tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post51492284146926621..comments2024-03-28T13:17:40.062-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Dada pioneer, Biblical land whose name means "red" in Hebrew, Nanook's home, Nautical hazard, Juicy fruit, Wednesday, May 30, 2012Rex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger93125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-29132438994345949552012-07-04T21:56:29.339-04:002012-07-04T21:56:29.339-04:00Really enjoyed this one. BANDSTAND jumped out at ...Really enjoyed this one. BANDSTAND jumped out at me with just a few of the downs filled in, so before actually entering it I copied the puzzle for my new-puzzler daughter. <br /><br />I suspect that cross-referenced clues are more frustrating to computor solvers. For us dead-tree folks, you just look a little further down, and can in fact see both entries at once. <br /><br />As has been mentioned here in syndiland,OPIE caused an AGASP. Syndi-synchronicity.<br /><br />It's been a long day here, our breakfast served 98 people, making some pretty good money for charity. Menu Fresh Fruit Cup, juice, French Toast, and Sausage. Came home to relax with a really fun tribute puzzle, topped off with Treedweller and you all!<br /><br />Happy Fourth!Gingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-72738225332406576412012-07-04T19:30:57.019-04:002012-07-04T19:30:57.019-04:00I parsed 48a as A NO, as in a response to "Wh...I parsed 48a as A NO, as in a response to "When pigs fly." <br />"Um, is that A NO, then?"<br /><br />Cross-referenced clues only bother me when they're completely circular; i.e., they refer solely to each other and to nothing else.<br /><br />This puzzle pays a relatively small junk-fill price for extreme depth of theme--and even sneaks in the marvelous name CHAVEZ for a bonus! YEA, there are partials, but for offset I give you EMBARRASS and VARIANCES.<br /><br />Ironic that, easy as it was, my very first entry--the "gimme" TONY for the theater award--had to be written over.<br /><br />I'll give this puzzle an 89. ITSGOTAGOODBEAT, and YOUCAN solve TOIT. Thanks, David...and RIP, Dick. I miss ya!Spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-60929365293594618402012-07-04T17:37:48.426-04:002012-07-04T17:37:48.426-04:00Anonymous 10:58 AM stole my speech. Long live the...Anonymous 10:58 AM stole my speech. Long live the Matlock Freeway.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-22757513698890040512012-07-04T14:58:57.101-04:002012-07-04T14:58:57.101-04:00I'm one who doesn't like all the cross ref...I'm one who doesn't like all the cross reference stuff, so I just ignore it and fill in the straight forward clues. In this case, like so many others, the cited clues just filled themselves in, so that DICKCLARK was obvious when I got to that point. Probably lucky because I've never seen his show. However, ended with a Natick, never heard of teraflop, and wanted sea follower to be something like sealant. Another almost!DMGrandmanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-11891323054891416142012-07-04T14:13:29.062-04:002012-07-04T14:13:29.062-04:00Hand up, Anonymice, on the first clue being "...Hand up, Anonymice, on the first clue being "OPIE" and I'm going, whoa, how did they get a tribute to AG 5 weeks ago figured out. That's just eerie... then @Dirigonzo threw a bucket of cold water in my face - "syndication synchronicity." Of course. <br /><br />Treedweller, good job coming in off the bench. I enjoy your sense of humor. <br /><br />As for the puzzle, my writeovers were piggy for SHOAT and Comic for CLOWN. Liked the clues for 45A & 15D. Got the theme on BANDSTAND. My head was spinning with all the cross references.<br /><br />@SiS lol award of the day goes to ED for his suggested leading EDge crossword theme, AND to @Martin 8:06.<br /><br />Capcha: torsssw. Laid rubber in the direction of Arizona.Solving in Seattlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04249420848844874936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-35180048423384348372012-07-04T14:10:33.768-04:002012-07-04T14:10:33.768-04:00Glad to see the Buffalo BISONS are still in existe...Glad to see the Buffalo BISONS are still in existence. During the '50's, saw them play many times here against our then-International League team, the Royals. The Bison's star of the era had one of the best alliterative sports nicknames ever: "Luscious Luke" Easter.<br /><br />Like @Diri and the @Anons, was startled to see OPIE the day after Andy Griffith left us. Spooky stuff indeed.<br /><br />Recall TSARINA from a previous puzzle when it appeared with its anagrams ARTISAN and SINATRA.Waxy in Montrealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04395751487137805245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-15969710823302351002012-07-04T12:30:26.828-04:002012-07-04T12:30:26.828-04:00Sub-theme must have been "The Big O" as ...Sub-theme must have been "The Big O" as there were 16 occurrences of the letter (plus the MOAN at the very end). Too bad DJK couldn't sneak OLDIES into the grid as a final tribute to the man who played the music we loved then and still listen to today.<br /><br />And yes, Anony 10:58 AM, OPIE's appearance in our grid is another case of syndication synchronicity; RIP Andy Griffith.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44523380073322146832012-07-04T12:16:37.037-04:002012-07-04T12:16:37.037-04:00@Anonymous: Yes, OPIE in the top corner startled m...@Anonymous: Yes, OPIE in the top corner startled me as well this morning. <br /><br />Overall, not a bad Wednesday puzzle, though I'm ambivalent on the theme. Did not care for SHOAT or OUTA. STKS and CKS are just ugly.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46730793105888319302012-07-04T10:58:19.702-04:002012-07-04T10:58:19.702-04:00Zoned out that I was doing the syndicated puzzle f...Zoned out that I was doing the syndicated puzzle from May 30th. Woke up today, July 4th, seeing that Andy Griffith has passed. Saw the first answer as Opie, and thought good lord, its a tribute-to-Andy puzzle. Will be interesting to see how long it takes before his tribute puzzle actually shows up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-20308555581232975122012-05-30T23:53:16.509-04:002012-05-30T23:53:16.509-04:00Loved this puzzle. Loved the cross references. Lo...Loved this puzzle. Loved the cross references. Loved this man. Regardless of his backstage business acumen and steely focus, he put people dancing together on tv when most either never imagined it or did not want it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56806769947095721182012-05-30T23:14:20.443-04:002012-05-30T23:14:20.443-04:00I was really impressed by this puzzle. I wasn'...I was really impressed by this puzzle. I wasn't able to work on it in one sitting because my house was being painted, but as it emerged from what I thought was, initially corny stuff - OBIE, OPIE, OTT - it was all so original, as Treedweller pointed out.<br /><br />Speaking of the house painting - be prepared. Our neighborhood was chosen as the first place to start in the plot to get rid of lead paint. Any owner of a house not sided but built before 1978 (mine is 1852)will be forced at great expense to do this. There was as much scraping as painting - and all brush painting. It does look beautiful, though. <br /><br />Dick Clark, started his career in Utica where he called himself Dick Clay because his father was Dick CLark and was president of the local radio station. <br />Anybody see the documentary about the autistic twin girls who were obsessed with Dick Clark and finally met him?Sfingihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06903616949048940858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-60953123071846638462012-05-30T22:05:29.098-04:002012-05-30T22:05:29.098-04:00This 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 6:25, 6:50, 0.96, 31%, Easy-Medium<br />Tue 10:27, 8:54, 1.17, 89%, Challenging<br />Wed 10:09, 11:48, 0.86, 20%, Easy<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:50, 3:40, 1.02, 63%, Medium-Challenging<br />Tue 5:44, 4:36, 1.25, 99%, Challenging (3rd highest median solve time of 154 Tuesdays)<br />Wed 5:29, 5:53, 0.93, 34%, Easy-Medium<br /><br />@Z & @Tobias ... your guess is as good as mine about the numbers for yesterday's puzzle. I was surprised that it rated as Challenging since my solve time was at the low end of my Medium Tuesday range. Maybe people were slowed down by trying to picture the drawing as they were solving.sanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-34352082624490714252012-05-30T21:17:02.099-04:002012-05-30T21:17:02.099-04:00@Mr. Ott - So sorry! I may have made too sweeping...@Mr. Ott - So sorry! I may have made too sweeping a statement...<br />@Martin - thanks for the clarification.<br /><br />@loren & @B - what IS an inflectional ending???<br /><br />@acme & @foodie - yes - those "behind the scenes" insights are a big reason why I come here. Thanks!Titahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368251255494687496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9794518123900217472012-05-30T21:15:36.134-04:002012-05-30T21:15:36.134-04:00Odd that today, for the first time in a long while...Odd that today, for the first time in a long while I decided to run against the clock. Then I encounter all those cross-references, which as Maritin noted, tend to bedevil speed-solvers. Yet I'm sure that there is more than the occsional person who will own up to liking cross-referenced Clues. And I would guess that this predilection is a more unusual way of keeping the plates spinning on the stakes than juggling mere criss-crossing stacks of synonyms?fergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-53690874924154621712012-05-30T20:06:05.269-04:002012-05-30T20:06:05.269-04:00It's called an "n-g click," and if y...It's called an "n-g click," and if you accept that Brooklyn and Queens are on Lawn Guyland, you can indeed find it in situ. It's frowned upon in Nassau and will get you deported from Suffolk.Martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-38924690920930600462012-05-30T19:57:06.435-04:002012-05-30T19:57:06.435-04:00@I meant are NOT inflectional endings@I meant are NOT inflectional endingsLoren Muse Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05308030011870397977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-28883944774593683522012-05-30T19:32:05.249-04:002012-05-30T19:32:05.249-04:00@B - you may be on to something. No one would &qu...@B - you may be on to something. No one would "drop the g" in<br /><br /><i>earring</i><br /><i>Peking Duck</i><br /><br />and they're not inflectional endings.<br /><br />BUT, BUT, BUT what about<br /><br /><i>somethin'</i><br /><i>nothin'</i><br /><br />They ARE inflectional endings.<br /><br />Why don't you email me?Loren Muse Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05308030011870397977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-87488909020037535522012-05-30T18:59:47.841-04:002012-05-30T18:59:47.841-04:00wasn't a fan of all the cross-referencing, but...wasn't a fan of all the cross-referencing, but thought it was a pretty smooth solve overall.<br /><br />@loren muse smith: I think there are dialects in which g-dropping main occurs in inflectional suffixes, so that could explain why you wouldn't drop it in words like "anything" or "human being". In my own case, I think I might say "bein'" (as in "he's bein' crazy!") but am fairly certain I wouldn't say "human bein'"...so that might help explain it?Bnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-13099283152883399442012-05-30T17:40:21.917-04:002012-05-30T17:40:21.917-04:00@andrea, thank for the advice! I'll work on my...@andrea, thank for the advice! I'll work on my multiples of 15 letter achievement!<br /><br />I do agree that the fit was remarkable for Dick Clark. Interesting to get a behind the scenes glimpse!foodiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13052189131129098616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-15885894038203898412012-05-30T17:38:57.249-04:002012-05-30T17:38:57.249-04:00@loren muse smith If you drop the G from human bei...@loren muse smith If you drop the G from human being it often sounds like human BEAN. Just sayin'.ksquarehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06181873595483296089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-72639878887970083482012-05-30T17:38:39.231-04:002012-05-30T17:38:39.231-04:00@Tita: I grew up on Long Island and lived the firs...@Tita: I grew up on Long Island and lived the first 39 years of my life there. I never heard anyone frome LI pronounce it the way you describe, with the srong "g". People from elsewhere, yes - but not LIers.Mel Ottnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-87908025766741685292012-05-30T17:35:12.632-04:002012-05-30T17:35:12.632-04:00Funny seeing BISONS in today's puzzle, then go...Funny seeing BISONS in today's puzzle, then going over to the op-eds and seeing this: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/30/opinion/our-national-mammal.htmlMr. Bensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12507031178939980974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-87203172083007746902012-05-30T17:31:08.842-04:002012-05-30T17:31:08.842-04:00@mets fan: I completely understand.@mets fan: I completely understand.John Vhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10557037910799243636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-42112247005518194642012-05-30T17:24:16.019-04:002012-05-30T17:24:16.019-04:00@John V -- in my eyes, the premier Red Sox first b...@John V -- in my eyes, the premier Red Sox first baseman, is of course: the immortal Billy Buckner <br /><br />If you're a bb fan, I don't have to explain whylong suffering mets fannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-29454036403804161822012-05-30T17:22:42.363-04:002012-05-30T17:22:42.363-04:00@Tita - yeah, you have to sneak up on words when y...@Tita - yeah, you have to sneak up on words when you're figurin' out how you actually say'em. I bet you don't ever say <i>everythin'</i> or <i>anythin'</i>.<br /><br />Want too much information? That "hard stop" (good instincts!) is a glottal stop, and lots of dialects do that - <i>newton, button, sentence</i> - no true <i>t</i>'s in those for tons of people. Cockney uses them in stuff like <i>li*le bo*le</i> for <i>little bottle</i>. <br /><br />Boy, I'm enjoying these italics. Now I just need to access the International Phonetic Alphabet!Loren Muse Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05308030011870397977noreply@blogger.com