tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post5473635384944264047..comments2024-03-29T08:53:09.581-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Deviate from Hoyle / FRI 1-9-15 / Footwear brand since 1916 / Blessed 1971 Joan Baez album / What we pay for civilized society / Maker of Pixie Crinkles / Resin-yielding tree whose name comes from bible / Angular acceleration symbol / James so-called king of slide guitar / 1978 arcade classic from Japan / Rex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger109125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-28986406416135004942015-02-14T20:03:15.813-05:002015-02-14T20:03:15.813-05:00To left coast Tam from one who doesn't care. ...To left coast Tam from one who doesn't care. i love you anyway. be my Valentine.LongBeachLeenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-30981691119561451652015-02-14T14:02:09.971-05:002015-02-14T14:02:09.971-05:00Raising my hand for PALMOFGILEAD. Not crazy about...Raising my hand for PALMOFGILEAD. Not crazy about the clue "Unimaginative" for ARID. And FUSTY was a new word for me ... not sure how much it is actually in use.<br /><br />But it is hard to disagree that this was an impressive grid.Bananafishnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-68290565496229283122015-02-13T23:01:22.882-05:002015-02-13T23:01:22.882-05:00To all who care: Googling means a DNF, no matter h...To all who care: Googling means a DNF, no matter how you cut it.leftcoastTAMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-57256616113124336982015-02-13T20:31:39.392-05:002015-02-13T20:31:39.392-05:00After quickly getting STANZAS in the SW, immediate...After quickly getting STANZAS in the SW, immediately assumed there must be a NYC deli named ZIGGYS which caused mega-grief for an extended period. Also, even though study of both testaments was standard fare at school and church back in my day, never heard of (or maybe just plain forgot) BALMOFGILEAD.<br /><br />Overall, a PB tour-de-force.Waxy in Montrealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04395751487137805245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-88459628148643573062015-02-13T20:29:16.756-05:002015-02-13T20:29:16.756-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Waxy in Montrealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04395751487137805245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-1083183777244046362015-02-13T19:35:16.011-05:002015-02-13T19:35:16.011-05:00In my wheelhouse. How often do I wish for medium ...In my wheelhouse. How often do I wish for medium and see easy? This time I assumed easy and got medium. Friday the 13th here in Syn City.LongBeachLeenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-79811530079996922922015-02-13T16:36:10.657-05:002015-02-13T16:36:10.657-05:00Wow, I saw Berry and all that white and made a des...Wow, I saw Berry and all that white and made a desultory start. But then frisked and flotsam and lanker gave me hope, which quickly evaporated. Then Elmore and Ararat plunked down, then sneezed gave me Benz which gave me bales which led to Balm of Gilead and I kept chipping away and finished. What's a couple hours spent with Mr. Berry? Fine stuff.centralscrewtinizerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03404913280254786506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-21461446159354291792015-02-13T14:15:16.577-05:002015-02-13T14:15:16.577-05:00BALM OF a tree?
Great clues galore.
Can't get ...BALM OF a tree?<br />Great clues galore.<br />Can't get enough?<br />Try ELM and ELMORE.Burma Shavenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-25793542739591046782015-02-13T14:12:21.179-05:002015-02-13T14:12:21.179-05:00So much I didn't know from arcade games to anc...So much I didn't know from arcade games to ancient(?) trees, but it was Patrick Berry, so I stuck with it, and, it turns out, I somehow "knew" it all. A fun puzzle!! Love the word play in the clues and the "aha" when I realize what was meant. Now my only question is "what is an appetizer store"? Is it NY only thing?<br /><br />CheckDMGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-20474589471391630652015-02-13T13:59:03.182-05:002015-02-13T13:59:03.182-05:00For me, the NW came down pretty quickly with FRISK...For me, the NW came down pretty quickly with FRISKS and FLOTSAM (almost) gimmes which enabled me to intuit MIRROR MIRROR and then I kind of went clockwise to get most of the perimeter. <br /><br />Bible lore and NY delis are not in my ken and so I tried pALM... A Palm is a tree, no? Is a BALM a tree? Luckily SPACE INVADERS came to the rescue which revealed BARES, and so I chipped away at the rest of the centre. <br /><br />I thought FOULS, DRESSES, and LEARNS were excellent: straightforward terms that yet perplexed. <br /><br />In sum, the man did it again. He certainly sets a standard. As someone said, easy/challenging.<br /><br />No numbers. Take it away@Spacey.rain forestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-90681356827408883212015-02-13T13:42:15.431-05:002015-02-13T13:42:15.431-05:00What a really good puzzle! Challenging yet ultimat...What a really good puzzle! Challenging yet ultimately doable. Great clues, just enough misdirection.<br /><br />First gimme wsa ELMORE as I am a long-time blues fan. Allman Bros. gave him a nod with a shout-out and performing one of his songs on Live @ Fillmore East. Stevie Ray covered him as well. Fun to see ELM/ELMORE cross.<br /><br />Hand up for Unser, but made the quick change after CHEAT. <br /><br />SW was the most trouble with lotsa write-over ink there including FUSsY.<br /><br />SE te easiest thaqnks alot to SEANPENN. Good movie Milk.<br /><br />Shouldn't it be LANKiER, more common anyway IMHO.<br /><br />Nothnig to curse at here at all, another good PB offering.<br /><br />@Ron Diesgo - any travel stories to relate?? Glad to see you back.<br /><br />@Spacey - looks like a winner!<br /><br />check for me<br /><br />Never heard of that tree, got it all from crossesrondonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-66247914678242485282015-02-13T11:12:25.008-05:002015-02-13T11:12:25.008-05:00Typoed SE instead of SW up there; plus icing on th...Typoed SE instead of SW up there; plus icing on the cake: captcha 144!spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-48206839264397282822015-02-13T11:08:34.324-05:002015-02-13T11:08:34.324-05:00No, he didn't get ME with RAHAL, 'cause I ...No, he didn't get ME with RAHAL, 'cause I started in the NE with CHEOPS/CHEAT/HELL, so the racer had to have an -AL ending. However, I nearly did come a CROPper--by having CRop instead of CRAW. I thought I wasn't going to get that SE; I know nothing about NYC delis, and both STORYARC and PANICBAR--though now that I see them they seem quite normal--were hard to suss. Nor am I up on my dormant Turkish volcanoes; who of us is? Then in desperation I tried ARARAT: hey, it's a mountain, and it's in Turkey, what the HELL. That meant accepting FUSTY, not a word I use every day for sure. It also meant giving up my CRop fort a CRAW, and the SCREWY corner--as well as the whole puzzle--was done.<br /><br />Wondered what trickery was planned with "Court no-nos" only to find the straightforward FOULS. Duh.<br /><br />As usual, this Berry makes a very fine wine. Difficulty was uneven; I'd have said medium were it not for that SW, so I concur with m-c.space (invaders) craftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-40313811360345937412015-02-03T14:48:28.406-05:002015-02-03T14:48:28.406-05:00Never heard of story arc and settled for STORe ARC...Never heard of story arc and settled for STORe ARC. My only error in what would have been my fastest Friday ever, 1 hour 10 minutes. I can still hear my dad singing, There is a balm in Gilead', 60 years ago. Thanks dad. Poutynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-14020571642678492022015-01-12T12:10:35.459-05:002015-01-12T12:10:35.459-05:00This went pretty fast despite not having much init...This went pretty fast despite not having much initially. SW and SE came first and NE last. I knew ELMORE James and didn't fall into the Unser trap.pfbnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-65691422548029707322015-01-10T08:48:28.162-05:002015-01-10T08:48:28.162-05:00@OISK - I would disagree. The New Republic has not...@OISK - I would disagree. The New Republic has not been considered liberal/left-leaning by the left since at least the 80's. <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/01/02/7465/-So-who-says-the-New-Republic-is-liberal" rel="nofollow">Here's a ten year old critique that cites even older criticism</a>. Some on the left <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/12/the-new-republic-an-appreciation/383561/" rel="nofollow">call it much worse.</a> If you want to say this is like Tea Partiers calling Boehner a closet liberal I would understand. I'd still diasagree, but I get how people can look at it this way.Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-55060363147407469252015-01-10T00:32:51.542-05:002015-01-10T00:32:51.542-05:00It took me about 4.5 hours, and it was still DNF.
...It took me about 4.5 hours, and it was still DNF.<br /><br />But I'm proud that I sussed out "piranhas," "story arc," and "panic bar."<br /><br />My mess-up was "Rara Avis." I'm surprised no other commenter brought it up, but I have never heard the term.<br /><br />This was definitely a mental workout for me, and, as such, I was a bit slow to see the beauty in this puzzle. But I agree it's there, and, while me doing a Friday x-word takes away a serious chunk of my evening, it did wind up being pretty enjoyable.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-39957241107792906822015-01-09T23:09:23.820-05:002015-01-09T23:09:23.820-05:00Much easier than yesterday's, and as usual fro...Much easier than yesterday's, and as usual from Mr. Berry, great fun. Thanks, Patrick. <br /><br />Non judgmental political comment: I subscribe to The New Republic. It is unabashedly a center-left publication. The New York Times is reliably to the left of The New Republic on most issues. It is not as far left as The Nation. <br /><br />(Will soon stop getting TNR, though; my favorite writers just quit...)OISKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16808675378318214461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-35065073335252461792015-01-09T21:44:00.720-05:002015-01-09T21:44:00.720-05:00@AliasZ, they say Ein HELDIN Leben is not worth li...@AliasZ, they say Ein HELDIN Leben is not worth living.<br /><br />Like @FredRom, with the FLOTSAM start.<br />Like Anon10:39, in that LANK describes thin hair, LANKy describes a thin build; I'm getting used to this conflation. <br />Like some others, who worked the corners first, then attacked that lovely (right of) center. <br /><br />I figured out it had to Bee BALM OF GILEAD, though I thought of Joshua Tree first. Some of those compound entries busted my CHEOPS: gasMETER and crashBAR hung around for a while, and the front parts of -VOLLEYED and -HOMES were slow to come. Tried OLDS and FORD besides the requisite UNSER and mUSTY. I suspect FUSTY has its origins in FUSTian, both the sober cloth and the bombastic manner of speaking.<br /><br />Not sure about a broadly Impressionist aspect of the puzzle; considering the crossed EYEs near the one EAR, the displaced CRAW and NAPLES (not to mention the part that SNEEZED in the NE...), I'd say it's pure Picasso. The most elegant touch? Putting the ARC right on ARARAT.<br /><br />A lovely juicy Berry. TYVMLeapfingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14243620614139990887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-59950739551018918842015-01-09T21:39:12.807-05:002015-01-09T21:39:12.807-05:00On Wed, Fireball and AVC puzzles were too much, so...On Wed, Fireball and AVC puzzles were too much, so set them aside and have not had time to return. On Thur, the NYT crossword stayed mostly white. Tried it again today, Googled and still had no clue. Figured I had descended rapidly into premature dementia. Then came today, with Patrick Berry to the rescue. Started feeling good once ODOMETER made sense. Now back to Byron Walden's challenge. Thank you, Patrick and Will for restoring my sense of sanity.Mettenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9181888942294445922015-01-09T21:11:27.157-05:002015-01-09T21:11:27.157-05:00I live a block and a half from Zabar's. Put m...I live a block and a half from Zabar's. Put me in the "it's not a deli" column. Maybe it matches some dictionary definitions of "deli", but not the definition any New Yorker would use (save the editors of the NY Times).<br /><br />Selling some deli foods, or having a deli counter, does not a deli make.Kerrynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67235015169118073782015-01-09T20:34:07.836-05:002015-01-09T20:34:07.836-05:00FRISKS went in first, then keds and then whole NW ...FRISKS went in first, then keds and then whole NW fell at 5:30 AM as I was getting ready for a 90 mile drive to the Dr.'s office. This whole puzzle was about 30% gimmes. I got ELMORE right away cos I play some slide guitar. The whole rest of the thing was stymie. But I got it with two google and correcting pARED to BARED when I was prompted to check. I did the remaining 70% this evening after spending the morning in the Wound Care center and the afternoon driving around Cobb county. <br /><br />I loved the weird misdirections like for STATION HOUSES and STARTER HOMES and so on once I twigged. I had to google for RAHAL as I've never heard of him and to check that ZABAR included an 'S'. <br /><br />I confess that my first thought was for amEn ra where CHEOPS resides in tne NE but I HELD IN on that until the rightful owner appeard. <br /><br />Had no CLEW it was a PB until I looked at Rex. Gotta say I like PB, he always gives my lil ole brain a workout.Numinoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01263999193499725814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-17844302865519326812015-01-09T20:25:12.422-05:002015-01-09T20:25:12.422-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Titahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368251255494687496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-36513155324285463802015-01-09T20:25:11.766-05:002015-01-09T20:25:11.766-05:00What's left to say?
Only that I am thankful t...What's left to say?<br /><br />Only that I am thankful to PB for bringing me back to my rightful superiority after yesterday's shellacking.<br /><br />I finished before Friday ended - unheard of for me!<br /><br />Very nice. Had to dust off the dusty part of my brain to force "clocking" out of my FUSTY synapses.Titahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368251255494687496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-72332738579713240272015-01-09T18:36:56.358-05:002015-01-09T18:36:56.358-05:00Easy-medium for me. I saw FLOTSAM/FRISKS from the ...Easy-medium for me. I saw FLOTSAM/FRISKS from the get-go and was off. RAHAL was a total WOE for me but didn't know Unser either except as a crossword answer so I didn't stumble there. <br /><br />NE went smoothly from knowing CHEOPS (Art History 1001) and BALMOFGILEAD went right in too. The center was a little slower but the SE got me back on track. My main writeover was Crop for CRAW but somehow saw SCREWY and fixed it. My last fill was the H for RAHAL because HALF was the only thing that made sense even though I didn't know the term.<br /><br />So this went five times faster than yesterday at 19 minutes - very fast for me on Friday. But the whole time, conscious of it being a PB construct, the word "smooth" kept coming to me, clichéd as it is :-) .<br /><br />@edword, I'm with you on saying enough with the vampires and zombies. I frequent the Uncle Hugo's bookstore in Mpls which is the oldest independent Science Fiction/Fantasy bookstore in the US, and I was complaining about the number of vampire-themed books. (I won't even touch anything "zombie"). I was told that would-be fantasy authors are told by publishers that they want vampire stories, so that's what they get. So yeah, when that fad and low-rise pants finally go out of style, you will hear me cheering!!Teedmnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12832353448839187816noreply@blogger.com