tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post50088454412450762..comments2024-03-29T08:29:18.049-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Hoosier humorist George / FRI 10-12-12 / Cheery cashier in Progressive ads / Pulverized perfumery item / Huge snagger of salmon / Quaint worker doing hansom job / Imposing general liability legally / Frere's sibling / Part of CSA signature / 1969 Peace Prize grpRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-62428067056715643762012-11-16T22:10:53.298-05:002012-11-16T22:10:53.298-05:00No confusion here on PCP, thanks to the indomitabl...No confusion here on PCP, thanks to the indomitable Frank Oz, who as a Philadelphia cop in "Trading Places" incredulously identified angel dust as PCP. Frank, "the man you are."Spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8082121076913375722012-11-16T22:05:38.313-05:002012-11-16T22:05:38.313-05:00I was way past my self-imposed two drink/two hour ...I was way past my self-imposed two drink/two hour limit and the NW corner was still a mess, with roUt as my definition of clobber and "On the dot" being exAct. I was ready to throw in the towel when it became apparent that it was APAIR of earrings that one purchases at the jewelers and the resulting rework produced WOKS and HOOHA, and the corner was done. Fridays are supposed to be challenging, right?<br /><br />@Deb - I know that you, as a former syndilander, will understand and forgive the 5 week delay, but positive thoughts are coming at you. I hope by now the news has all been good. Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-42202958083157542232012-11-16T20:36:03.281-05:002012-11-16T20:36:03.281-05:00@Red, funny my first thought too was how a Canadia...@Red, funny my first thought too was how a Canadian Standards Association reference could possibly have made it into a NYT puzzle, even one crafted by a fellow Canuck. Indeed, CSA stands for the Confederate States of America. Waxy in Montrealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04395751487137805245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-74599407113761497402012-11-16T20:05:54.127-05:002012-11-16T20:05:54.127-05:00@Deb--thinking of you five weeks later. Perhaps y...@Deb--thinking of you five weeks later. Perhaps you could stop by to let us all know how things are going.<br /><br />Liked the puzzle (as I almost always do, so why do I even say that?) but DNF or FWE (finished with error). My Angel dust was PCB. DOH! That made 13D bORTO Veilho, which certainly should have given me more pause than it did.<br /><br />I read all the comments, though I might have zoned out through a couple, but could somebody explain what 61A ELEE (part of a C.S.A. signature) means? I'm guessing this has nothing to do with the Canadian Standards Association or the Canadian Space Agency... <br /><br />Oh, wait, I just got it. Robert E. LEE, so CSA must stand for Confederate something or other. ish.Red Valerianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04638265039015470938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26399050814002901022012-11-16T19:06:06.247-05:002012-11-16T19:06:06.247-05:00@DMG, oui, soeur indeed means sister, both of the ...@DMG, oui, soeur indeed means sister, both of the sibling and religious variety. Being of my generation, you might remember The Singing Nun who sang the big hit Dominique in the early '60's. In French she was known as Sœur Sourire (Sister Smile).<br /><br />Would have preferred a clew referencing ms. Starbuck or the Beatles' Get Back rather than the really obscure middle name of Bart Simpson for JOJO. <br /><br />Had no idea that J.D. Salinger's PERSONAL HISTORY included seriously courting Oona O'Neil. Since Oona married Charlie Chaplin when she was barely 18, she must have been awfully young at the time she was dating Salinger. Maybe just a BRIEF ENCOUNTER.Waxy in Montrealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04395751487137805245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-37079637510477200832012-11-16T16:59:59.978-05:002012-11-16T16:59:59.978-05:00@Deb - Five weeks late, but wishing you well! from...@Deb - Five weeks late, but wishing you well! from one who's 'been there'.<br /><br />@retired-chemist - from Syndiland, you wrote of puppies that are NOT eager to please. DOH You have PUGS, who are independent, irascible, sneezy, snoring and utterly loveable creatures. And I miss mine terribly.<br /><br />I was done in by the middle south. ONON and JOJO were a nono in my brain. Also...WUMP was slow to show itself, Had rout, then WoMP. Lots of other write-overs, but even though I DNF, it was a good Friday challenge.Gingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-74760206731155999442012-11-16T16:33:27.016-05:002012-11-16T16:33:27.016-05:00Once again one corner did me in, the SW. Didn'...Once again one corner did me in, the SW. Didn't parse the D- as in clue correctly. kept trying to put in "dash" or anything similar that would fit. Also think the ONETWO clue was pretty obscure. FIgured "frére" must mean brother, but my limited French does not include "sister" - assuming that's what SOEUR means?<br /><br />Have to run. Hope the Captcha is "doable" Just peeked, it's not, so will have to start paging through them. Ho hum.DMGrandmanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-27843891320182529152012-11-16T14:24:13.543-05:002012-11-16T14:24:13.543-05:00After several summers when the water supply was in...After several summers when the water supply was insufficient for irrigation, Bilbo decided to UNDAM the creek at the back of his property. There.<br /><br />Pretty tough sledding, but the fill was nowhere near as woeful as some puzzles are with stacked 15's. Lucky to get TICS, ASAP, STET, COPA, AU PAIR, RATA and OSES which uncovered the middle 4 stacks. Found the bottom third the toughest (JOJO, ON ON), but eventually got it. Tricky but accurate cluing. Glad to know that Martin Ashwood-Smith is a fellow Canadian, and that he did a brilliant job here.rain forestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-11486496548298399452012-11-16T12:41:52.537-05:002012-11-16T12:41:52.537-05:00The clue writer(s) toughened this one up a lot, bu...The clue writer(s) toughened this one up a lot, but after a couple of years of this, I'm kinda getting to know my way around Will's brain. Some of them are fairly obvious despite attempts at cuteness ("before one's big opening" for PREOP, e.g.); others walk your brain through a labyrinth to get there. Yet nothing today is what I'd consider unfair. The grid itself? Well, you know how the bigger they come...etc.? 15's fall hard. The star today is the body of clues. Great stuff!<br /><br />The name JOJO conjures up the Beatles tune "Get Back." I'm surprised that @Doc John didn't mention that one. Anyway, the name forced its way in on crosses.<br /><br />In the end I had two Nedicks: the oft-cited one at PORT_/IPS_ (correctly guessed O on the strength of PORTO) and the seeming contradiction of APOLOGIeS and SPIReL etc. What to do? I finally decided that SPIRAL is SPIRAL, and that there must be some Latin term for 18d...but I still winced when I put it in.<br /><br />According to my (admittedly abridged) source, UNDAM is not a word. And if it is, I'd like to cast my vote for making it an "UNword." Just sayin.'Spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91988853922623832802012-10-14T11:48:13.597-04:002012-10-14T11:48:13.597-04:00so delighted to have solved a medium to challengin...so delighted to have solved a medium to challenging friday. usually when i solve fri's they are "easy". even tho it's sunday i just had to chime in.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-21285795614546328412012-10-13T23:30:31.547-04:002012-10-13T23:30:31.547-04:00Easy top and bottom, challenging middle. Not getti...Easy top and bottom, challenging middle. Not getting TICS or ASAP didn't help. Otherwise - ditto what's been said.<br /><br />@Deb - Be well. Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-48177639505445630592012-10-12T23:28:44.550-04:002012-10-12T23:28:44.550-04:00I've been to Porto Velho, Brazil. I wonder if ...I've been to Porto Velho, Brazil. I wonder if any other commenter has been there. Anyhow, it got me off to a lucky start on the puzzle,michaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-22908553473447572712012-10-12T23:19:12.618-04:002012-10-12T23:19:12.618-04:00Just got it--d as in day.
@rudiger45--ILO = Int...Just got it--d as in day. <br /><br />@rudiger45--ILO = International Labour Organization originally (and maybe still) part of the United Nations.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-43957456231847024452012-10-12T23:09:58.531-04:002012-10-12T23:09:58.531-04:00Glad everyone loved ASIN, but I still don't ge...Glad everyone loved ASIN, but I still don't get it. Plus erg is a work measure not luminosity? According to Wikipedia there is an old term lumerg, but that's the only connection I could find. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-70911757421090229802012-10-12T22:15:32.855-04:002012-10-12T22:15:32.855-04:00Apparently Bart's middle name is given in a bo...Apparently Bart's middle name is given in a book released in 1993 by Harper-collins called <i>Bart Simpson's Guide to Life</i>. <br /><br />On another note, I don't much care for stacks either, but has there ever been one that was ony 15 x 15 stacks?UDbmashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15250410885967393340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-78957690346858199452012-10-12T22:03:08.749-04:002012-10-12T22:03:08.749-04:00This 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 6:08, 6:47, 0.90, 14%, Easy<br />Tue 8:57, 8:57, 1.00, 58%, Medium<br />Wed 8:15, 11:49, 0.70, 1%, Easy (lowest median solve time of 169 Wednesdays)<br />Thu 15:08, 18:50, 0.80, 18%, Easy<br />Fri 25:46, 24:29, 1.05, 60%, Medium-Challenging<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:39, 3:41, 0.99, 49%, Medium<br />Tue 5:13, 4:40, 1.12, 84%, Challenging<br />Wed 4:41, 5:56, 0.79, 7%, Easy<br />Thu 7:53, 9:22, 0.84, 24%, Easy-Medium<br />Fri 12:34, 12:11, 1.03, 60%, Mediumsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80629183461489450712012-10-12T21:44:29.162-04:002012-10-12T21:44:29.162-04:00Deb-
Lots of good thoughts for you!Deb- <br /><br /> Lots of good thoughts for you!jackjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02699305265544975575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-23133931036284806612012-10-12T21:19:17.701-04:002012-10-12T21:19:17.701-04:00Loved this puzzle! WHUP!!! ASIN!!! Brilliant! Loved this puzzle! WHUP!!! ASIN!!! Brilliant! notsofastnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-74177327541310287932012-10-12T19:52:58.897-04:002012-10-12T19:52:58.897-04:00@Deb - Positive thoughts flying your way.@Deb - Positive thoughts flying your way.chefwenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03999206352243329280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26684470487749314572012-10-12T18:52:35.972-04:002012-10-12T18:52:35.972-04:00@Carola – I had to fight to let go of “bristle,” t...@Carola – I had to fight to let go of “bristle,” too.<br /><br />@Milford – thanks for reminding me! I’ll try to remember sucrose.<br /><br />@Joho – makes sense about the day of the week. Thanks.<br /><br />@Two Ponies and Deb – Just a couple of days ago, I asked someone who’d just come in from the outside if it was chilly. He tilted his head, rotated his hand, and said, “Ish.”<br /><br />@Deb – positive vibes from WV.<br /><br />I meant to say this this morning. Dad still works Mondays and Tuesdays and then plays around with the later ones. I always call him on my way to work, and we talk about the day’s puzzle. This morning he hadn’t made much headway, but we were talking, and I said, “Wait, wait, wait. Back up. Did you really just say ‘quad stack?’” Yep. <br /><br />Thanks, Rex and the New York Times. I wonder if the powers that be truly understand the magnitude of how this puzzle and blog affect lots of people’s lives.Loren Muse Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05308030011870397977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-75190282658086067572012-10-12T18:29:34.265-04:002012-10-12T18:29:34.265-04:00Lots of good wishes, Deb.Lots of good wishes, Deb.machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-58520647208481415782012-10-12T17:42:11.970-04:002012-10-12T17:42:11.970-04:00@bigsteve46 - Next time you listen to a boxing mat...@bigsteve46 - Next time you listen to a boxing match on the radio, wait to hear the announcer note that one of the competitors in the ring has delivered a one-two punch, or as TheFreeDictionary says, "one-two punch<br />n.<br />1. A combination of two blows delivered in rapid succession in boxing, especially a left lead followed by a right cross."Joe Palookanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-38773103645301608882012-10-12T17:27:52.007-04:002012-10-12T17:27:52.007-04:00Managed to finish this one in the same day (not us...Managed to finish this one in the same day (not usual for Friday or Saturdays for me) so that's a plus. Rex pretty much hit the nail on the head in his critique of the puzzle.<br />I can think of much better JOJOs. How about Jojo Starbuck, a relatively famous figure skater and wife of Terry Bradshaw? There's also the Hydra coaster at Dorney Park that has as one of its elements a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hydra_(Jo-Jo_Roll).JPG" rel="nofollow">Jojo Roll</a> (OK, maybe that's a little more esoteric than Bart's middle name but at least there are a lot of supporting references to it in trade and enthusiast publications.)<br />As for enzymes in the popular press, how about protease inhibitors? They're a major class of HIV drugs.<br />Have I mentioned my hatred of Capcha lately?Doc Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12540112168511893896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26853239627381202092012-10-12T17:25:52.249-04:002012-10-12T17:25:52.249-04:00I know I'm missing something obvious - but how...I know I'm missing something obvious - but how is "onetwo" a "combination of rings"? bigsteve46noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-73148298697147445532012-10-12T16:45:20.318-04:002012-10-12T16:45:20.318-04:00@ Deb - good thoughts coming your way.
Also the ...@ Deb - good thoughts coming your way. <br /><br />Also the S in -OSE and in -ASE is pronounced the same. As @Milford says, LACTOSE and SUCROSE are sugars, and enzymes almost all end in -ASE. Can't think of an enzyme that appears in the popular press, but there are lots (hundreds at least) that fit.<br /><br />OK, here's one: CATALASE. It catalyzes the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide in your body (to water and oxygen) and thus protects you against those icky free radicals that age you. You can see it work: prick your finger and add a drop of blood to a little hydrogen peroxide. Watch the oxygen gas start bubbling. OK, not breakfasty, but, hey, it's 5 o'clock somewhere (actually EDT at the moment). If that isn't enough to fix the name CATALASE and the suffix -ASE in your mind, I can't help. It's all I have at the moment.retired_chemisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13181126754941899228noreply@blogger.com