tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post5506883330672885888..comments2024-03-29T08:20:27.450-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Late-Triassic flier / SAT 5-22-21 / Sci-fi enemy collective perhaps / Special pawn move in chess / Deity that becomes a given name when is fifth letter is moved to the front / Electrically balanced, in chemistry / Designer with eponymous hotel in Burj Khalifa / Portmanteau coinage for uneducated and unculturedRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger118125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44628009114854878212021-06-26T16:52:25.192-04:002021-06-26T16:52:25.192-04:00Sid and Matt are on a wave I just couldn't cat...Sid and Matt are on a wave I just couldn't catch. Had to look up a lot to even get "started," so I really didn't finish or even get started.<br /><br />Diana, Lady-in-Waiting for CrosswordsDiana, LIWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-3895712834048284182021-06-26T16:49:38.605-04:002021-06-26T16:49:38.605-04:00Did I get ON A ROLL with this one? No.Did I get ON A ROLL with this one? No.leftcoasternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-48750828030931058372021-06-26T12:48:32.300-04:002021-06-26T12:48:32.300-04:00BOOBOISIE is just begging for a BS2.BOOBOISIE is just begging for a BS2.thefogmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01870509029973778266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-72282860161821468722021-06-26T12:41:40.537-04:002021-06-26T12:41:40.537-04:0059A describes this puzzle. It took me forever to f...59A describes this puzzle. It took me forever to figure out the 48A-49D crossing. Even after I solved it I still could not believe it was given the OK by WS. DONK is mainly slang for penis and very rarely appears as slang for a hit on the head. Conk or bonk yes.. DONK? That’s a hard no. Especially when crossing the exremely obtiuse cluing for IPODS (Touches, e.g.) Badly done Will. Badly done…<br /><br />https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lTDaV_Mnq7I<br /><br />PS: Puzzles should be challenging but fair (and fun) - not make you mad even though you solved them.thefogmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01870509029973778266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45675061942030307952021-06-26T12:00:34.262-04:002021-06-26T12:00:34.262-04:00I was so proud to get Timbuktu from just a few let...I was so proud to get Timbuktu from just a few letters that I was loath to let go of it, seriously slowing that cornerUke Xensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14925310033193507314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80892244079448227262021-06-26T10:17:08.039-04:002021-06-26T10:17:08.039-04:00EXACT LINGO?
OKGOOGLE FILLMEIN,
I'MONAROLL t...EXACT LINGO?<br /><br />OKGOOGLE FILLMEIN, <br />I'MONAROLL that SUCKS,<br />PLATONIC dates? Not FOR men, <br />I'LLGO FOR one that DONKs.<br /><br />--- SENOR HUGO RAMISBurma Shavenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-5743225261024010072021-06-26T10:10:40.136-04:002021-06-26T10:10:40.136-04:00DONK is often used by POKERPROS, short for "d...DONK is often used by POKERPROS, short for "donkey," or "fish," as in: "If you're at a poker table and can't spot the fish, it's you."<br /><br />The ICEPLANET Hoth sent me on my way, and despite a couple of missteps, I was able to work it all out. Had AFIshowS instead of LISTS, and fell into the MAHARajah trap. That one didn't last long, as gimme ENPASSANT negated it. But the ink was down.<br /><br />OKGOOGLE, ALIA Shawkat wins DOD. ASFOR the puzzle, hard enough for lots of Saturday triumph (over the EVILEMPIRE?) points. Birdie.spacecrafthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09125304293611865503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-15679308811973684952021-06-26T01:16:02.580-04:002021-06-26T01:16:02.580-04:00DONK, boooooooo, especially when there's bonk ...DONK, boooooooo, especially when there's bonk and conk. Terrible.sdcheezhdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05457420125517948430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-72078514513167102802021-05-23T15:28:07.777-04:002021-05-23T15:28:07.777-04:00A day late and a dollar short - forgot to post thi...A day late and a dollar short - forgot to post this yesterday. I strongly object to the clue on 15A. A nerve is a bundle of axons. Even if there are axo-axonic connections (just prior to a synapse) a clue that says something hitting a nerve for axon is just nonsense.Tom Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08747031714530310684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-6674368645237641922021-05-23T13:51:34.373-04:002021-05-23T13:51:34.373-04:00Re: 27A: Last I knew, the simple past tense of &qu...Re: 27A: Last I knew, the simple past tense of "stink" was still "stank," not "stunk," but I guess "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" threw that rule out the window a long time ago. Sigh. Maineiachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17675320345627085453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-34175524693294810412021-05-23T10:10:32.926-04:002021-05-23T10:10:32.926-04:00I object to 38A (by way of bona fides, chem underg...I object to 38A (by way of bona fides, chem undergrad and biochemistry PhD). APOLAR does not mean electrically balanced. APOLAR means apolar (although nonpolar is the more typically used term) - i.e., having no net polarity. Hexane is a great example of a nonpolar solvent. It has no net polarity. Water is electrically balanced (it has no net charge (i.e., it is not an ion)), but it has net polarity - referred to as a dipole moment - because of the interaction of the geometry of the molecule and the electron withdrawing character of the oxygen atom. One could imagine a molecule with a positively charged end and a negatively charged opposite end that is 'electrically balanced' and very polar. This is the kind of bad clue and bad answer that you get from someone who has only a vague and largely incorrect understanding of chemistry. Perryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09041738770359978139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-19069519399184997852021-05-22T23:19:55.599-04:002021-05-22T23:19:55.599-04:00Reminds me of a story I heard a couple of years ag...Reminds me of a story I heard a couple of years ago. Orientation week at (I think) Loyola, MD, the college prez (I think) has lunch with parents. Tells a story about another lunch he had with students prior year. During that lunch he asks kids for feedback. One young co-ed speaks up, "You know what I think sucks, Father? That we can't have boys in our rooms after 8:00. I mean, that just sucks, Father." The Prez is rather taken aback by the student's lack of, oh, self-awareness? Realizing that the battle for politeness, civility, graciousness - what have you- had been lost some time ago with this student, he merely replied, "You do know that this is a Catholic institution, don't you?" The young 'lady' grumbled, "I know, Father, but it still sucks." Priceless. Art Decadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01465434654642806042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50791958283151733212021-05-22T22:25:15.635-04:002021-05-22T22:25:15.635-04:00This all goes to show why rhyming and pronunciatio...This all goes to show why rhyming and pronunciation are poor things to use in puzzles. To Nancy, and JC66, (and most people), there is clear difference in pronunciation between 'knotty' and 'naughty', 'pod' and 'pawed', etc. To others, there is not. This is reflected it the pronunciation guides in most dictionaries.<br /><br />For example, Merriam-Webster shows the first vowel in 'knotty' as ä, pronounced as a short 'o' as in 'hop' and 'pop'. And the first vowel in 'naughty' as ȯ, pronounced as 'aw, like 'lawn' and 'pawn'. But lists a second pronunciation as ä - the same ä as for 'knotty'.<br /><br />Which makes me wonder how often there is a misunderstanding when someone asks for help with a knotty problem.kitshefhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10014225555838850414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-84996949221035864312021-05-22T22:18:37.640-04:002021-05-22T22:18:37.640-04:00An couple amusing notes on the OOXTEPLERNON discus...An couple amusing notes on the OOXTEPLERNON discussion.<br /><br />Follow Rex's link to 10/30/09 and look at the commenters. The only current commenters I could find there are JAE 1:00 and Chefwen 3:28. They get the longevity award.<br /><br />Also, Rex is reading and responding to comments.Monty Boyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03924320449868956299noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-29388584345793723442021-05-22T22:18:29.490-04:002021-05-22T22:18:29.490-04:00@mathgent
Thanks for your concern, but I've j...@mathgent <br />Thanks for your concern, but I've just been very happily busy the past few days. The puzzling is definitely taking a back seat. <br /><br />(Hi @bocamp) <br /><br />My own order was: started in the NE (ODETS, REED, ALSO, maybe SEVERE), then ran off and completed SW, then NW, SE, and back to NE. I think. EN PASSANT was a total gimme. My dad taught me how to play chess when I was 9, and by age 10 I played my first tournament, and at age 11 was the youngest player in the state tournament. This was during the era of Fischer's meteoric and heroic rise to the World Championship, and to this day I am gobsmacked by his achievement. He and Morphy and Capablanca are among my chess heroes. I was never *very* good -- at my best I was expert level (according to how they rate these things). But I haven't played a serious game in 25 years. <br /><br />Much of the rest of the puzzle was slow and steady and with furrowed brow. Reaction to DONK not dissimilar to @Nancy's, but the sound-tone is so similar to "bonk" that I just say HMM, then "whatevs", and move on. BOO to BOOBOISIE. Fun fact for LAOS. PTEROSAUR is cool in its Greekiness. <br /><br />Good evening to all! <br />TTrimblenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-49246495028661815432021-05-22T20:52:26.066-04:002021-05-22T20:52:26.066-04:00Jumping in the rhyming fray,
John and Sean sound a...Jumping in the rhyming fray,<br />John and Sean sound alike, I must say.<br />You must have great ears,<br />For you to be able to hears<br />The subtlety twixt them.<br /><br />My ears mustn't be that sensitive,<br />Or else I'm just not that attentive.<br />To me, when I hear the name John, <br />It rhymes with anything -awn<br />And that's the way it sems.<br /><br />😁🤪<br /><br />Roo<br />RooMonsterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14103892151115549684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-72858714484053175792021-05-22T20:08:49.693-04:002021-05-22T20:08:49.693-04:00For @JOHN X -- He whose name CAN be rhymed!
There...For @JOHN X -- He whose name CAN be rhymed!<br /><br />There once was an "X" known as JOHN<br />Who had many personas to don.<br />This irreverent "X"<br />Donned them all here on Rex --<br />Where he knew they'd be stumbled upon.Nancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16737377749030219974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-63334859299192129762021-05-22T18:47:02.313-04:002021-05-22T18:47:02.313-04:00An axon is part of a neuron, a cell in the nervous...An axon is part of a neuron, a cell in the nervous system. Not all nervous system cells have axons.Cc’dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12767574348591563816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61970444828200745902021-05-22T18:42:52.880-04:002021-05-22T18:42:52.880-04:00If only someone here spoke Hebrew, Greek, Latin or...If only someone here spoke Hebrew, Greek, Latin or Gaelic we might not be subjected to the calumny of a poster impugning the Scots as drunkards. <br />What say ye mods, did Z impugn a whole culture by saying the Scots were so besotted they somehow drunkenly transformed a word?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-71422276490256145602021-05-22T18:28:03.008-04:002021-05-22T18:28:03.008-04:00Isn’t Sean just John with an Irish accent? Why, ye...Isn’t Sean just John with an Irish accent? Why, yes, yes it is. And Jean said with a French accent is also John. But how much whiskey did they have to drink in Scotland to pronounce John as Ian? <br /><br />Vowels don’t even always sound the same from West Michigan to East Michigan. It’s really kind of amazing that we ever understand each other. <br /><br />Clearly Shortz missed an opportunity when cluing <a href="https://youtu.be/8q1MgMCaEdc" rel="nofollow">APOLAR</a>. <br /><br />@Liz1508 - 👍🏽👍🏽Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31519239810142042022021-05-22T18:26:17.110-04:002021-05-22T18:26:17.110-04:00Birchbark 4:00...Ooooh....James Joyce? Can you an...Birchbark 4:00...Ooooh....James Joyce? Can you and I hold hands and sing the hod-carrier ballad at Finnegan's Wake?<br />@Frantic....I love Bridget. I watch their program all the time. I'm now making Cubano bread - a recipe I got from The Test Kitchen.....GILL I.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05605766053820226324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-72120770975778178812021-05-22T17:56:59.100-04:002021-05-22T17:56:59.100-04:00@Frantic (4:53) -- Interesting -- I will try it wh...@Frantic (4:53) -- Interesting -- I will try it when an opportunity presents and report back.Birchbarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09292725119040462686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56225053767608663362021-05-22T17:28:59.477-04:002021-05-22T17:28:59.477-04:00Re: Vowel pronunciations, as in "John".
...Re: Vowel pronunciations, as in "John".<br /><br />My NH born wife of 50+ years pronounces the o in "clock" and "cloth" exactly the same. (See also "frog pond". This caused Upstate NY me some moments of confusion many years ago, but I probably sound more like her these days.<br />pabloinnhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04967477079504866917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-76889637971159554852021-05-22T17:18:57.657-04:002021-05-22T17:18:57.657-04:00I'm throwin' in the towel; never thot I wa...I'm throwin' in the towel; never thot I was a poet, but now, for sure, I know it! :) <br />___<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_DxNpW1kHQ" rel="nofollow">Peace ~</a> Empathy ~ Kindness to all 🕊bocamphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02524629632075020985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-58612055823780001722021-05-22T17:05:21.681-04:002021-05-22T17:05:21.681-04:00In England John is pronounced LOO.In England John is pronounced LOO.The Jokernoreply@blogger.com