tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post5709492608686285299..comments2024-03-29T03:22:09.826-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Physics Nobelist Victor who discovered cosmic radiation / WED 2-16-11 / Anoint with sacred oil old-style / Georgia's capital in slangRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger100125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-19512786706721632982011-03-24T23:20:35.036-04:002011-03-24T23:20:35.036-04:00[2/16 in Mar’11+a day] Had fun with the puzzle an...[2/16 in Mar’11+a day] Had fun with the puzzle and figuring out all of the ‘21’ clues (maybe a Sunday puzzle could have 21 of them). Got EROTICAL from crosses but on the ‘trust but verify’ principle checked it out in the Scrabble Dictionary – it’s there. So if it’s legal in Scrabble….. <br />BTW, Wordplay is a fine blog but I personally think this one has more edge & more insight. IMO.lodsfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05345395843784742434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-17871495917785161782011-03-23T18:40:50.213-04:002011-03-23T18:40:50.213-04:00"Moby Dick" wasn't first excerpted i..."Moby Dick" wasn't first excerpted in Hustler? Seriously?<br /><br />prossi = character in an EROTICAL novel.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-32579174608076390132011-03-23T18:23:43.588-04:002011-03-23T18:23:43.588-04:00From syncity: almost invariably the title of an ob...From syncity: almost invariably the title of an obscure TV series I've never consciously heard of nevertheless somehow still manages to burrow its way onto a synapse, neuron, dendrite, axon or something equally useful in my brain expressly for trivia/crossword recall purposes - but for some reason 21 JUMP STREET never did. Oh, well, if/when it reappears in 2026(?), should be a gimme.<br /><br />And apropos of nothing significant whatsoever (complete waste of memory in this case), for some reason I do always remember that anagrams for TSARINA include SINATRA and ARTISAN.Waxy in Montrealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04395751487137805245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-64202528635810677872011-02-18T14:47:11.366-05:002011-02-18T14:47:11.366-05:00Lyn Nofziger! Good one. How soon we forget. Hec...Lyn Nofziger! Good one. How soon we forget. Heck, now that you remind me, I remember that he was <a href="http://rexwordpuzzle.blogspot.com/2008/12/wednesday-dec-17-2008-john-farmer.html" rel="nofollow">in the puzzle</a> just over two years ago (on a Wednesday, even!) with Rex of course making a big deal over remembering the odd name.william e embanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-25453705291547193462011-02-17T23:42:00.132-05:002011-02-17T23:42:00.132-05:00Don't just google it, read the results.
He sa...Don't just google it, read the results.<br /><br />He said "Ich bin ein Berliner". Which is a completely proper way to say "I am one with the people of Berlin". No one in the audience thought he was calling himself a donut.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-66196753069416974682011-02-17T23:07:30.290-05:002011-02-17T23:07:30.290-05:00Lynn Chadwick.Lynn Chadwick.machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91866777684609875792011-02-17T22:43:13.456-05:002011-02-17T22:43:13.456-05:00@Sfingi - the pastry story is legit - google it - ...@Sfingi - the pastry story is legit - google it - there is footage of him saying "Ich bin ein Berliner".<br />Trivia for the day...<br />"Bola de Berlin" is the Portuguese word for jelly donut - literally, Ball from Berlin. It ain't just Berliners that call 'em that...!Titahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368251255494687496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-74927943712799659142011-02-17T13:17:06.111-05:002011-02-17T13:17:06.111-05:00Lyn NofzigerLyn NofzigerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-43068924060208344442011-02-17T13:11:35.610-05:002011-02-17T13:11:35.610-05:00@Maya "me me me me me" LIN:
This was ab...@Maya "me me me me me" LIN:<br /><br />This was about the first name L?N. Ignoring that, "you" are famously female, and I'm sure have been in the grid before, even early in the week. Meanwhile, Hall-of-Famer quarterback L?N Dawson is famously male.<br /><br />The only masculine first-name Lin I am aware of is the genre-famous science fiction/fantasy writer/editor/critic Linwood Vrooman "Lin" Carter.<br /><br />Also, looking around on Wikipedia, it seems the only masculine "Lyn"s are an early 20th century Welsh film actor Lyn Harding and a Welsh footballer Lyn Davies.william e embanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-83964550568790368712011-02-17T06:11:25.439-05:002011-02-17T06:11:25.439-05:00@rex - i didnt check google because i've just ...@rex - i didnt check google because i've just lived around here my whole life, eating in the eateries, listening to the radio, and whatnot and i've never heard the word mentioned. ever. <br /><br />don't go to hawks games though so that's a new one.hazelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04627015904603641109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-75941891317448859442011-02-17T00:14:39.110-05:002011-02-17T00:14:39.110-05:00@From The Archives - EROTICAL, an eight letter wor...@From The Archives - EROTICAL, an eight letter word with alternating vowels and consonants, and the WOF glory of the consonants has to be constructors' gold. The fact that it hasn't appeared in a puzzle for 15 years can only be a testiment to its manifest ugliness.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-33344572385475197772011-02-16T23:17:27.315-05:002011-02-16T23:17:27.315-05:00@glitch, thanks for the Bulova TV spot story
My N...@glitch, thanks for the Bulova TV spot story<br /><br />My NE corner stayed hollow for a long time ... I guessed BEST instead of HESS, which led to:<br />- TRACK for STALK<br />- BARTER for HAGGLE <br /><br />Something snapped me out of it, eventually - probably google.RumPudgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13716052974261287820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80398947142193504132011-02-16T22:01:09.478-05:002011-02-16T22:01:09.478-05:00This week's relative difficulty ratings. See m...This week's relative difficulty ratings. See my 7/30/2009 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 6:53, 6:54, 1.00, 52%, Medium<br />Tue 7:28, 8:56, 0.84, 6%, Easy<br />Wed 13:28, 11:47, 1.14, 82%, Challenging<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:47, 3:41, 1.03, 62%, Medium-Challenging<br />Tue 4:02, 4:35, 0.88, 11%, Easy<br />Wed 6:34, 5:48, 1.13, 82%, Challengingsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-25516114622622545302011-02-16T20:50:23.002-05:002011-02-16T20:50:23.002-05:00Some parts of this puzzle were truly dreadful...al...Some parts of this puzzle were truly dreadful...all those proper names in the SW. And everywhere else! Sheesh! It would be one thing if the names were ROENTGEN-quality, but LEN, KERR, and MORO? Ack! ELINOR just looks plain wrong. ANELE...I've worked in the Christian church my entire life and have never seen this word Ever.<br /><br />However, I have no problem with the plural, [Twenty-ones]...it seems just fine since the answer is BLACKJACKS. You can have more than one Blackjack in a day at the casino. Also no problem with 2100 as a theme answer. Quirky.<br /><br />Liked the theme. The puzzle...meh.<br /><br />Captcha: GOPARDSL. "Gopardsl, gopardsl, let down your hair!"cody.riggshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05883012611419987246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31776906810138847772011-02-16T20:20:01.917-05:002011-02-16T20:20:01.917-05:00@ sfingi, Great post.@ sfingi, Great post.Two Ponieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06896743444873087885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-48744197863688868072011-02-16T20:01:04.729-05:002011-02-16T20:01:04.729-05:00@sfingi: jfk didnt say he was a jelly donut? huh? ...@sfingi: jfk didnt say he was a jelly donut? huh? well you live and loin. thanks!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-63233348915045357182011-02-16T19:04:27.014-05:002011-02-16T19:04:27.014-05:00Theme was easy and fine, but too much sports.
8 G...Theme was easy and fine, but too much sports.<br /><br />8 Googles, high for my Wednesday.<br /><br />Googled for LEN, KERR, GATORADE, all sports. Got ACC and EVAN on crosses, for 2 other sports clues.<br />The only one I knew was ALTHEA.<br />Michael Jordan's B'day is tomorow. Learned he also pimped Rolex and Nike.<br /><br />Also Googled HESS, ATOWN, SOLACE, ADALE. ELINOR. Got UDAY ANELE ECARTE and ERN on crosses. All of the above I didn't know.<br /><br />Learned there are many 32-card games: belote, yu-gi-oh, skat, muushigand. <br /><br />I originally fell for the ego trap, and had RAtE before RAVE. <br /><br />Wanted ADAir for ADALE, Thinking of the Scottish folk song, Robin Adair. <br /><br />Aldo MORO, on the other hand, is very familiar to Italians. He was the Premier who was kidnapped by the Red Brigade and assassinated. The whole story has not been told, including Amaerica's part.<br />Todo Modo was a book about it by the Sicilian Leonardo Sciascia, followed by a movie.<br /><br />I do not believe EROTICAL is a word any more than "orientate" is. We have EROTIC and "orient." <br /><br />RELED is in that yucky category of RE-word-ER-S, which people also resort to in Scrabble.<br /><br />@Andrea - Freud really is nice and important in the original. There are all sorts of double meanings in dreams, in particular, that would not be double meanings in English. Not that I can read him fluently...<br />@Anon238 - I understand that pastry story is BS.<br /><br />I was taught that in France, literary criticism is considered an art form, itself.<br /><br />@Rex - I love Steampunk, but not Palin. <br /><br />Such great comments, today!<br /><br />Under the sod and the dew,<br />Waiting the Judgement Day.<br />Under the one - the blue.<br />Under the other - the gray.<br />Francis Miles FinchSfingihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06903616949048940858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-75407599723993884152011-02-16T19:01:37.156-05:002011-02-16T19:01:37.156-05:00This was the typical Wednesday for me. Not too eas...This was the typical Wednesday for me. Not too easy, not to difficult. Solved all without any help. But had a few errors. Had ELENOR and GELA instead of ELINOR and GILA. Also had BATH in 63A and ATC in 61D. Simply did not think of the three composers. Also guessed EQARTE and AQA instead of ECARTE and ACA.<br />Thought EROTICAL, RELED strange.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24487197842473256892011-02-16T18:10:25.937-05:002011-02-16T18:10:25.937-05:00For those who may be interested in why Google is n...For those who may be interested in why Google is not as neutral/authorative as it once was (and this includes Google), here's an article from last Sunday's NYT on the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/13/business/13search.html?_r=1&src=busln" rel="nofollow"> J. C. Penny </a> manipulation.<br /><br />.../GlitchGlitchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14940000404613329056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-33978324103198662182011-02-16T17:51:16.038-05:002011-02-16T17:51:16.038-05:00@william e emba said...
...
And I'm surp...@william e emba said...<br /><br />...<br /><br /> And I'm surprised anyone thinks L?N/K?RR was a toughie. The first ? is either E or O, the second ? is either A or E. Well, maybe not always, but always on a Wednesday puzzle!<br /><br />---<br /><br />(Raises hand.) Me, me, me, me, me!Maya LINnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-60276539314289716622011-02-16T17:38:06.682-05:002011-02-16T17:38:06.682-05:00Ulrich, what a coincidence! I find James Wood to ...Ulrich, what a coincidence! I find James Wood to be an incredibly valuable literary critic also. If he's against someone, I just <i>know</i> I'll probably enjoy reading him immensely.<br /><br />Wood reminds me of the Far Side cartoon with the two US frontier soldiers in a fort looking at the flaming arrows the Indians are shooting at them, and the one asks the other, "Can they do that?" Turn it into a "political" cartoon by labeling the Indians with names like Pynchon and DeLillo and Wallace and the arrows with their book titles and Wood and one of his sycophants for the two soldiers.<br /><br />As for the puzzle, it seems my first post disappeared. Ah well. So I'll just say I was happy to breeze through the NE, with HESS/ELINOR/SOLACE/GILA coming down quite quickly. Although personally I regard "Quantum of SOLACE" as a Bond <i>story</i>. I read it decades ago to be a Bond completist, and it's pretty insipid as far as Bond goes (he's just listening to someone else's tale) but it's many kinds of nasty in its own little way.<br /><br />And I remembered both UDAY and MORO, and I did not fall for the "ego" trap. My last letter was the A of AC?/?TOWN--I resisted ATOWN until I had no choice.<br /><br />And I'm surprised anyone thinks L?N/K?RR was a toughie. The first ? is either E or O, the second ? is either A or E. Well, maybe not always, but always on a Wednesday puzzle!william e embanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-76582840349924217232011-02-16T17:01:41.756-05:002011-02-16T17:01:41.756-05:00As said by many others, RELED is about the worst f...As said by many others, RELED is about the worst fill I've ever seen. I also missed the cross at GILA/ELINOR and went with GALA/ELANOR. Oh well, I didn't know either of them so I don't feel bad about that. I also put RAtES instead of RAVES. Fixed that eventually but that NW corner almost caused me to not finish this puzzle.<br /><br />Also, @Rex a little humor for you about your Sarah Palin comment at the end. Blogger currently wants me to enter "palinite" as my word verification.Kendallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04176353196193935474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-87642486840651180492011-02-16T16:56:48.493-05:002011-02-16T16:56:48.493-05:00Paw up for ego, had to Google for HESS and ELINOR,...Paw up for ego, had to Google for HESS and ELINOR,husband chipped in with a couple of the sports clues but we got it done after I had taken out and re-entered RELED about three times.<br /><br />Getting off the plane on a trip to the Midwest to visit 'da folks, a gentleman behind us asked us if we would please hand him his coat, my husband replied you BETCHA as he gave it to him, I said "jeez Jon we haven't even gotten off the plane yet, dontcha know". It went downhill from there.chefwenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03999206352243329280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-49547362258843646992011-02-16T16:47:42.721-05:002011-02-16T16:47:42.721-05:00@Rex - You should really blog the puzzle in the La...@Rex - You should really blog the puzzle in the Lake Wobegon Gazette, where every puzzle is way above average.Garrison Keillornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-25941290814684529642011-02-16T16:37:18.163-05:002011-02-16T16:37:18.163-05:00Didn't like EROTICAL, ADALE, or ANELE. NE &am...Didn't like EROTICAL, ADALE, or ANELE. NE & part of SE gave me trouble. Meh.<br /><br />Liked all the theme answers, though.<br /><br />@waters927: I don't think Rex is disrespectful; merely pointing out how the puzzle could be better. (When I was new to this blog, I felt that people were being overly critical, but I don't anymore.) :-)JenCThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18290169184354765840noreply@blogger.com