tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post554814984410905299..comments2024-03-29T08:03:27.720-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Larry of original West Side Story / SAT 1-11-14 / Grid great Greasy / Native of Caprica on Battlestar Galactica / Renaissance composer of Missa Papae Marcelli / Larry of original West Side Story / Fundacio Joan Miro designer / Does Ludacris impersonationRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger133125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44004125659042651062022-08-06T13:27:03.249-04:002022-08-06T13:27:03.249-04:00I happened to know Waukesha; rather, I got Naticke...I happened to know Waukesha; rather, I got Naticked at C_R x _AINO and at GLEADO_S with HIED and _CALE (crossing with SCAR at that point). Any Natick invalidates the puzzle for me; a double (two in one word) sucks most of the enjoyment out of it. Note how SERT has attainable crosses.<br /><br />Fortunately, I did have some fun with the stacks, especially in the work it took to get PREAKNESS STAKES wiped off the top row.Prunehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00224476641730508311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-19284625930991790412015-05-12T19:42:43.763-04:002015-05-12T19:42:43.763-04:00@dryen
I'm solving this 16 months later in Ma...@dryen<br /><br />I'm solving this 16 months later in May 2015, slowly working my way backwards through the archive on the iPad app. No one will ever read this, indeed I don't know if Rex will ever get around to manually approving this comment, since old threads have comment moderation enabled.<br /><br />But I just wanted to say that I too first thought of PreAkness stakeS for 1 across. It crossed with the plausible "pkgS" for 1 down, and with ADAMA and SSTS, but nothing else that made sense, so it was easy to let go of it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-81581248106774104042014-02-17T10:06:25.507-05:002014-02-17T10:06:25.507-05:00@Joe in Montreal - welcome to the syndi-conversati...@Joe in Montreal - welcome to the syndi-conversation. Your neighbor @Waxy in Montreal also stops by quite often - maybe you know one another?Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-37488589204755946892014-02-17T09:19:53.272-05:002014-02-17T09:19:53.272-05:00I do it in syndication in the local paper, and yea...I do it in syndication in the local paper, and yeah the K was the only blank. Def. thought it was unfair. And yeah, as a fellow Canadian, let's leave the politics out of this. Canada has premiers much weirder than any American governor. and there is a 'name' option.Joe in Montrealnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56069227092503512732014-02-16T10:56:27.799-05:002014-02-16T10:56:27.799-05:00I did not know Kert, but I got Waukesha with just ...I did not know Kert, but I got Waukesha with just a couple of letters. This is because I grew up in Wisconsin and visited my cousins in Waukesha every few years as a child. It was like "the other city in Wisconsin" for me :-)Donnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80960886162311875462014-02-15T20:00:50.017-05:002014-02-15T20:00:50.017-05:00@Diri, what a classic sound.
Maybe I should have ...@Diri, what a classic sound. <br />Maybe I should have started with UNAGI as my freshwater aquarium fish.Solving in Seattlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04249420848844874936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-2730401476840920342014-02-15T18:31:29.902-05:002014-02-15T18:31:29.902-05:00@SiS - should we make this our theme song?
Four 9...@SiS - should we make this our <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVSRm80WzZk" rel="nofollow">theme song</a>?<br /><br />Four 9s - read 'em and weep.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-14758146445729675462014-02-15T17:05:13.076-05:002014-02-15T17:05:13.076-05:00Poor as ARAT. For those of you who had a problem w...Poor as ARAT. For those of you who had a problem with this, you just parsed it wrong. Mohammed Arat is well known in Islam as the poorest man in Medina. Check your Quran.<br /><br />My aquarium fish started out as a tetra, even though he expired quickly in the fresh water.<br /><br />MAS gave us two good sports deeks with DOM and NEALE instead of Joe and Bob (Griese).<br /><br />And for the Twilight Zone moment of the day, I took Mrs. SiS out for Valentine dinner to our fav sushi joint and I had... wait for it... UNAGI! Talk about synchronicity. <br /><br />Three sixes. Bah.Solving in Seattlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04249420848844874936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-87897931432748410092014-02-15T15:15:22.110-05:002014-02-15T15:15:22.110-05:00Somehow I managed the four-stacks,after turning my...Somehow I managed the four-stacks,after turning my pkgS into CTNS, but the rest was Natick cubed. Never been to Wisconsin, so no idea of the "k" thing, or of the D in CDR/fish crossing until it was explained here. But the worse was the unknown musician/sports figure cross. Thus the mid-east got nowhere, not helped by thinking the elbow grease thing was a "saying". And my Shakespearian lady unfortunately dIEd away. What can I say?<br /><br />Back to cards. A so-so full house 5's and 4's.DMGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-60704627153050954482014-01-12T23:19:49.003-05:002014-01-12T23:19:49.003-05:00A plausible answer to 1-across might have been Pre...A plausible answer to 1-across might have been Preakness Stakes. One's background can easily throw a shoe into the grid.dryennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-66105297101802200262014-01-12T13:52:50.943-05:002014-01-12T13:52:50.943-05:00Actually he replaced Dean Jones in the NY cast aft...Actually he replaced Dean Jones in the NY cast after just a short time. He is usually credited therefore with being in the Original Lindon cast. (I think the Tony Award committee bent the rules a bit though so he could be nominated...)<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-4882384971059738182014-01-12T12:22:54.599-05:002014-01-12T12:22:54.599-05:00Anon 12:13--What a great autocorrect!
@Tita, Ditc...Anon 12:13--What a great autocorrect!<br /><br />@Tita, Ditched "TV" a couple years ago, no cable, no satellite, only internet and Netflix. So didn't know about the Nature documentary on unagi. But just to be boring, I have nothing against eels, only their over-appearance in xwords.Ellen Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00473445503706985149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-70899599072070032352014-01-12T00:13:25.665-05:002014-01-12T00:13:25.665-05:00Autocorrect typo -- "ares" = "Rex&q...Autocorrect typo -- "ares" = "Rex".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-38189213171701456982014-01-12T00:03:27.396-05:002014-01-12T00:03:27.396-05:00Larry Kert was also in the amazing Sondheim HBO sp...Larry Kert was also in the amazing Sondheim HBO special just a few weeks ago.<br /><br />Loved the MAS comments here, and unless I missed a response from ares, his silence speaks volumes.<br /><br />I also know the town of Natick quite well.<br /><br />On another note, Sunday is very easy and bizarre...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-1991372287016277302014-01-11T23:34:48.489-05:002014-01-11T23:34:48.489-05:00@casco kid san:
U must be one of them math majors,...@casco kid san:<br />U must be one of them math majors, who once heard the old calc joke:<br />Integral (1/cabin dcabin) = houseboat*<br /><br />***<br /><br />In a SatPuz solve, I invariably find myself facin a tough decision or two, as far as unknown (to me) crossin words. If I'm lucky, that's the worst that happens to me, and I walk away pretty proud of myself. The way I see this whole rodeo, it's nice to have one bronc a week that can still throw me pretty regular. Thanx, NYT SatPuz. And thanx U, Mr. MAS. Til we saddle up again, next week...<br />p.s. pass the linament, pleaz.<br /><br />Mr. M&A<br /><br />* houseboat = logcabin + CMassacred and Askinformonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-66362595137225169872014-01-11T21:55:43.455-05:002014-01-11T21:55:43.455-05:00Once my daughter stopped by and filled in elephant...Once my daughter stopped by and filled in elephant trainer I rolled, kind of. If taking several hours to solve while talking to family, watching basketball, eating dinner, etc. is rolling. If I had remembered Neale Greasy instead of thinking Earle Greasy it would have been easier. But I finished. On a Saturday. Life is good.adicecreamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15912814651356855583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-51815410143063814902014-01-11T18:47:50.140-05:002014-01-11T18:47:50.140-05:00@Benko - So something that 75% of the people who s...@Benko - So something that 75% of the people <b>who solve Saturday puzzles</b> don't know is crossed with something else that 75% of Saturday solvers don't know is okay by you? Let me buy you that 26-sided die. Granted, it is hard to determine what "reasonable" is, but it seems reasonable to me that a guy who is "known" for a stage performance 65 years ago, not even the more well-known movie performance, is not going to be known by more than 1/4th of the Saturday solving crowd. And then you cross it with a midwestern county seat (pop. <71,000). The midwesterners here seemed to have had less difficulty with the cross, but for others it appears to have been a roll of the die. <br /><br />Or maybe you didn't pick up on the proportionality inherent in the principle. I believe this is why (some) commenters differentiate between "naticks" and "personal naticks." Most things operatic risk "natickdom" for me, but I recognize this as a flaw in my own grey-matter-database, not the puzzle. I think the natick principle is a fair descriptor of a real thing that limits the quality of a puzzle. Like the balance between short fill and theme, scrabbliness and scrabblef*&^ing, and other judgements made here, it's not an absolute nor is it the only quality by which I judge a puzzle. But I do believe it is a fair concept that I hope that constructors and editors consider as they create and clue puzzles.<br /><br />On a less strident note, I nominate @anonymous3:43 for the anonymous comment of the week award for "I think Canada bluegrass is slower than Kentucky bluegrass. It's hard to pick the banjo fast when your fingers are cold."Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-32386420391563334412014-01-11T18:44:02.404-05:002014-01-11T18:44:02.404-05:00For those of us who had parents who loved Broadway...For those of us who had parents who loved Broadway musicals, Larry Kert was an easy one. Also starred in Sondheim's original cast of "Company."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-62957350623183257692014-01-11T18:39:44.105-05:002014-01-11T18:39:44.105-05:00Well I loved it, but I'm a fan of grid-spannin...Well I loved it, but I'm a fan of grid-spanning stacks - I think they're awful pretty. In fact I'd go so far as to say the puzzle was wicked good (but that's just my opinion, of course). (Hi back at ya, Z.) I, too, finished with the K at that infamous cross but I just "knew" it was right and so it was.<br /><br />Does a NAVAL ENGAGEMENT lead to a NAVEL RING, I wonder?Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-69128152393185745002014-01-11T18:37:02.595-05:002014-01-11T18:37:02.595-05:00@ tita,@lms
Misuse of a foreign language stories ...@ tita,@lms<br /><br />Misuse of a foreign language stories are always fun, particularly when one has been the instigator of of such embarrassing gaffes.When I lived for a while in Florence I was often ordering a bunch of eggs [oeva] rather than grapes[uve] and on one occasion, seeking to impress several of my ever-present guests with my Italian [none spoke any] who had asked me to order 2 cappocini and 2 croissants, I asked our waiter to bring the drinks and "due cornici" He repeated my request rather quizically and I rather impatiently did. He got it: "Ah, due cornetti!", he exclaimed. Then I got it: I had ordered 2 coffees and 2 PICTURE FRAMES.<br /><br />It was hardly the last time I humiliated myself trying so hard to get along in the relatively new language.LaneBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-13431304324597121452014-01-11T18:05:59.311-05:002014-01-11T18:05:59.311-05:00This 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 6:54, 6:22, 1.08, 81%, Challenging<br />Tue 8:02, 8:12, 0.98, 44%, Medium<br />Wed 8:49, 10:26, 0.85, 13%, Easy<br />Thu 23:04, 19:03, 1.21, 82%, Challenging<br />Fri 16:01, 19:17, 0.83, 19%, Easy<br />Sat 31:42, 28:53, 1.10, 78%, Medium-Challenging<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 4:02, 3:58, 1.02, 55%, Medium<br />Tue 5:03, 5:09, 0.98, 41%, Medium<br />Wed 5:20, 6:11, 0.86, 12%, Easy<br />Thu 14:17, 10:45, 1.33, 85%, Challenging<br />Fri 8:43, 11:12, 0.78, 14%, Easy<br />Sat 18:55, 18:12, 1.04, 61%, Medium-Challenging<br /><br />@LaneB ... a newspaper's OPED section is where pundits weigh-in with their opinions ... OBSCENE GESTURES are pixelated by telecasters lest they incur the FCC's wrathsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24952406712150757612014-01-11T18:01:46.148-05:002014-01-11T18:01:46.148-05:00For me a good Saturday even though I take a DNF be...For me a good Saturday even though I take a DNF because of the bottom third where my ship foundered on the shoals of OPED [How does that relate to weigh-in section?], STOAS [I failed to see the Greek connection ], BOLE, STEN {I couldn't get MONE out of my head] the fact that I used IODInE excluding the second D, and finally a sqw, and still don't see the connection between "pixelated" and OBSCENEGESTURES.. <br />It took m e forever, of course, but I trjuly am pleased I got as far as I did and can only blame Ashwood-Smith for his excessibely recondite clues notwithstanding how ingenious and admirable the puzzle is. LaneBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-4037325054983019552014-01-11T18:01:16.440-05:002014-01-11T18:01:16.440-05:00NATICK PRINCIPLE — "If you include a proper n...NATICK PRINCIPLE — "If you include a proper noun in your grid that you cannot reasonably expect more than 1/4 of the solving public to have heard of, you must cross that noun with reasonably common words and phrases or very common names." <br /><br />And how does one determine what fraction of the solving public knows Larry Kert? Or Waukesha? Or Natick?Carole Shmurakhttp://carole-books.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-53580934033717036312014-01-11T17:47:49.160-05:002014-01-11T17:47:49.160-05:00@rc-- I know the definition. And I don't agre...@rc-- I know the definition. And I don't agree with it. On an easier level of difficulty, earlier in the week, it works. But not for a difficult Saturday. And although it is not explicit about fairness, it certainly seems to define what Rex considers fair in a crossword. And I regularly hear people discussing "natick" crossings as "unfair". Benkonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-71486352454511414512014-01-11T17:33:24.494-05:002014-01-11T17:33:24.494-05:00@Benko - "Natick" has a definition: see ...@Benko - "Natick" has a definition: see FAQ on Rex's blog. It is not defined in terms of fairness. That is an interpretation extrinsic to the definition.retired_chemisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13181126754941899228noreply@blogger.com