tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post5540822207498879684..comments2024-03-28T07:21:32.779-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Wordplay vocalist 2005 / FRI 10-18-13 / Informal name of 45th state / 1999 rap hit featuring Snoop Dogg / Musician who arranged theme for 2001 / Poverty metaphorically / Dutch city ESE of Amsterdam / Turkey baseball Hall-of-famer from Negro leagues / 45 degrees for 1Rex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger125125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-66094700754050314102013-11-24T19:03:58.710-05:002013-11-24T19:03:58.710-05:00@SHAX 1564 - Syndi-land abounds with geezers! Plea...@SHAX 1564 - Syndi-land abounds with geezers! Please join us on a regular basis - your comments will always be read and enjoyed thanks to email comment updates many of us receive.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-21907463235902279202013-11-24T18:18:03.572-05:002013-11-24T18:18:03.572-05:00I am in syndi-land, so probably no one will read m...I am in syndi-land, so probably no one will read my comments. Just wanted to say that although I'm generationally a geezer, I love David Steinberg's puzzles and look forward to solving them--or at least trying to. Puzzles are full of trivia all the time. SHAX 1564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-4955376199667541042013-11-23T15:57:40.087-05:002013-11-23T15:57:40.087-05:00I found most of the puzzle easy for a Friday, but ...I found most of the puzzle easy for a Friday, but then I was one of those hash smoking folks back in the seventies so the Deodato clue was a gimme. I did struggle with the northwest corner for some time having only "let in on" "add on" to work with. Eventually, toreador came into view and the rest was history.mschronoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45482984770859876012013-11-23T14:44:20.418-05:002013-11-23T14:44:20.418-05:00I hated this too but mainly because of my hatred o...I hated this too but mainly because of my hatred of rap clues. Thankfully, I too guessed TOREADOR, and knew "El Condor Pasa" otherwise I would have DNF'd this one. Was able to overcome inserting ACUTEANGLE and LIKUDPARTY off the "L" in GETREAL before I realized it was LABORPARTY. DEODATO total mystery I could never have inferred if I hadn't known "Turkey" STEARNES.Tom Koroczhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00466525745495723225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45852663206158428022013-11-23T04:13:14.900-05:002013-11-23T04:13:14.900-05:00NW was pretty smooth even with ACUTEANGLE instead ...NW was pretty smooth even with ACUTEANGLE instead of ARCTANGENT. SE went OK too although never heard of SONE. The rest was a real slog, especially with Turkey STEARNES and TESSAS. I listened to a lot of Top 40 in 73 so got DEODATO or it probably would have been hopeless. Got some satisfaction here seeing it is the #1 hardest Friday.sdcheezhdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05457420125517948430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-66690813903167254102013-11-22T21:44:26.654-05:002013-11-22T21:44:26.654-05:00No personal criticism of young Mr. Steinberg but t...No personal criticism of young Mr. Steinberg but this puzzle was in my opinion not fun so after solving the SE and NW and middle quit. It is after all just a puzzle.<br /><br />Hope he does better next time.BedfordBobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08348600333498878554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-1328616363132889452013-11-22T19:08:40.016-05:002013-11-22T19:08:40.016-05:00it's amazing. so many people so deep into some...it's amazing. so many people so deep into something so insignificant as a crossword puzzle. i had no idea.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-62173240194769231992013-11-22T18:01:41.977-05:002013-11-22T18:01:41.977-05:00I didn't google but I didn't finish, eithe...I didn't google but I didn't finish, either. I thought I did pretty well to reduce the grid to only a few blank squares and a couple of wrong ones, all of them south of DETOX and west of TINPAN.<br /><br />@Red Valerian - nice to see you back!Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-54403316978104220692013-11-22T17:48:22.530-05:002013-11-22T17:48:22.530-05:00completely agree with rex , someone.s ego overcame...completely agree with rex , someone.s ego overcame purposeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-5649693168412399822013-11-22T16:44:31.430-05:002013-11-22T16:44:31.430-05:00Nice to see our neighbors to the North checking in...Nice to see our neighbors to the North checking in today, especially the appearance from @Red V. @Rain forest, we have a bye week, but "Go Hawks!" anyway.Solving in Seattlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04249420848844874936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-32437732793388703692013-11-22T16:34:03.561-05:002013-11-22T16:34:03.561-05:00Tough One which turned into a Google fest, and sti...Tough One which turned into a Google fest, and still ended with many unfilled squares. Many things I did not know, too many to list, and some surprises that were gimmies. (ORIENTE, anyone?)<br /><br />I am truly impressed that young Mr. Steinberg could pull this off (when he was 15 no less!) Don't let the kvetchers get you down, David, keep up the good work.Gingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-14774670149808037502013-11-22T16:20:39.887-05:002013-11-22T16:20:39.887-05:00For the zillionth time the @SiS LOL award of the d...For the zillionth time the @SiS LOL award of the day goes to... @M&A.<br />And I watched U-571 yesterday.<br /><br />Mr. Steinberg, you certainly elicited a ton of comments regarding this eclectic puz.<br /><br />I was going to list all my throwdowns today, but I'm going to spare @Diri the mutual back-patting duty. Suffice to say I was on the puz WL.<br /><br />Wrinkled nose on the clue for SHEATH, TWINBILL, and INCLUDES. Had INCLaDES.<br /><br />For "Zoological groups" I ran down the taxonomy list and the only one that fit was "orders." So a little messy changing to FAUNAS. <br /><br />cDrOm before ADDON. barrymore before COEN.<br /><br />Have a great weekend, Syndies!<br /><br />Capcha onothirp. The ear-splitting vocal interlude by Yoko. Solving in Seattlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04249420848844874936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-38888515029996343612013-11-22T16:04:06.065-05:002013-11-22T16:04:06.065-05:00Well, I got one thing right with yesterday's c...Well, I got one thing right with yesterday's comment that i expected to have a hard time with today's puzzle! Slow to start, I eventually crawled my way through three segments, with, it turns out only one error, eNCLosE for iNCLUDE. That's the kind of ing that happens when the crosses provide no help.<br />On the other hand, SW was such a confusion of crossing names and ? that I joined @Gill I P in just walking away. <br /><br />In general, I much prefer puzzles that are language based, where one can often infer or derive answers, to ones like this trivia quiz. Either know it or not! On the other hand, even as I acknowlege that grid creators (gridists ?) probably need some "facts" to make things work, I'll argue that there is a lot of difference between knowing where Caesar lived and the lyrics of some song that was popular x years ago for 6 weeks. There I've had my rant! Age has its privileges?<br /><br />And now I've failed the #%^# Captcha! TWICE!DMGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-18207164517923217612013-11-22T16:00:25.931-05:002013-11-22T16:00:25.931-05:00Some people trying to out-grumpy others, eh? But ...Some people trying to out-grumpy others, eh? But not out here in syndi-land, I'm pleased to see. <br /><br />I enjoyed it, despite plunking in 'magic bus' for JETPLANE (only one other person did that? really?), and having absolutely no idea about that Utah is the 45th state let alone its other name or the name of that ship )which Google seems to indicate is fictional). Oh, and I (along with only one other person again??) thought STILLDRy could be a title and yDE a town. Ah, well. <br /><br />Did know TESSAS (as @rainforest points out, probably easier for Canadians), though I didn't like the plural. <br /><br />Thanks, David!Red Valerianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04638265039015470938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-43950023015720318562013-11-22T14:13:39.407-05:002013-11-22T14:13:39.407-05:00I found this at most medium, oddly, because of sev...I found this at most medium, oddly, because of several gimmes that were wtf's for others.<br /><br />TOREADOR with only the last R, ARCTANGENT, DESERET (and I'm not American), TESSAS (I am Canadian), LEONTYNE, PASA, JASONMRAZ, and almost SCARFACE, after trying Babyface. Stumbled with DEAnE, before DEARE, and the rest was inferred. <br /><br />I do agree that some clues were vague/iffy, but the crosses always cleared things up. I think it is a very good puzzle, with only AHSO (maybe) the clunker. Who *ever* says that?rain forestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-76805317881978322542013-11-22T13:59:02.904-05:002013-11-22T13:59:02.904-05:00Other than STILLDRE that I eventually had to googl...Other than STILLDRE that I eventually had to google, thought this wasn't terribly difficult. Even being half a century older than young Mr. Steinberg, I think we're on the same wavelength. <br /><br />Started with the gimme JONI which quickly opened up the SE although it also led to trying to somehow squeeze BIG YELLOW TAXI into 25A. Similarly, ORIENTE opened up the NE whilst STEARNES made for smooth sailing in the SW. Unfortunately, the HUXTABLES followed by the ANDERSONS for 13A caused nothing but trouble in the NW. Loved TWINBILL as I spent many Sunday afternoons during the '50's watching the International League Montreal Royals playing doubleheaders. Also, once I worked back to Utah as the 45th state, DESERET became obvious from the DESERET NEWS, the only Utah newspaper I know of.<br /><br />Learnt that LARGO was more than a Florida key, EDE was ESE of Amsterdam - cute, and that the Israeli PM's were with LABOR, not LIKUD.<br /><br />And on this 50th anniversary of the terrible tragedy in Dallas, I was really relieved that the first name in shooting (12D) turned out to be that of a photographer! <br /><br />Waxy in Montrealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04395751487137805245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-62559190506113748912013-11-22T11:48:10.849-05:002013-11-22T11:48:10.849-05:00UNwelcome back, spellcasters.
I groaned at the 1a...UNwelcome back, spellcasters.<br /><br />I groaned at the 1a definition; y'all know how I feel about rap. Still, I managed, in an hour-plus, to finish this one. Challenging indeed. The SW gave me the most fits until I realized that the "carte" of 45a was a map, not a menu. DEODATO took every single cross, despite that like @August West, I too am a huge Kubrick/2001 fan.<br /><br />PASA was no trouble for me; I am an even huger (?) fan of the genius of Paul Simon. Wouldn't YOU rather be a hammer than a nail?<br /><br />Had some trouble in the NW; being 100% ignorant of 1a not helping. Neither did having eNCLosED before INCLUDED, and before that, REsellS instead of RELISTS. Those lovable CONEHEADS finally popped into my head, and that was that.<br /><br />As for criticizing the constructor vs. the construction, anybody who can make a 62-worder earns MY respect. So if he lets in a node of obscurity, or a subject unpopular with me, that's not on him personally. After all, there was only one rap reference, and two to that great year 1969 (25 and 41 a). I imagine there are those who dislike such "ancient history" as much as I do rap.<br /><br />Keep on keepin' on, David.spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-86242451631134275232013-11-22T11:10:21.857-05:002013-11-22T11:10:21.857-05:00Most of the time, I don't fully agree with Mr....Most of the time, I don't fully agree with Mr. Parker. This time, I do. This puzzle is far too esoteric and obscure. Better luck next time, Mr. Steinberg.<br />Ron Diego 8:10 AM PSTAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-313671107724580432013-10-29T20:15:26.541-04:002013-10-29T20:15:26.541-04:00i was married for five year ago coming home late a...i was married for five year ago coming home late and not spending time with me any more.So i became very sad and lost in life because my doctor told me there is no way for me to get pregnant this really make life so hard for me and my family.my sister in law told me about DR ALADE from the Internet,how he has helped people with this similar problem that i am going through so i contacted him and explain to him.he cast a spell and it was a miracle three days later my husband can back to apologize for all he has done and told me he is fully ready to support me in any thing i want,few month later i got pregnant and gave birth to twins (girls) we are happy with ourselves. Thanks to DR ALADE for saving my relationship and for also saving others too. continue your good work, If you are interested to contact DR ALADE for your solution now EMAIL is ( greataladesolutiontemple@gmail .com) and telephone number is +2348074839242 for any help you want him to do for you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-82692351004131580502013-10-22T15:47:25.361-04:002013-10-22T15:47:25.361-04:00As a baby boomer I always begin David Steinberg wi...As a baby boomer I always begin David Steinberg with the assumption I'll do miserably -- given that they're always chock full of pop culture, rappers, recent TV and movies. Guess he thinks I'm so uncool there's no point allowing for the fact that not everybody watches his movies and TV shows and his obscure music. But having gotten that off my chest, this wasn't as bad as usual. The obscure pop culture questions filled themselves in by their surroundings. I disagree with Rex about "Twin Bill", as a baseball fan I think it's a perfectly good clue. Major complaint was (as others have said) you prove THEORIES not THEOREMS, so the clue was wrong. And of course there was no hope of ever getting THEROMS since it required you to know Jason Mraz!!!! Everything else was quick and easy except for problems in the upper left caused by David's insistence that everybody has heard of "Still Dre". Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8787019648196911842013-10-19T12:49:24.387-04:002013-10-19T12:49:24.387-04:00I loved it. And the clue/answer for tripled made m...I loved it. And the clue/answer for tripled made me smile. Because, as Roth says, everyone loves a triple. Amelianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-33758047765361143352013-10-19T07:55:45.390-04:002013-10-19T07:55:45.390-04:00I WANT TO THANK GREAT DR IGBERASE 2ND FOR HELPING ...I WANT TO THANK GREAT DR IGBERASE 2ND FOR HELPING ME WITH MY LOST HUSBAND DEVIS HOLLYWOOD...<br />Dr Igberase is like a father to the fatherless.. i never believed these will really make a change in my marriage, and i never have it in my thought that i could ever been with my husband Mr Devis after divorcing and ending our 33years marriage.... My life was upset i never knew where to start from when my husband broke up with me.....My name is Tanisha Devis from Poland but got married and live in Chicago USA, igberasespelltemple@yahoo.com is the right email address to contact for an urgent help in getting your lover back.... My husband and I have been together for 33years before he divorced me and i was so upset because i thought i have lost my marriage forever... i did all i could to please for my husband to bring me back home but all to be in vain.. i had to travelled away from my state because i was not having anywhere to stay because my home was not conducive for me to stay because my husband want me out of th house, i travel to a friend of mine in California, one night, when i was searching on a good spell caster results that help in bringing back lost lover's and husband's, i found an interesting story that was shared by Santana Valdez From Texas Huston, about a good spell caster called Dr Igberase,and how he helped her in getting her husban back home, and i decided to put a try in contacting him... he replied me back.. i thought at first these was just normal and he told me that i was going to get back my husband after a period of 28hours i still doubted him.... But today as i am sharing these good news is for me to express my experience to all the whole universe that these is a good spell caster that helps in bringing back lost lovers and he is (igberasespelltemple@yahoo.com) I am happily with my husband and my 3 kids, TARRY, WENDY, JEFF... great Atakpo i thank you for helping me to get my family back.... his email address is (igberasespelltemple@yahoo.com) Thanks, From Tanisha Devis, Igberase is my Granfather because he was always there for me when i needed him mostly and he is the reason why i am happy today.<br /><br /> <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61378531216394331882013-10-19T01:42:33.133-04:002013-10-19T01:42:33.133-04:00For the benefit of the Times puzzle makers, and fo...For the benefit of the Times puzzle makers, and for the peace of mind of Rex and the commenters:<br /><br />"AH SO" is perfectly fine Japanese, and basically means what English speakers who say it think it means. It is not "mock" or racist.<br /><br />"Ah" (ああ) just means "ah", and by co-incidence, "so" (そう, more precisely transliterated as "sō" or "sou") in this context means "that's how it is", or in other words: <i>so</i>.<br /><br />French people actually say "oo la la", Germans say "verboten", and Japanese say "AH SO". English speakers who incorporate these phrases into conversation may do so to communicate many things besides bigotry.<br /><br />お休みなさい。Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-30234639693981782682013-10-19T00:11:49.604-04:002013-10-19T00:11:49.604-04:00@JAZZMANCHGO - I don't want to but, as you ins...@JAZZMANCHGO - I don't want to but, as you insist on it, you're an idiot.<br /><br />FAUNA is the animal population of a region, so it's save to say that the FAUNAS of North and South America differ greatly.Miss Mannersnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-25233431793336675472013-10-18T22:12:21.739-04:002013-10-18T22:12:21.739-04:00This week's relative difficulty ratings. See m...This week's relative difficulty ratings. See my 8/1/2009 post for an explanation and my 10/15/2012 post for an explanation of a tweak I've made to my method. 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 6:13, 6:07, 1.02, 61%, Medium-Challenging<br />Tue 7:14, 8:15, 0.88, 15%, Easy<br />Wed 13:48, 9:44, 1.42, 97%, Challenging (6th highest ratio of 198 Wednesdays)<br />Thu 11:33, 16:30, 0.70, 7%, Easy<br />Fri 27:17, 17:47, 1.53, 100%, Challenging (highest ratio of 199 Fridays)<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:43, 3:46, 0.99, 38%, Easy-Medium<br />Tue 4:24, 5:09, 0.85, 6%, Easy<br />Wed 7:39, 5:37, 1.36, 98%, Challenging (5th highest ratio of 198 Wednesdays)<br />Thu 6:58, 9:27, 0.74, 8%, Easy<br />Fri 14:53, 10:07, 1.47, 96%, Challenging (8th highest ratio of 199 Fridays)sanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.com