tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post5370233655522886465..comments2024-03-28T04:40:27.172-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Tenor Beniamino / THU 8-30-12 / Big-nosed character of 1980s TV / South Korean model / Excavation locale of ancient Egyptian capital / Diggory young wizard in Harry Potter books / Longtime Vegas entertainer / Christmas in ItaliaRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger78125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-38557502611175070662020-09-02T00:05:37.772-04:002020-09-02T00:05:37.772-04:00Commenting a year after the fact; this is a good t...Commenting a year after the fact; this is a good tough, chewy Thursday puzz. I aced it last year and did so again this year, but with some trepidation. Anyway @Stu, thanks for the challenge! đź‘Ťbocamphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02524629632075020985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-42165408386731898512012-10-04T19:38:58.585-04:002012-10-04T19:38:58.585-04:00Loved it, except for ReNEE/TeSH and that pile-up i...Loved it, except for ReNEE/TeSH and that pile-up in the SE. I sure hope they get all of the debris cleared out of that section before tomorrow's puzzle comes along.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-41864087892345692582012-10-04T17:26:08.678-04:002012-10-04T17:26:08.678-04:00As usual, I liked the puzzle (I seem to like them ...As usual, I liked the puzzle (I seem to like them all), and I echo many others who found the SE nasty, but my problem was that I was ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE the guy who went to town was Mr. Dodds, and so I was multiply Naticked in there until the "-lantr-" showed up giving me Elantra and the correct name of the guy going to town. Clever theme, much great fill, regardless of the number of words or black squares, the explanation of which eludes me:<br />"...ahem, now if it's a themeless, then the blacksquare count minus the square root of the word count will could well result in a lot of tosh from the blogosphere". <br />Love eggs.rain forestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-72563752258795924752012-10-04T15:41:12.909-04:002012-10-04T15:41:12.909-04:00Joined those who were blindsided by the SE. Didn&...Joined those who were blindsided by the SE. Didn't know the tenor or the TV character. Know Wii, but never heard of nes (NES?). Couldn't figure out what 49A was talking about, and now having looked up GESTALT, I'm no wiser. So that corner turned an otherwise "scrutable" puzzle into a CNF (cannot finish). Did love all those eggs I the middle.DMGrandmanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-60723338564342485222012-10-04T14:26:02.598-04:002012-10-04T14:26:02.598-04:00A fun puzzle, but DNF; naticked in the SE. Did not...A fun puzzle, but DNF; naticked in the SE. Did not know ULEE, or the Muse (after Erato my brain clouds over), or the French expression. I found these with Google, but have read here that one either finishes by oneself or doesn't. There was a lot more that I didn't know; AMARNA and CEDRIC were filled 100% with crosses.<br /><br />One writeover: in a DAZE, I first wrote hAZE. Liked the cleverness of DOORDIE to fit into the theme.<br /><br />Not 70 words, but 68. You can hardly call a row of 6 O's a "word." Although, perhaps you could come up with a legitimate definition: "Ghostbusters' phone number?"<br /><br />While I was doing this puzzle, my wife informed me that Dr. Oz says that eating more than two egg yolks a week is almost as hard on your arteries as smoking. Ouch! I don't smoke...but I LOVE eggs--and so I liked this puzzle.Spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-32395972359012392472012-10-04T14:24:15.002-04:002012-10-04T14:24:15.002-04:00@Emmett Fitz-Hume, Cheney and Bush in antlers gave...@Emmett Fitz-Hume, Cheney and Bush in antlers gave me my biggest laugh of the day!<br /><br />000000000000H how I enjoyed this puzzle, though I DNF. The ugly SE did me in. I thought the Wii ancestor was NdS (Nintendo Display Station). I also needed Google to spell EUTERPE and GIGLI. By the way, Wii is a great fun way to eggsercise.<br /><br />My first pass gave me CAMILLE and PANACEA, which opened up the NW. Got the theme with OVEREASY, then slowly, word by word, I got the rest eggscept for the aforementioned SE. Loved the theme entries, but it made me hungry for Deviled Eggs.<br /><br />I hope my fellow NW syndilanders are enjoying this phenominal weather!Gingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-2937520742021048232012-08-31T23:00:54.381-04:002012-08-31T23:00:54.381-04:00Thanks for the egg compliments, @Tita & @Spark...Thanks for the egg compliments, @Tita & @Sparky - I agree!<br /><br />Super-behind on my puzzles.<br /><br />I wanted to do a chicken-themed puzzle, but my ideas need a lot more work (thanks for the critique, Rex.)JenCThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18290169184354765840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-40541315334700638672012-08-30T23:33:23.063-04:002012-08-30T23:33:23.063-04:00This 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 6:02, 6:49, 0.89, 7%, Easy<br />Tue 7:16, 8:56, 0.81, 5%, Easy (8th lowest median solve time of 166 Tuesdays)<br />Wed 12:56, 11:48, 1.10, 75%, Medium-Challenging<br />Thu 15:19, 18:50, 0.81, 20%, Easy<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:32, 3:41, 0.96, 32%, Easy-Medium<br />Tue 3:58, 4:39, 0.85, 7%, Easy<br />Wed 6:54, 5:55, 1.17, 88%, Challenging<br />Thu 8:02, 9:21, 0.86, 27%, Easy-Mediumsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-63871826709217968202012-08-30T21:42:41.521-04:002012-08-30T21:42:41.521-04:00@ret_chem...to expand on Gill I.P.'s succint d...@ret_chem...to expand on Gill I.P.'s succint description...<br />I've read that the names of the animals come from the German...Cow/Kuh, Sheep/Schaf, Swine/Schwein.<br />The words for what we eat come from the French...<br />Beef/Beouf, Mutton/Mouton, Porc/Pork.<br /><br />@Rob C - my point was that I love or hate puzzles based an a - well - baser instinct than knowledge.<br /><br />That doesn't mean I don't want to know the facts about construction - au contraire...<br />One of my favorite things about this blog is what I have learned about construction - I consider it my "Puzzle Appreciation Class". In particular, I like it when Rex, and the commentors, discuss not only something like max word counts, but WHY it makes a difference. Knowing that a rule was broken doesn't mean much - knowing why it is a good or bad thing is what I look for.<br /><br />Since your recent puzzle, I know that you are a constructor, and am thrilled that you are one of a few that regularly write in here to help us learn.<br /><br />Thanks!! It makes struggling with capchas worthwhile!Titahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368251255494687496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-15213473474720817862012-08-30T21:15:49.365-04:002012-08-30T21:15:49.365-04:00For once I completely agree with Rex. Great theme,...For once I completely agree with Rex. Great theme,, but the SE corner was awful and I had three mistakes in euterpe/prie/nes . I thought it was euterbe (closer than I had any right to be) and prie/nes is a total natick for me.<br />michaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-20904929639659454042012-08-30T20:39:46.254-04:002012-08-30T20:39:46.254-04:00retired_chem: COCHON is that cute little animal w...retired_chem: COCHON is that cute little animal when it's alive. PORC is the meat - hopefully dead - that we eat.<br />@acme: Thanks so much for that fun link. I've done them all and I'm hoping Will publishes them!GILL I.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05605766053820226324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50041247063056910182012-08-30T20:35:37.239-04:002012-08-30T20:35:37.239-04:00oooooooooooops, of course that should have been @s...oooooooooooops, of course that should have been @syndy<br />Too much time Down under!acmenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26949957691210877812012-08-30T20:33:44.133-04:002012-08-30T20:33:44.133-04:00@sanfranman
SHould that be Over-Easy-Medium?@sanfranman<br />SHould that be Over-Easy-Medium?acmenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-87601405493281686562012-08-30T20:32:18.672-04:002012-08-30T20:32:18.672-04:00@sydney
Here it is, I've been posting a link e...@sydney<br />Here it is, I've been posting a link every day in case folks didn't do Sun thru Wed puzzles!<br />It's not too late for anyone to create and add his/her own! The more the merrier! Orange was good enough to host it on her space.<br />We are up to a dozen, including a super Sunday-sized...and a wordoku by Wei-Hwa-Huang! Plus a new word one by Merl!!!<br />"Happy Birthday, Will Shortz!" board now created. Feel free to upload puzzles and greetings.<br /><br />http://crosswordfiend.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=17acmenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-60529961645800289172012-08-30T20:17:58.440-04:002012-08-30T20:17:58.440-04:00@ mac - apparently porc and cochon can both be tra...@ mac - apparently <i>porc</i> and <i>cochon</i> can both be translated as pig. I do not understand the difference. Maybe one of the better Francophones on this blog can help us. retired_chemisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13181126754941899228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-39239136771231965972012-08-30T17:38:18.356-04:002012-08-30T17:38:18.356-04:00@Saba -- RONEE Blakley has acted in TV series, but...@Saba -- RONEE Blakley has acted in TV series, but Nashville was a Robert Altman movie that came out in '75. She is still pretty obscure.<br /><br />@Rob C. -- While I come at these from a solver's perspective, I really appreciate the "looks behind the curtain" that Rex, Xan, you and others provide. I knew nothing of word count guidelines, black square placement, cheater squares,... before following Rex's and Amy's blogs.jaehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03385568014046336373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-62786877824788852322012-08-30T16:36:27.478-04:002012-08-30T16:36:27.478-04:00Midday report of relative difficulty (see my 8/1/2...Midday report of relative difficulty (see my 8/1/2009 post for an explanation of my method):<br /><br />All solvers (median solve time, average for day of week, ratio, percentile, rating)<br /><br />Thu 15:04, 18:50, 0.80, 18%, Easy<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Thu 8:24, 9:21, 0.90, 34%, Easy-Mediumsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-41906752652910996242012-08-30T16:30:03.624-04:002012-08-30T16:30:03.624-04:00I don't know what it did for his acting career...I don't know what it did for his acting career, but "ULEE" certainly made Peter Fonda famous, in the NYT crosswords.Stevlb1https://www.blogger.com/profile/03814855846710624128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-14222455920104300062012-08-30T14:29:17.731-04:002012-08-30T14:29:17.731-04:00Loved the conceit of this puzzle; what a wonderful...Loved the conceit of this puzzle; what a wonderful 'aha' moment. Stumbled a bit, but made it through. edmcanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18432176765106022049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-92231892254591390242012-08-30T14:17:56.004-04:002012-08-30T14:17:56.004-04:00How clever! Seeing that DOZEN of EGGs SMACK DAB i...How clever! Seeing that DOZEN of EGGs SMACK DAB in the middle is too cool. Nice one, Stu!<br /><br />I found this a bit more difficult than some- let’s just say I’m not a speed-solver.<br /><br />The SE was really hard –boiled my brain over GESTALT. (Nota bene- dictionary has GESTALT defined a little differently, but I still don’t understand it.)<br /><br /> My head, after correcting “ulle” typo, ached for a while looking at the EUTERPE, ELANTRA, DELTOID group. And that farthest (devil) edge of NES/EADS I just didn’t know. <br /><br />Hey, but on the sunny side – up in the north, I liked PORC (“cochon” just. didn’t. fit.), NEUE, FREE RANGE, and the cluing for ARMS. In the northeast, erased “avow” for AVER, as usual.<br /><br />I kept wanting “torpedo” for TORNADO. Dumb.<br /><br />I actually had to stop to pick up eggs on the way home from work! We mow through almost two DOZEN a week. Was held forever because I ran into an acquaintance who, regaling me with details of her slipped disc, rambled on and on and on. Jeesh.Loren Muse Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05308030011870397977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-3905851897380860542012-08-30T14:06:52.347-04:002012-08-30T14:06:52.347-04:00@syndy: How about a non-url approach...
1. Go to ...@syndy: How about a non-url approach...<br /><br />1. Go to "Diary of a Crossword Fiend". Google will help you find it.<br />2. Pick Forum from the site's menu bar.<br />3. Pick one of the heres in Forum's intro sentence.<br />4. Pick "Happy Birthday, Will Shortz" off the menu list.<br />5. Pick a puz and get to work.<br /><br />M&AM and A's Last Silver Bulletnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-88846367955267919042012-08-30T13:35:52.311-04:002012-08-30T13:35:52.311-04:00@Carola: U certainly do have a pleasin' way of...@Carola: U certainly do have a pleasin' way of bringing out that Euterpe dude's strong points. Still, if that name had come up in a captcha, I'da probably mashed on the "recycle" button in a NY second.<br /><br />P.S. Is "Too Ra Loo Ra Loo Ral" part of Euterpe's body of work? snort. Anyhoo, don't get me all wrong; I thought this was a grade-A puz.Masked and Anonymo2Usnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-53729022381620987982012-08-30T13:13:45.263-04:002012-08-30T13:13:45.263-04:00@M&A -
Are yoU serioUs? EUterpe, the mUse of m...@M&A -<br />Are yoU serioUs? EUterpe, the mUse of mUsic? ( :) )Carolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15971759975067250908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26294256187398985092012-08-30T13:10:39.974-04:002012-08-30T13:10:39.974-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Carolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15971759975067250908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-14304149215901718822012-08-30T13:06:37.299-04:002012-08-30T13:06:37.299-04:00Could someone explain exactly how to find the Shor...Could someone explain exactly how to find the Shortz birthday puzzles?syndyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16814698406887041710noreply@blogger.com