent stage.Martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-49543778458123512892009-11-21T17:34:44.298-05:002009-11-21T17:34:44.298-05:00The South surrendered fairly rapidly, but New Engl...The South surrendered fairly rapidly, but New England held out to the very end. I thought a sphere lacked SIDES, and I "took a chance" on WINGED IT. That converted "rangy" to LONG, and required the "horticultural practice" to end in -DE, a perfectly reasonable hypothesis, but sadly misleading. The old stare-at-it-long-enough-and-it'll-come technique finally lifted the siege. Rather harder than Medium, IMHO.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-38825984164504920892009-11-21T17:34:21.521-05:002009-11-21T17:34:21.521-05:00I still think SSTS is lazier than ASSESSMENTS -- a...I still think SSTS is lazier than ASSESSMENTS -- and more crossword cliche. This puzzle failed my test for that reason alone. But there was more that sucked about it, in my book. ANTA, SMARM, PTER, UHS, NTESTS and SEEDAGE to name a few.Van55https://www.blogger.com/profile/15904942044695917615noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46873474524927543102009-11-21T17:04:52.655-05:002009-11-21T17:04:52.655-05:00Got started with JAPANESELANTERN with no confirmin...Got started with JAPANESELANTERN with no confirming crossings except AVATAR (vaguely) and bled slowly southward. I liked this puzzle alot because it did little good to Goggle as very few clues called for factoids one could glean from ones storehouse. I like the fact that SADE and ELS were inferrable from the clues.<br /><br />This turned out to be a classic-type solve in that the short downs finally provided insight into the long accrosses. Perseverance was the key to success today not memory.<br /><br />I liked how CENTERICE was at center ice and that NABE, that perennial Variety warhorse, didn't take its usual whipping - unjustified IMOO - as it has every time it rears its head.edith bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12048817959846956992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-84301587891823209152009-11-21T16:48:45.886-05:002009-11-21T16:48:45.886-05:00I liked this better than Rex and got it, but it to...I liked this better than Rex and got it, but it took quite a while. Medium-challenging for me. "Tarn" is new to me. I had to come here to figure out Abysinnia -- tata and am wondering why there is so much enthusiasm for this when there was a lot of dislike for the puns and anagrams puzzle.<br /><br /> (I like puns and anagrams, but thought this clue belonged in a different kind of puzzle.)michaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-40682292679441425852009-11-21T16:29:30.932-05:002009-11-21T16:29:30.932-05:00@Nick (2:34)
If you were born 30 years earlier .....@Nick (2:34)<br /><br />If you were born 30 years earlier ...<br />-----<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_National_Theater_and_Academy" rel="nofollow">American National Theatre and Academy</a><br />-----<br />Is "Abyssinia" the same part of speach as "Uranus"?<br /><br />.../GlitchGlitchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14940000404613329056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-89240766611084784152009-11-21T15:59:42.365-05:002009-11-21T15:59:42.365-05:00I'll add my vote to those who say this one was...I'll add my vote to those who say this one was hard.<br /><br />Traveling today, so I didn't really get to sink my teeth into it, but the bites I took were pretty tough.<br /><br />The word ASSESSMENT makes my eyes glaze over.archaeoprofhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17956231727789223463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-66352444878057352792009-11-21T15:06:44.840-05:002009-11-21T15:06:44.840-05:00NABE sure looked strange. Short for neighborhood,...NABE sure looked strange. Short for neighborhood, I presume. A lot of doubt about the Sphere's EDGES. Because of the plural, or more intrinsic to the definition?<br /><br />I got stuck with SUPREME PLANET, DRUM/JACK/PERK/ etc. UP SALES, leading to an amazing variety of LANTERNs. My plausible Press release was a GUIDE. So that whole NW drove me BATS.fergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-88473037392934939902009-11-21T14:56:22.026-05:002009-11-21T14:56:22.026-05:00Drat, I had EHS instead of UHS
(Must be that Canad...Drat, I had EHS instead of UHS<br />(Must be that Canadian influence creeping down into Minnesota) so I had RAMPED Sales, leaving DEER ASSESSMENTS and I swear to god I thought it was a Santa clue, and they were talking about his Toy Workshop and the ReinDEER!!!!!!!!!!!!<br /><br />I also didn't get the Bodacious "Abyssinia" clue and thought it was a slang word for boob!<br /><br />I also initially had RAMS for LEMS as touchdown makers and was proud to know the name of a football team. <br />And WEEDAGE for SEEDAGE, just as silly, I suppose.<br /><br />@dk, my LANK friend,<br />:)<br />Abyssinia in my dreams!<br />Will do my best to avoid asps.<br />(and (W)asps for that matter!)<br /><br />Hey, that could be a puzzle...<br />take an insect, remove the initial "stinger" and get a snake. <br /><br />Lots of bleedovers besides DEANE. What about MESS(room)?andrea carr michaelsnoreply@blogger.com