tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post4589363798467586131..comments2024-03-29T08:20:27.450-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: WEDNESDAY, Oct. 17, 2007 - Paula GamacheRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-13410553068422760592007-11-28T19:44:00.000-05:002007-11-28T19:44:00.000-05:00From the future (or is it the past?), 6 weeks on:o...From the future (or is it the past?), 6 weeks on:<BR/><BR/>ooo. Wasn't this just a great Wednesday treat? Inventive, challenging, yet extremely fair. Like anon1:19 AM, I too didn't figure out the theme until the puzzle was basically completed but the great thing is you don't have to in order to solve.<BR/><BR/>And I think the Castile Ironpans would be a super name for a team to play in NFL Europe.Waxy in Montrealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04395751487137805245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-65624736976203418342007-10-18T01:19:00.000-04:002007-10-18T01:19:00.000-04:00Hey I thought this was a great puzzle.I didn't fig...Hey I thought this was a great puzzle.<BR/><BR/>I didn't figure out the theme til near the end, but once I did, I thought that "MISS UNIVERSE," "TEXT MESSAGE" AND "CAST IRON PAN" were all very clever.<BR/><BR/>Bravo to the constructor.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-28184962002595396232007-10-18T00:01:00.000-04:002007-10-18T00:01:00.000-04:00I didn't 'get' the theme until I had about 8 lette...I didn't 'get' the theme until I had about 8 letters left in the whole puzzle and was completing the NW, and then suddenly it made sense. Granted, I'd done the puzzle in three separate attacks, so it wasn't coherent to me. I liked the puzzle over all, but I do have quibbles with CAST IRON PAN (pot, I thought) and HOST COMPUTER. I really liked MUSK OX, ONE L, and Y.A. TITTLE.voiceofsocietymanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11212997934962744466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46738388015300158892007-10-17T23:33:00.000-04:002007-10-17T23:33:00.000-04:00"Host computer" gets about ten times as many Googl..."Host computer" gets about ten times as many Google hits as "cast-iron pan".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67995879921479716012007-10-17T23:25:00.000-04:002007-10-17T23:25:00.000-04:00I found this an easy, enjoyable, run-of-the-mill p...I found this an easy, enjoyable, run-of-the-mill puzzle.<BR/><BR/>For what it's worth, "host computer" seems like fairly ordinary English to me and I'm not a computer geek at all. The theme answer I didn't particularly like was castile iron pan.Michael Chibnikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04700426644898924644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-55447045346285568772007-10-17T22:59:00.000-04:002007-10-17T22:59:00.000-04:00"Large" is surely an overstatement, if you are con..."Large" is surely an overstatement, if you are considering a percentage of the "world" for whom HOST COMPUTER is a "very ordinary English term." And further, I knew the term; it just didn't feel strong enough (to me) to build a theme answer off of, especially in a theme as tenuous as this one. <BR/><BR/>rpRex Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-49779439658898821502007-10-17T22:44:00.000-04:002007-10-17T22:44:00.000-04:00Rex,I love your blog and learn a lot from it. But...Rex,<BR/>I love your blog and learn a lot from it. But I was surprised by your comment that "host computer" isn't "in-the-language" enough. For a large segment of the world, it's a very ordinary English term. As you put it so well the other day "Doing the puzzle means having to know about a Lot of stuff you don't particularly care about," and for this clue that meant computer systems.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80736692048487899802007-10-17T20:01:00.000-04:002007-10-17T20:01:00.000-04:00Thanks for the orts explanations. For some reason,...Thanks for the orts explanations. For some reason, I expected it to be a modern acronym rather than a medieval word... like Ordinary Random Table Scraps or Overcooked Rotting Table Scraps or Out to Rover Table Scraps. You're groaning and glad I'm not a constructor, right? <BR/><BR/>P.S. Chip Ahoy: what did you eat before bed the night of Musk Ox dream?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-72973295382282425312007-10-17T19:31:00.000-04:002007-10-17T19:31:00.000-04:00Once I had a dream where my sister raised musk ox....Once I had a dream where my sister raised musk ox. She was wearing the most outrageous coat. And boots. And hat. In the background they were stupidly banging each others' heads for dominance like rams. <BR/><BR/>She also employed a team of native women cranking out a whole range of strange musk ox related handicrafts.<BR/><BR/>Therefore, I appreciate musk ox wherever it appears even though the animals themselves are quite dense and rude, and even when it needs to be spelled mutk ox in order to be rightfully thematically consistent.Chip Ahoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12597726289890879627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-5116157671134308362007-10-17T19:17:00.000-04:002007-10-17T19:17:00.000-04:00Did somebody say "orts"? That's always my cue to r...Did somebody say "orts"? That's always my cue to ramble on about that high school paper I wrote about medieval dining customs. They'd throw the orts on the ground for the dogs, I wrote, a seasoned consumer of crosswordese even at that tender age. My teacher circled the word "orts" and appended a question mark, suspecting a typo, and apparently it didn't occur to him to consult a dictionary.Orangehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12433254398377357737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56676209745349244562007-10-17T17:52:00.000-04:002007-10-17T17:52:00.000-04:00Rikki: ORT is just an english word for "A morsel l...Rikki: ORT is just an english word for "A morsel left at a meal", so says my Webster. I believe people use "crosswordese" in general to describe any word that is really common in crossword puzzles, but not commonly used in normal speech. From my perspective, "ort" certainly qualifies!<BR/><BR/>And I think theme "quality" is in the eyes of the puzzler! I agreed with Rex on this today's, but often I really like themes he finds mediocre - independent of whether they help me with the puzzle solving.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-73861755439793005592007-10-17T17:38:00.000-04:002007-10-17T17:38:00.000-04:00Anyone catch the terrific program on Crosswords on...Anyone catch the terrific program on Crosswords on PBS last night? Really enjoyable.<BR/><BR/>A few days ago I posted a note in awe of the finish times of solvers much better than I am; some inferred that I was suggesting that the times may not be accurate. After watching the show last night, am humbled and chastened. Wow, doing a Sunday type puzzle in less than eight minutes! Wouldn't have believed it if I did not see it with my own eyes.kumarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14790185113545178390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45163585339207384832007-10-17T16:47:00.000-04:002007-10-17T16:47:00.000-04:00The existence of plenty of uncomfortable v-words n...The existence of plenty of uncomfortable v-words notwithstanding, couldn't it just be the ass in crevasse? I'm going with ass. But of course, I always go with that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-49806264883245495732007-10-17T16:44:00.001-04:002007-10-17T16:44:00.001-04:00Orange, you're right; that was sort of symptomatic...Orange, you're right; that was sort of symptomatic of my distraction, interruption and inattention to detail today (50th Anniversary of exposure to air). And so off the beach, perchance to catch a rainbow as the rainclouds recede.fergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-23020590018523393212007-10-17T16:44:00.000-04:002007-10-17T16:44:00.000-04:00I guess liking a theme because I got it and it hel...I guess liking a theme because I got it and it helped me solve the puzzle and liking it because it's a good theme are two different things, as I am discovering as I read this blog and think more about puzzles than I used to. This one falls into the former category. An easy Wednesday for me. Wednesday is where I usually slow down and often can't finish without a google or two. But soared through, starting with Torme which I knew because my husband, a jazz guitarist, calls Mel the Velvet Frog.<BR/><BR/>I know this is crosswordese, but may I ask why orts is table scraps. I'm sure I'm in for a HS moment when I hear the reply. Thanks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-164925933285369482007-10-17T16:24:00.000-04:002007-10-17T16:24:00.000-04:00Fergus, HAL didn't need to be a host computer—just...Fergus, HAL didn't need to be a host computer—just a HOSTILE COMPUTER. After all, Miss Universe has no ballistic weaponry.Orangehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12433254398377357737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-64968260393327636892007-10-17T15:17:00.000-04:002007-10-17T15:17:00.000-04:00Was HAL really a HOST COMPUTER? Isn't that a term...Was HAL really a HOST COMPUTER? Isn't that a term that came about when a bunch of PCs were networked and the locus of the LAN was the HOST? There were a few terminals on the spacecraft connected to HAL but that wouldn't constitute a network. I'll leave the expert terminology and interpretation to the experts, but this did seem a bit off.<BR/><BR/>Which was maybe why, even with MISSILE, TEXTILE and CASTILE I felt a little stuck, confused about the theme. So had to puzzle a bit until the obvious appeared. Probably, this is the most a theme has ever helped me, in terms of letter production as a direct result of its recognition<BR/><BR/>Didn't know there was a Proust film. Maybe more than one? Suppose this one might work better than some 'consciousness' novels, but this is the sort of film I would be very reluctant to see, having long ago seen "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" kicked around. Steered clear of Under the Volcano, The Idiot and Ulysses for that reason. (Now, if that were the full title of a film, I would go see that.) "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" I thought was a success, though. It's definitely a matter of taste as to how you want your internal monologue served up.<BR/><BR/>Isn't a CREVASSE only found in ice fields, though?fergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-70912967789954447612007-10-17T15:11:00.000-04:002007-10-17T15:11:00.000-04:00I liked this one. I also had ATRA and put in RAGE...I liked this one. I also had ATRA and put in RAGE for RISE which slowed me down a bit. MUSKOX made me smile, I don't think I've ever seen it in a puzzle before. Didn't know GUION, PROUST, or NOVUM but all were easily gettable from the crosses. Nice to see some different clueing for AORTA and EPEE. Like Rex, I was looking for CASTILIAN until the theme became apparent after I fixed RAGE.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10839818549836885142007-10-17T14:29:00.000-04:002007-10-17T14:29:00.000-04:00Afta, Y.A. Tittle and IHOP seem to be common words...Afta, Y.A. Tittle and IHOP seem to be common words of late. <BR/><BR/>I happened to like Missle Universe for no known reason... reminds me of the daisy ad from the Johnson/Goldwater days<BR/><BR/>My grandmother told me Mel Torme was known as the velvet Fog and I have never forgotten that.<BR/><BR/>All and all a fun trip down memory lane.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-74711672962837755522007-10-17T14:10:00.000-04:002007-10-17T14:10:00.000-04:00Rex must've had crevasse on the brain to not comme...Rex must've had crevasse on the brain to not comment on the rather gross "stye seep" in the SE.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-5166651831247816512007-10-17T13:22:00.000-04:002007-10-17T13:22:00.000-04:00And JD is a law degree: Juris Doctor.And JD is a law degree: Juris Doctor.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24888642379775768092007-10-17T13:17:00.000-04:002007-10-17T13:17:00.000-04:00One L is the nickname for first year Law School (L...One L is the nickname for first year Law School (L for Law, 1 for first year). It is also Scott Turrow's first book (I believe it's a memoir) of his first year at Harvard law School.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-33869720573939919622007-10-17T13:15:00.000-04:002007-10-17T13:15:00.000-04:00I'm not in-the-know. could you please say what is ...I'm not in-the-know. could you please say what is One L ?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67039103297161046712007-10-17T13:11:00.000-04:002007-10-17T13:11:00.000-04:00what does clue 61:first-year j.d. candidate answer...what does clue 61:first-year j.d. candidate answer-onel mean?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15447162545694461366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-58974726656526695292007-10-17T13:07:00.000-04:002007-10-17T13:07:00.000-04:00I completely missed that they (?) had re-named Pro...I completely missed that they (?) had re-named Proust's work from 'Remembrance of Things Past' to 'In Search of Lost Time.' <BR/><BR/>Guess my 1932 2-volume hard cover set might be worth something?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com