tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post4692313660046564212..comments2024-03-28T09:56:40.623-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Nixon adviser Nofziger / SAT 8-1-15 / Jazz’s Beiderbecke / Cornel who wrote “Race Matters” / Put in bundles for the bookbinder / Musician Mendes known for the bossa nova / Irish runner Coghlan / Highest authority in some Eastern Churches / Basketball’s Black Mamba / Food writer DrummondRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45596079414189188232015-09-07T00:27:29.884-04:002015-09-07T00:27:29.884-04:00Complainers should recall that some 120,000 Japane...Complainers should recall that some 120,000 Japanese-American INTERNEES were held for a number of years in miserable camps set up by the U.S. government during WWII. The government action was later held to be unconstitutional, as you likely know.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-22079496331400255322015-09-05T17:32:13.248-04:002015-09-05T17:32:13.248-04:00This definitely wasn't any Easy-Medium for me....This definitely wasn't any Easy-Medium for me. I was ENISLEd in the SE, where QUIRED and NAIVEART marooned me. Otherwise, not a bad trip for a Saturday.leftcoastTAMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-74811168926632870952015-09-05T16:20:42.389-04:002015-09-05T16:20:42.389-04:00@Spacecraft - Sunday is one week old, the rest of ...@Spacecraft - Sunday is one week old, the rest of the week is five weeks time-warped. If that helps any. Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-4460234441208075712015-09-05T15:28:54.918-04:002015-09-05T15:28:54.918-04:00Ditto, ditto, ditto, with everything Spacecraft sa...Ditto, ditto, ditto, with everything Spacecraft said. This was certainly no Easy/Medium. I'd call it Challenging/Near Impossible.<br /><br />I'm 78 yrs old and terms like Friendzone, Freeunion, are not in my vocabulary. So, the entire midsection is blank as well as blankcds.<br />I did finish the other three corners but so what. What the hell is naïve art? No fun, this puzzle so I'm sending 3 Noogies and 2 Wedgies to Mr. Collins.<br /><br />Ron Digo, Grumpy Old Man, Living in La Mesa, CA<br />(Where the city fathers will not allow Mensa members to reside).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-40878763865003671142015-09-05T12:00:41.144-04:002015-09-05T12:00:41.144-04:00Easy-medium?? EASY-MEDIUM??? YOU TAKE THAT BACK RI...Easy-medium?? EASY-MEDIUM??? YOU TAKE THAT BACK RIGHT NOW! NOBODY on GOD'S green earth could find this "EASY-MEDIUM!"<br /><br />Okay,I had to get that out of my SYSTEM. Now if you'll bear with me, I need to get one more thing out of the way:<br /><br />Please, PLEASE keep the syndilink up to date! Most especially on the cusp of the month! I had to go into the August archives, scroll to the bottom--and then hit "older posts" SEVENTEEN TIMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I did NOT sign up for this! Finding this page was almost as hard as doing the puzzle!<br /><br />Almost. I don't even know how I finished this. Was there a gimme? Yeah, one. Good ol' BIX Beiderbecke. Still didn't help me with ENISLE, one of those real words (though red-lined) that NOBODY EVER USES. By dumb luck I seemed to recall hearing a reggae version of the Clapton classic, which led me to Marley's WAILERS, still just a guess. 90% of what I wrote was pure guess.<br /><br />What broke things out was, paradoxically for me, in the NW. I finally sussed ONTHEICE, having rejected "ON ICE--" the more familiar expression--some time back. That expanded my SPHERE, and I found HAPPY. What a clue: "Are you satisfied now?" HAPPY? No. I'm getting the distinct feeling that someone does NOT want me to get this. Putting an extra "THE" in where it has no business, and such.<br /><br />Took me forever to work out BULLETIN because I'd misspelled EAMONN. Gosh, is that REALLY how his name is spelled? I had EAMMON and it looked fine.<br /><br />I worked like a dog on this all morning, stopped dead, it seemed, several times before I was through. And Smarty-pants calls it "easy-medium." Maybe he's familiar with sayings like FREEUNION and FRIENDZONE. I am not. NAIVEART is another WOE. I would rate this as THE MOST challenging puzzle I've ever completed. Glad I didn't call it QUITS. With fill like NGO, GTS, REE and TSOS, I can't give it more than a B.spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44170003316408241102015-09-05T11:13:25.412-04:002015-09-05T11:13:25.412-04:00Never thought I would say LYN Nofziger would save ...Never thought I would say LYN Nofziger would save me, much of that AREA might have been BLANK if I’d not recalled him. And gimme SERGIO Mendes saved the SW; though I might have gone with “golfer Garcia”, maybe he’s early week or they’re going for a non-sports clue.<br /><br />With all of the good stuff are we REE QUIRED to get ENISLE?<br /><br />BIX another gimme as he played cornet (and other instruments) as I did.<br /><br />Arthur, King of the BRITONS, Monty Python, say no more.<br /><br />Can we sometime lose the French words?<br /><br />Took a while to determine if the BOMBS were A, N, or H. Thought the PO would be A or F.<br /><br />NICE Sat-puz, now I’ll be HAPPY to put the beer ONTHEICE for an afternoon on the St. Croix. That’ll be me, low-SLUNG in the blue kayak REEmoving tan lines.<br />rondonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-28706069016476863202015-09-05T10:40:59.488-04:002015-09-05T10:40:59.488-04:00MEMO: OLDELI QUITS FREEUNION
OHH BABYCAKES, it’s ...MEMO: OLDELI QUITS FREEUNION<br /><br />OHH BABYCAKES, it’s back to the FRIENDZONE,<br />I’m TONGUETIED here in bed.<br />You keep RAILING about my LITTLEONE,<br />and I’m not HAPPY you SEXT ED.<br /><br />--- SHTETL SHPERE SCHLEPS<br />Burma Shavenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-1665350551361192202015-08-03T20:47:22.227-04:002015-08-03T20:47:22.227-04:00A long, slow, ultimately satisfying solve. EAMONN ...A long, slow, ultimately satisfying solve. EAMONN was my first word in, followed by KOBE BRYANT. <br /><br />Unusual experience of having not one but two in/out/ins. TSOS and BRILLOS. In both cases, I filled the word in with confidence, than when I could not get a single single cross took 'em back out.<br /><br />theELI before OLDELI, AHA before OHo before OHH, tennisgame before MATCHPOINT, ari before LeN before LYN, ARENot before ARENTI, intercoM before PASYSTEM. <br /><br />Loved it.kitshefnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-52777607882902236762015-08-02T13:14:43.814-04:002015-08-02T13:14:43.814-04:00@Phil, as I've heard from One Who Knows about ...@Phil, as I've heard from One Who Knows about such things, the sch- start is Germanic while the sh- is Yiddish. Since schlep means to pull/drag in German exactly as shlep does in Yiddish, both versions will be found. On the other hand, shtetl exists only in Yiddish (a diminutive of stadt), while the German equivalent is Kleinstadt or Dorf.Leapfingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14243620614139990887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91111130118230274412015-08-02T09:25:04.859-04:002015-08-02T09:25:04.859-04:00Guessing this is an ongoing issue with Yiddish tra...Guessing this is an ongoing issue with Yiddish transliteration, but why is the beginning of shtetl spelled differently than schlep? They would be spelled with the same character in the original language. I will say that, while I've seen schlep spelled without the c, I don't think I've seen shtetl with one.Philhttp://visualculturist.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-78767044904784728552015-08-02T00:53:13.470-04:002015-08-02T00:53:13.470-04:00Off topic alert, since I can't respond to the ...Off topic alert, since I can't respond to the following two commenters via email.<br /><br />@old timer, I've exceeded the three post rule as well as veering off topic, but your story was so nice I felt compelled to respond of the moderators will allow it. I don't think breast actually was a part of an answer today because TONGUE TIE can negatively affect feeding for all infants no matter how they are fed. I work wth many bottle fed babies and while the milk can be poured into baby's mouths with a bottle so that they get enough milk to be adequately nourished, these babies often struggle with breathing and spill milk while they feed. They are often uncomfortable and have indigestion as a result. <br /><br />You must live in a nice part of the country because I still encounter just as many parents who feel they have been criticized for breastfeeding (for reasons that have nothing to do with medical science) by health care practitioners as those who feel they have been criticized for bottle and or formula feeding. I usually find the alleged criticism is unnecessary and unhelpful on all counts. Maybe I just hear a lot of stories from highly stressed parents who feel criticized that skews my perspective. <br /><br />@Curious Yellow, since I responded to old timer I might as well go for broke and respond to you too. Yes people confuse incidence and prevalence all the time. I see a subset of the population that experiences feeding problems so I will see a higher rate of tongue tie among my clients than you would expect to see among the general population of infants. Also, I work outside the hospital so I see infants all the way through weaning, not just newborns. So you can't extrapolate from the 1,000 or so cases I've seen to the incidence of tongue tie among live births. Nevertheless it is possible I've seen over 10.000 babies by now. I stopped counting the number of cases after I'd been in practice for five years when my total exceeded 5,000 mothers and I've now been practicing for close to 13 years. <br /><br />The current estimates of the occurrence of tongue tie are still sketchy from an epidemiological perspective because the various diagnostic criteria are highly subjective and therefore exceedingly prone to error. Some biomedical engineers in Isreal and at Columbia University have done some interesting work looking at oscillations of tongue movements via sonogram. I think they might actually eventually come up with an objective diagnostic tool based on functionality rather than appearance.Aketihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07059835429995060000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-15713919338970011752015-08-01T23:18:31.729-04:002015-08-01T23:18:31.729-04:00@old timer, you ARE indeed a sweetie!!
I'll b...@old timer, you ARE indeed a sweetie!!<br /><br />I'll be submitting this comment anonymously, just in case there's a Mrs. old timer with a jealous disposition.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-77145528263148550802015-08-01T22:57:00.668-04:002015-08-01T22:57:00.668-04:00Of course the logical phrase would be "Ain...Of course the logical phrase would be "Ain't I", but "I'm a sweetie, AREN'T I" is very much in the language. I can see it used in a riposte, too. Also, "Oh, man, I really want that girl, but we are in the FRIEND ZONE" is marvelous and true for those in that predicament. <br /><br />I'll mention that I have three daughters who were breast-fed, and three grandchildren who are (or have been) too. It's controversial these days only if an infant is bottle-fed, to the point where friends will ask if there is some sort of medical problem. Pediatricians these days are all in favor of nature's nutrient for newborns<br /><br />As a result, "breast" never even occurred to me as part of an answer todayold timernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-25867353644880938482015-08-01T20:32:38.718-04:002015-08-01T20:32:38.718-04:00@Aketi, you piqued my curiosity, so I looked up a...@Aketi, you piqued my curiosity, so I looked up ankyloglossia. The first thing I noticed was that some reports seem to be conflating incidence and prevalence, which AREN'T the same thing, but I suppose if you're talking about newborns, it would be incidence (newly identified cases annually). Estimates, as you know, vary widely, mostly by virtue of how the condition is defined, but whatever estimate is accepted (range being between 1-11%), that would mean the 1000 cases you've served represent approx. between 10,000 and 100,000 live births. Pretty impressive.Curious Yellownoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-60953038077424323452015-08-01T20:08:15.686-04:002015-08-01T20:08:15.686-04:00"Won't you step into my parlous?" sa..."Won't you step into my parlous?" said the Spider to the Fly... Indicating [archaically] that 'parlous' is a perilous/RISKY place to be.<br /><br />@George, SCHLEP SABLE over to your SHTETL list: the best OL' DELIs serve it up, along with the lox and smoked trout.<br /><br />@Alias, sorry that I reQUIREd you yet again. Late though I was, I hadn't your your post when I posted. You know I wouldn't plagiarize you, pas moi.<br /><br />I can see why so many tried BEEFY before BURLY, what with KOBE in the grid.<br /><br />Isn't EAMONN something the WAILERS might say?<br /><br />I'm finding the new format a bit difficult to stay current with, if you haven't been keeping up all along. What with packets of comments appearing at irregular intervals, it's harder not to duplicate, and easier to miss things you might want to respond to. Apparently some people are keeping up, as some are making more long comments with more individual replies in them. Ah well, not y'all's problem, is it? Here's hoping a new and improved SYSTEM is in place soon. And yes, with @'mericans back in it, and none of those aforementioned inexplicable disappearances.<br /><br />@jberg, we didn't get TEX turning to TEC, but maybe BIX will turn by der BIC tomorrow. (Am I sorry for that one? Pas moi!)Leapfingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14243620614139990887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-198766303363180762015-08-01T19:01:30.082-04:002015-08-01T19:01:30.082-04:00When I saw TONGUETIED in the grid, I suspected wha...When I saw TONGUETIED in the grid, I suspected what would ensue, but I was HANDTIED.La Leche Presidentnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-36717308926164706542015-08-01T18:43:57.456-04:002015-08-01T18:43:57.456-04:00@Evan, I was anticipating we might once again shea...@Evan, I was anticipating we might once again sheave those papers into bundles back at the house where it's cool: reQUIRE inQUIRE acQUIRE. But of course, I'm preaching to the QUIRE.<br /><br />What with the GEMSTONES and the ICE, I could tell from the start that this would be a jewel and a PEACH. A number of other things that made me HAPPY:<br />*Remembering PBS' serialized "Tales of the City", which introduced me to Armistead Maupin and the word BABYCAKES, that I use intermittently;<br />*Remembering my ER rotation, where I spent endless hours for weeks on end, till our [very NICE] senior resident told me to take the time to get a haircut, because I was starting to look like a BRILLO pad. Actually, he used a different metaphor, one which left me TONGUETIED;<br />*LADMAG, which sounds like a gendered alternative to chick-lit;<br />*'101 pounds of fun' from "South Pacific", trying to remember if it was her lips or her hips that were 'hurly and BURLY'; my lyrics-memory may be way off;<br />*Harvard men calling Yale an OL' DELI; is it the smoked SABLE?<br />*WEST being Cornel instead of Kanye;<br />*The myriad possibilities of HOLY SYNOD. "Batman" was good, @Whosaidthat, better than Little Orphin Annie;<br />*I'm grateful whenever I can enter YAZ and let it go at that.<br /><br />I agree that FREE UNION doesn't seem as much a phrase as 'open marriage', for instance, but it's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, or a BULLET IN any other body part. <br /><br />@Questinia, I'd like to hear more on how AIN'T is louche. I wouldn't give it an inch more than 'nubile'. Riddle me REE?<br /><br />Cryptics:<br />Al has left the SERAGLIO<br />Per "CARE noise"/1st president of S. VietNam: NGO Din Diem<br />(That CARE:NGO was a good lesson for me; I'd always considered NGOs to be small and community-based)<br /><br />Just remember, INTER NEE and morte, there's a whole SPHERE of living to be SLUNG, and the less RAILING the better.<br /><br />For a puzzle this good, I'll abandon my beloved Heels and join with the Kameron Krazies any day<br /><br />HAPPY BIRTHDAY, @Chas Flaster, and Welcome to the Septas!Leapfingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14243620614139990887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-22007445205472335622015-08-01T17:54:06.062-04:002015-08-01T17:54:06.062-04:00@Bob K (1:23 p.m.)-- So sorry to hear you're a...@Bob K (1:23 p.m.)-- So sorry to hear you're ailing and I do hope you'll be able to make it to the tournament. While there may be other Rexites at Lollapuzzoola, you are the only person who had actually said you were going, so I was looking forward to meeting you. But if you can't, you can't. <br /><br />And please don't feel responsible for whether I do -- or don't -- enjoy the tournament. First of all, it's $30 out of my pocket -- the price of a less-than-memorable NYC dinner. I'm going mostly to try and meet nice people. Maybe some of them will even live nearby. I haven't a prayer of winning and expect nothing from myself. I have no "skin in the game", since my ego identity is not tied in with being a competition-level crossword solver. I'll have to talk firmly to myself, of course. We tennis players and former tennis players, however modest our levels, tend to have a fierce competitive spirit. I'll have to douse that, or I'm in for much frustration and disappointment. For one thing, I'm a leisurely solver and I like it that way. Rushing through a puzzle is, for me, like rushing through a great French meal. Where's the fire?<br /><br />But do hope you're well enough to get there, Bob. And thanks for the thoughtful heads-up.<br /><br />@Mike D. (1:00)-- I'm so flattered by your consuming interest in my posts. I feel strongly that no one should take her fan base for granted. If you're really willing to give up sleep to read my comments, will you at least allow me to treat you to a really fine, dependable alarm clock?<br /><br /><br /><br />Nancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16737377749030219974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10978380252545304862015-08-01T17:46:09.776-04:002015-08-01T17:46:09.776-04:00@moderators thank you for taking on what must be a...<br />@moderators thank you for taking on what must be a tedious task. My apologies for adding to your work with my ineptitude in dealing with the I'm not a robot checker, followed by losing the edited version, and then posting and deleting the typo ridden version.<br /><br />@Bob Kerfuffle, hoping you a speedy recovery. <br /><br />@everyone, I was HAPPY this morning that Rex has put in place an Rx that will hopefully overcome a fulminating infection. <br /><br />@r.alphbunker, I enjoyed your link to Whitney Phillips book on Internet trolls, but based on a review I might find her concepts a little too simplistic. I'm still going to ead the book anyway. Having lived in a small town and worked in many small villages during the time I worked for an international NGOS, I've seen that real live trolls can be just as destructive through word of mouth. History is strewn with people who were burned at the stake or tarred and feathered, probably as a result of insinuations started by such trolls.<br /><br />@Jamie C, you seem sincere so I will respond to your comment. I think you need to reread my post. I posted only about the medical impact of TONGUE TIE on speech, not infant feeding. One can be rendered speechless because of embarrassment, but that is still not the same definition as stammering. <br /><br />@Indypuzzler, you gave me an acceptable explanation of a tenuous link to stammer. <br /><br />@Hartley70, TONGUE TIE is a real condition as is the forked tongue that literally can be a result of the tie. I would not have believed that a forked tongue existed had I not seen one myself. TONGUE TIE IS easily taken care of when medical practitioners keep up with advances in diagnosis and treatment, Unfortunately, there are still many who do not get the treatment they need to suck, swallow, and speak more easily because it takes a while for new practices to be adopted. <br /><br />Meanwhile, until Jamie C incorrectly assumed I made mention of B_ _ _ _ _feeding, I forgot that this is World B_ _ _ _ _feeding Week. Far from being any sort of celebration, it is a time when I duck and cover from the HBOMBS that almost inevitably explode throughout the internet about the so-called controversies in infant feeding and the scathing attacks on those who attempt to help parents who actually do want the help. I sincerely could care less about how parents feed their babies, I just want them to have the tools, info, and support to do the best job they can. <br /><br />In comparison, the random cell of ECOLI that popped up here today is no match for a healthy immune system, especially when fortified with a little of evil doug's humor. I have to admit when he mentioned pissing in the wind a few days ago, I remembered the playground days when my son was three or four. His friend's nanny and I caught the boys comparing trajectories and distance when pissing with the wind (fortunately not into it).Aketihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07059835429995060000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-23310546686854316752015-08-01T17:06:11.194-04:002015-08-01T17:06:11.194-04:00Oh and best wishes to Amy Reynaldo. I didn't ...Oh and best wishes to Amy Reynaldo. I didn't know who it was until I looked her up. Turns out I've read her blog a handful of times. Check out Merl Reagle's shoutout to her in todays puzzle. Well, I suppose it's tomorrow's puzzle but the Inquirer runs an "early sunday edition." I know his puzzle runs in the SF Chronicle and loads of others as well.Music manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12461992972280438819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-57201958588920126382015-08-01T16:55:10.556-04:002015-08-01T16:55:10.556-04:00Just want to say that if you haven't been doin...Just want to say that if you haven't been doing today's temp blogger's weekly Saturday puzzle over at Devilcross.com you're missing out. They're every bit as good or better than NYT weekend fare. Thanks for your puzzles, Evan.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-78106691068380385702015-08-01T15:55:47.508-04:002015-08-01T15:55:47.508-04:00I agree with @Music man. I'm wondering if MATC...I agree with @Music man. I'm wondering if MATCHPOINT -- as well as ONTHEICE and FRIENDZONE -- is a sports metaphor in this puzzle. So MATCHPOINT isn't precisely referring to tennis but maybe some face-off between two people. ONTHEICE is maybe something colorful an announcer would say. FRIENDZONE obviously got coined because of its sports metaphor (Friends annoyances might have been the reason I stopped watching TV in 1994).<br /><br />Overall, this was the kind of puzzle where I undid myself: Ruling out INTERNEE because LIBELEE was already solved; having NAIVE but changing it into paeanART because somehow that seemed more like the term.weingolbhttp://www.facebook.com/weingolbnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-2893304051967597392015-08-01T15:44:47.368-04:002015-08-01T15:44:47.368-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Aketihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07059835429995060000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-14454130035656922242015-08-01T14:51:36.263-04:002015-08-01T14:51:36.263-04:00I thought today's puzzle was a great follow up...I thought today's puzzle was a great follow up to yesterday's fresh Friday. This also had many fresh phrases making it not just challenging but entertaining, too. <br /><br />I had a bad start, though. With the P(GPO) and T (ETE) in place I quickly wrote in PiecrusT. NICE set me straight there. <br /><br />The NE was the most difficult part for me. I finally got SIGH/OHH but failed at LA_MAG. Maxim means saying relating to what? Law? LAwMAG. Nope. I should have seen ODD but simply bailed at that point. <br /><br />Regardless, wonderful Saturday puzzle, thank you, Kameron. And, Evan, your critique was right on. <br /><br />johohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12708487230515532492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50056653316568932712015-08-01T14:34:54.663-04:002015-08-01T14:34:54.663-04:00I had trouble enjoying this puzzle...LIBELEE, Libe...I had trouble enjoying this puzzle...LIBELEE, Libelo, LIBELEE, Libelohohoho. ON THE ICE? where else would a hockey team be?<br />FREE UNION? I like my sleep over better. BABY CAKES...cute something a little kewpie doll might say? <br />I did love the write up though....Evan, you sure can write a sweet sentence.<br />I'm still in awe of yesterday's PEACH of a crossword.GILL I.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05605766053820226324noreply@blogger.com