tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post5930845937223555306..comments2024-03-28T07:18:31.705-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Figure skater Mao / SUN 8-24-14 / Connie's husband in Godfather / Boccaccio wrote biography of him / Cantor German mathematician who invented set theory / Joseph Anton memoir autobiographer / Lane acting first lady during Buchanan's tenureRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger71125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45613541724266103692014-09-01T23:12:18.226-04:002014-09-01T23:12:18.226-04:00Challenging but enjoyable with many "aha"...Challenging but enjoyable with many "aha" moments. My only nit to pick; paintball guns are not rifles, they are smooth-bore.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-37121318095518570652014-09-01T13:05:29.576-04:002014-09-01T13:05:29.576-04:00Although less concise, the theme could have been &...Although less concise, the theme could have been "Second and Third Shift" ("Second and Third Shifts"?).<br /><br />Joe V.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-19349967445368383182014-08-31T17:35:35.270-04:002014-08-31T17:35:35.270-04:00Why you'd lick it off of courseWhy you'd lick it off of courseAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-19274218056217199862014-08-31T16:15:32.442-04:002014-08-31T16:15:32.442-04:00When I opened the paper and saw that the construct...When I opened the paper and saw that the constructor was Patrick Berry I told Mrs. SiS that I was in for a treat. Had to explain that PB is in a league by himself. <br /><br />Sleuthed out the trick with SLIVERMINE and the rest of the themers were easierish. The CALMCHOWDER answer made me think of a famous and zany Seattle restauranteur, Ivar Haglund, who had a number of very successful seafood eateries in Western Washington, icluding Ivar's Acres of Clams. His tag line was "Keep Clam."<br /><br />Question: how does one remove a BRAOFCHOCOLATE?<br /><br />Go Mariners?<br /><br />214 - @Spacey takes the pot.Solving in Seattlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04249420848844874936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-59651811937837998222014-08-31T15:52:01.702-04:002014-08-31T15:52:01.702-04:00I got the theme very early on when I threw down LE...I got the theme very early on when I threw down LEIDETECTOR with only a couple of crosses in place so that made most of the long themers fairly simple. The theme and the puns reminded me strongly of what one might find in a Frank Longo Premier Crossword - I won't go any further with that comparison but I definitely like this type of puzzle. The final letter in was at the ASADA/ISAK cross and I had my fingers crossed when I put the "s" in.<br /><br />Now I'm off to do battle with yesterday's puzzle which still has two areas with blank squares. I'm hoping a fresh look will provide some new insight because I was dead in the water when I put it down yesterday.<br /><br />Happy Labor Day everyone - don't forget the reason for the holiday!<br /><br />I think that's 908, which comes up short of a winner.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-75920159630071573122014-08-31T12:17:34.460-04:002014-08-31T12:17:34.460-04:00A tough nut for this reporter. Settled in with STE...A tough nut for this reporter. Settled in with STELLA/SCIENCE/FASTER etc. and got the trick at CLODCEREAL. But close by, I almost came a cropper with stOMPS instead of CLOMPS. Rejected Ms. STEEL because I thought sure it was STEELE. I guess the -LE from her first name confused me. Anyhoo, got that all straightened out--then had more trouble in the center till I evicted the FLeaS from my garbage and let the FLIES in. (Why fleas first? Don't ask. I haven't had my coffee yet.)<br /><br />The point's been made, but I'll make it again: never mind the theme in a Berry. Look at the fill. Where are the awkward partials? Where the SEA of acronyms (okay, a couple, but solidly in use)? Where the seemingly obligatory RRN? The uber-obscurity? The overused EKEs and ALOEs? Not to be found! Not in a Berry. The man cares, and it shows. See, guys? It CAN be done!<br /><br />I don't really get SLIVERMINE's relation to the clue, and the Frank thing has already been mentioned. But BRAOFCHOCOLATE more than restores this one to an A.<br /><br />279...lessee, carry the one...yes!spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-86262606557735538882014-08-25T19:11:04.998-04:002014-08-25T19:11:04.998-04:00I was taken aback by the Anne Frank answer. Consid...I was taken aback by the Anne Frank answer. Considering we do not know how she perished or what happened to her beforehand, the assumption that she was a "maid", while optimistic, led to some dark speculation I didn't need while completing a crossword.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-69995699194850020922014-08-25T18:55:31.961-04:002014-08-25T18:55:31.961-04:00You don't judge a PB puzzle by its theme, that...You don't judge a PB puzzle by its theme, that isn't its strength. His genius is in disguised cluing that gives you no idea which direction to go, without the answer being a stretch. This was typical and very fulfilling in that regard. I'm amazed anyone here found it "easy". I finished 100% but it was a battle clue by clue.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26882233013174359632014-08-25T01:23:53.488-04:002014-08-25T01:23:53.488-04:00Based on seeing CROONER, 'moon', and '... Based on seeing CROONER, 'moon', and 'Second Shift", I immediately realized that the theme was Spoonerisms and that, in this case, the original phrase was "lunar conquest." ;)<br /> I also quickly realized that "It starts with a celebration" must be LENT. <br /> Eventually (quite a while later) I abandoned my initial brilliant deductions, above, and solved the puzzle, except for getting Naticked by ASAtA RUSHtIE.<br /> I agree that there were several clever clues; about 8 by my count, which is high.paulsfohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07721639286466422944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-71856493193981912722014-08-24T23:58:35.038-04:002014-08-24T23:58:35.038-04:00anonymous... I like your comment (and many others...anonymous... I like your comment (and many others of yours) and the misuse of qua which should be quod according to your picked nit about case. deuce336https://www.blogger.com/profile/00716389537359733084noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-22599696571963036902014-08-24T23:09:21.751-04:002014-08-24T23:09:21.751-04:00I do find the cultish aspects of constructor worsh...I do find the cultish aspects of constructor worship on this blog somewhat odd and disturbing. I have been solving NY Times xwords since I was a lad. I don't look at the constructor's name, I could not care less qua the constructor is, and I find the claimed familiarity with constructors more than a tad poseurish. Do you see "little starbursts," (a la Sarah Palin) in every clue, when one of your hero's names is at the top? <br />Enjoyed today's puzzle. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45468160635541800222014-08-24T19:46:30.522-04:002014-08-24T19:46:30.522-04:00Carole S. --
A person can be "a cheat."...<br />Carole S. --<br /><br />A person can be "a cheat." And can therefore can sometimes can be a "shyster."Fred Smithnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61984135409150171702014-08-24T19:25:13.650-04:002014-08-24T19:25:13.650-04:00
@Z,
I cannot find any statement in my comment wh...<br />@Z,<br /><br />I cannot find any statement in my comment which needed clarification by you as to what science is and does. I think you may have misunderstood the entire point of my comment, or read it too superficially to follow my line of thought. Cracking an unfitting joke certainly points me in the latter direction. So be it.<br /><br />I will not bore the readership on this subject any further. Neither should you -- it does not belong in this blog.<br />AliasZhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03477396362209386037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-19143718468431178342014-08-24T18:56:43.377-04:002014-08-24T18:56:43.377-04:00@AliasZ: the title of the puzzle, Second Shift, ma...@AliasZ: the title of the puzzle, Second Shift, makes it clear that it is the second letter that gets shifted. <br /><br />I've never seen SHYSTER as a verb before.<br /><br />Loved CROONERS INQUEST- that's what gave me the theme too.<br /><br />Agree that 'who' should be QUI.Carole Shmurakhttp://carole-books.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-88015631971370353002014-08-24T18:22:33.888-04:002014-08-24T18:22:33.888-04:00This 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 6:45, 6:02, 1.12, 88%, Challenging<br />Tue 8:58, 7:54, 1.14, 81%, Challenging<br />Wed 9:14, 9:18, 0.99, 49%, Medium<br />Thu 17:49, 17:37, 1.01, 56%, Medium<br />Fri 25:43, 20:16, 1.27, 91%, Challenging<br />Sat 26:30, 25:21, 1.05, 68%, Medium-Challenging<br />Sun 34:48, 28:21, 1.23, 89%, Challenging<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 4:36, 3:57, 1.16, 93%, Challenging<br />Tue 5:36, 5:21, 1.05, 62%, Medium-Challenging<br />Wed 6:04, 6:05, 1.00, 48%, Medium<br />Thu 12:06, 10:56, 1.11, 67%, Medium-Challenging<br />Fri 17:41, 13:48, 1.28, 87%, Challenging<br />Sat 19:31, 17:13, 1.13, 77%, Medium-Challenging<br />Sun 24:02, 21:41, 1.11, 71%, Medium-Challengingsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24968745440285010762014-08-24T18:04:32.203-04:002014-08-24T18:04:32.203-04:00@Chefwen
Ghoti and Skunk say hi to Laiki and wish ...@Chefwen<br />Ghoti and Skunk say hi to Laiki and wish her all the best the word has to offer.Numinoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01263999193499725814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-11800869943109639772014-08-24T18:01:53.389-04:002014-08-24T18:01:53.389-04:00Wow, someone sure is sensitive today.
I found t...Wow, someone sure is sensitive today. <br />I found this puzzle uninspired at best. Didn't think that the theme was "decent to great", but in fact far below average, which was one of my actual criticisms of this puzzle. I just didn't enjoy it, and feel it would have gotten a much colder reception if had been by almost any other constructor. <br />Having bias because you like a certain constructor and seeing his name gives you rose-colored glasses doesn't make you an "asshole", and I don't think anyone implied that. Quit being a martyr. I know that makes me sound like an asshole...but I can take the risk.Benkonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-32188520579836063742014-08-24T17:45:52.707-04:002014-08-24T17:45:52.707-04:00"OK puzzle"
"Easy puzzle which was ..."OK puzzle"<br />"Easy puzzle which was great..compared to yesterday's."<br />"The theme answers made me chuckle more than 50% of the time."<br />"Quite a puzzle! Loved it!"<br />"I would, and do, rate this one as 'easy'."<br />"Great fun from PB the First. Crunchy enough to keep one's brain challenged, and clean enough not to mumble "Oh no, really?" types of comments throughout the solve."<br />"First PB to give me agita re: whether I'd finish."<br />"I found the Anne Frank clue jarring (and Bridget Jones would have been an obvious substitute), but maybe Anne wouldn't have liked the idea of being excluded from the world or whimsy."<br />"eassy and fun theme-- I'd go above 500 with the wackiness average"<br />"On the tougher side for me, but this puzzle demonstrates why PB is one of the top constructors of the day."<br />"Delightful puzzle."<br />"A fun Sunday. ..., but otherwise straightforward solving."<br />"A delightful way to start a Sunday."<br />"Had a lot of fun with this.<br />...<br />I was taken aback by the Anne Frank reference"<br />"Wonderful Sunday puzzle, and the best of the theme clues had me laughing out loud (era of corn!)."<br /><br />These are the pre-12:42 quotes of "praise" for the puzzle. I omitted comments from people who didn't like the puzzle. I count 5 comments that are purely positive. What is missing are complaints about the fill, SMALL CARS and QUA getting a little bit of questioning. Compare this to the frequent rants on fill generated by the 21x21 Sunday grid.<br /><br />If you have an actual criticism of the puzzle feel free to express it. It appears that the dominant consensus is that we've seen better from Berry but this theme is decent to great (depending on one's tastes) and has clean fill (but not everyone agrees). However, if you are going to accuse people of bias you might want to check your own bias, first. Otherwise you risk sounding like an asshole, and nobody wants to be thought of that way. Or, if you really think we are the biased assholes you could just skip the blog and save yourself the stress of reading the musings of such easily fooled people. Honest, we won't make you read any of our opinions.<br /><br /><br />Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-63157831985642867562014-08-24T17:09:55.475-04:002014-08-24T17:09:55.475-04:00@ chefwen - Sweet! Aloha to Laiki and her gang fr...@ chefwen - Sweet! Aloha to Laiki and her gang from Trixie and hers. Mahalo.Maruchkanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-3895451647651798362014-08-24T17:04:30.950-04:002014-08-24T17:04:30.950-04:00Just for the record, I enjoyed it quite a bit. En...Just for the record, I enjoyed it quite a bit. Enough crunch, some amusing theme answers. mathguynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-39947675599313990432014-08-24T16:59:31.800-04:002014-08-24T16:59:31.800-04:00James Buchanan- our first gay president? His relat...James Buchanan- our first gay president? His relationship with William R. King earned them the nicknames Miss Nancy and Aunt Fancy.Doc Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12540112168511893896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-1472625106647123262014-08-24T16:43:14.213-04:002014-08-24T16:43:14.213-04:00@Benko, I can think of another constructor that no...@Benko, I can think of another constructor that no one seems to find fault with, Elizabeth Gorski. Alot of her puzzles are good, the last NYT she had , though, I thought not good.<br /><br />RooMonster RooMonsternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-40609007127072577552014-08-24T16:19:47.832-04:002014-08-24T16:19:47.832-04:00Hey All!
Little late today, as working and trying...Hey All! <br />Little late today, as working and trying to suss this puz. Had moments of quick filling and moments of blank staring! Particularly difficult was the TEAMPLAY area, had TEAMwork for the longest time mungling up the works. Managed to fill the whole puz, except the NE corner. Finally threw in the towel and came here. Neat puz, I love OFL's description, "Wackiness ensues"!<br /><br />Writovers: Had tirE for SOLE, old for SAW, SLipS for SLEDS. IMMUNE for IMBIBEOh, and of course, the work for PLAY.<br /><br />Some nice misdirectional clues, 39D had me thinking actual rock, once I sussed out CLASSIC,it gave me a chuckle. 70A, SMALLCAR, and 60D, DECOYS were nice clues. <br /><br />Overall, nice puz, maybe now I'll go watch a ROADEO. Who knew?<br /><br />RooMonster <br />DarrinV RooMonsternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-63927350201846479722014-08-24T16:15:04.416-04:002014-08-24T16:15:04.416-04:00I thought the puzzle was okay, but nothing to wri...I thought the puzzle was okay, but nothing to write home about. For some reason, I did not look at the constructor before I solved it as usual. It never dawned on me it was a Patrick Berry puzzle until I came here. Looking back, I don't think this was one of his better efforts. Still solid, just no "wow" factor.wreckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08797908615185213756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46804635953821936232014-08-24T16:08:54.863-04:002014-08-24T16:08:54.863-04:00No one's a bigger Patrick Berry fan than I am,...No one's a bigger Patrick Berry fan than I am, but this is far from his best. While I appreciate the theme density and imagine that the puzzle was a bear to construct, in the end it's a ho-hummer with modest entertainment value. Count me among those who believes that were the byline different, the commentary would be different as well. Just my opinion, which I recognized is not shared by very many here.<br /><br />Cases in point (and apologies if I missed them in the comments above):<br />-- SMALLCAR is dreadful, and I can only picture it covered in green paint.<br />-- Does anyone really say "bar of chocolate" rather than "chocolate bar"? Come on!Sir Hillaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09984338030622316296noreply@blogger.com