tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post5966322164124628708..comments2024-03-29T07:28:12.459-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Golfer nicknamed Supermex / FRI 7-9-10 / Peanuts surname / Yarn with rubber core / Losers of Battle of Meloria 1284 / Uhuru park locale / Minced oathRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger67125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-57962862988728711212010-08-16T14:53:08.314-04:002010-08-16T14:53:08.314-04:00Nobody has mentioned the combo starting at 9D -- A...Nobody has mentioned the combo starting at 9D -- Ann Blyth, actress from Mildred Pierce and other movies. BTW, if you are asked to name Bob Fosse movies, you should always remember Cabaret, maybe his best-known.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12942363193863631719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24047258197846763432010-07-10T15:30:58.073-04:002010-07-10T15:30:58.073-04:00One of those rare puzzles in that you can join eve...One of those rare puzzles in that you can join every vowel in the grid with one continuous line without lifting your pen. (This is a win in crossword solitaire.)Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06063334745698094480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-81099531184142813062010-07-10T02:01:53.594-04:002010-07-10T02:01:53.594-04:00@Andrea - loved your story, and Micmacs is a wonde...@Andrea - loved your story, and Micmacs is a wonderfully imaginative and amusing French film. Highly recommended.<br />Lesley from CAAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-11256460189583647652010-07-09T23:25:25.641-04:002010-07-09T23:25:25.641-04:00@andrea lastex: What a great story!!
I do hope th...@andrea lastex: What a great story!!<br /><br />I do hope that Dan, Alice, and Billy all moved many thousands of miles away.Stanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02681342234536407419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-29218300471250799512010-07-09T23:07:43.380-04:002010-07-09T23:07:43.380-04:00This week's relative difficulty ratings. See m...This week's relative difficulty ratings. See my <a href="https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=35115061&postID=3588389571383499624&isPopup=true" rel="nofollow">7/30/2009 post</a> 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 no data<br />Tue 8:14, 8:48, 0.94, 36%, Easy-Medium<br />Wed 16:06, 11:49, 1.36, 96%, Challenging<br />Thu 13:19, 19:08, 0.70, 5%, Easy<br />Fri 31:39, 26:40, 1.19, 82%, Challenging<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon no data<br />Tue 4:11, 4:31, 0.93, 25%, Easy-Medium<br />Wed 7:42, 5:48, 1.33, 96%, Challenging<br />Thu 6:10, 9:09, 0.67, 2%, Easy<br />Fri 14:15, 12:57, 1.10, 73%, Medium-Challengingsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-39202107053471528502010-07-09T23:02:34.108-04:002010-07-09T23:02:34.108-04:00I have a strange LASTEX story, is it late enough t...I have a strange LASTEX story, is it late enough to write it?<br />I had a friend named Dan "Smith" who had old underwear with his old college roommate's name written on the waistband (he had accidentally appropriated them somehow and kept them upon graduation)<br />I have changed the names to protect the guilty...let's say it said EPSTEIN on the waistband.<br /><br />The underwear was old and gross and falling apart, not to mention they weren't even Dan's to begin with, so his girlfriend (Alice) used to throw them away every chance she got and Dan would rescue them, out of sentimental value or something crazy. You know how some men are and their old ratty clothes...<br /><br />One day, they (Dan and his girlfriend Alice) were staying with Dan's parents (I know this story bec I was dating Dan's brother Billy and they were sharing this story as a "charming" story about Dan's mother) and ALice had enough and cut up the underwear with EPSTEIN on the LASTEX and threw them away once and for all.<br /><br />WELL, Dan's mother thought that was nervy; Nevermind it wasn't ANY of her business...<br /> so while the girlfriend slept, Dan's mother took EVERY pair of ALice's underwear and wrote EPSTEIN across the LASTEX!!!<br /><br />(They all laughed when they told this particular story in a isn't-that-funny-what-our-crazy-mother-did? way... <br />Needless to say, I realized what life would be like with that psychotic potential-future-mother-in-law and ran screaming!)<br /><br />@Tom A 7:44am<br />I live for coincidences like the HYENA/SAKI thing. I know they are not conspiracies, but it is flabbergasting, despite Joon's calm statistical studies! That's what makes life fun.andrea lastex michaelsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-33823690156568546192010-07-09T22:35:07.910-04:002010-07-09T22:35:07.910-04:00Awesome puzzle! Required total team-solving and ho...Awesome puzzle! Required total team-solving and hours of time, but well-spent. Many smiles and revelations.<br /><br />The Arcadia being referenced is (I think) by Sir Philip Sidney.<br /><br />Great to see a Native American tribe I'm familiar with (the Mic-Mac Motel is right down the street from here).<br /><br />Nabokov once characterized his fans as falling into three categories (sorry for not looking up the actual quote): people who have read 'Lolita'; people who have read all his books except 'Ada'; and people who have read all his books, including 'Ada'. I'm in group number two.Stanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02681342234536407419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-79095284706191490372010-07-09T22:16:58.818-04:002010-07-09T22:16:58.818-04:00A black square in a corner has to be a cheater squ...A black square in a corner has to be a cheater square. If it doesn't change the number of entries, it's a cheater square by definition. Eliminating a black square in a corner would just make one across and one down entry one letter longer.<br /><br />The term is not considered accurate, by the way. It's just a way of making a grid work. Obviously, too many of them would not be acceptable but a few are not considered a flaw at all.Martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-7249997243010580272010-07-09T22:00:56.476-04:002010-07-09T22:00:56.476-04:00Are the black squares in each corner actually &quo...Are the black squares in each corner actually "cheater squares?". I still don't fully grasp the concept.Van55https://www.blogger.com/profile/15904942044695917615noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-55499663769844654312010-07-09T20:48:45.151-04:002010-07-09T20:48:45.151-04:00Medium-challenging for me with SW taking overnight...Medium-challenging for me with SW taking overnight plus. Lotsa obscure stuff in that corner. Somehow, after much staring, I remembered MICMAC which finally let me finish. Me too for PLEASE, plus LOANER for RENTAL, MUG for HOG, and a reright for NOIR. Excellent PB puzzle and a fine Fri. challenge!jaehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03385568014046336373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-55563267462779518322010-07-09T20:13:30.534-04:002010-07-09T20:13:30.534-04:00@Greene: re: "I knew it had to be a pleural...@Greene: re: "I knew it had to be a pleural," I guessed you just might be a physician, made me chuckle :-) pulmonologist?<br />@Rex: I had "rare" for RIPE also; hmm, maybe I should be eating more fruit.kalaalahnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-43148273390657199882010-07-09T19:34:03.657-04:002010-07-09T19:34:03.657-04:00A puzzle this fine gets away without anyone gripin...A puzzle this fine gets away without anyone griping about the four "cheater squares" -- until now.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-83552008714269674582010-07-09T18:46:00.485-04:002010-07-09T18:46:00.485-04:00@44: If the word pool is 100,000 (during Shortzmei...@44: If the word pool is 100,000 (during Shortzmeister era at NY Times it's been somewhat less), and both crosswords have 72 words, then the odds of a matching word between the two puzzes is about 1 in 20. But better see what joon calculates, cuz I slept through some of my probability lessons in school. (Woke up and shrieked one time, when realized where I was). Plus I dreamt up my formula while doin' yardwork in the heat. (Hopin' yard looks better now, cuz I sure don't.)Masked and Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-47768652663269552302010-07-09T16:00:11.147-04:002010-07-09T16:00:11.147-04:00This took way too long and three sit-downs, betwee...This took way too long and three sit-downs, between driving daughters here and there. NW was the worst--put in and erased NOIR and INTENDS, tried Saxons, Romans, even Titans for Pisans. Oy. Very happy to finish with no errors and no Googles. On to Saturday!Nancy in PAnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45543459375547823872010-07-09T15:59:01.988-04:002010-07-09T15:59:01.988-04:00This took way too long and three sit-downs, betwee...This took way too long and three sit-downs, between driving daughters here and there. NW was the worst--put in and erased NOIR and INTENDS, tried Saxons, Romans, even Titans for Pisans. Oy. Very happy to finish with no errors and no Googles. On to Saturday!Nancy in PAnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61548621579234589342010-07-09T15:29:49.347-04:002010-07-09T15:29:49.347-04:00Too tough for me. Googled a bit but still DNF
Hop...Too tough for me. Googled a bit but still DNF<br /><br />Hopefully tomorrow might be easierchefbeahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15195945085405126511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-41724458723721094202010-07-09T14:40:33.847-04:002010-07-09T14:40:33.847-04:00@Anonymous 2:25: CRIBS (or "crib sheets"...@Anonymous 2:25: CRIBS (or "crib sheets") is a term for the notes that students try use during exams when the prof isn't looking. <br /><br />Today they've been replaced by texting under the desk...archaeoprofhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17956231727789223463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-76541996451516379572010-07-09T14:39:24.839-04:002010-07-09T14:39:24.839-04:00@ Anon 2:25 I think "cheat sheets" in ex...@ Anon 2:25 I think "cheat sheets" in exams are/were also known as "crib notes". <br /><br />@ Martin: thanks. Actually, remembering the phrase "don't MINCE your words" meaning "speak plainly" helped explain this in my mind. <br /><br />3 & outmitchsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-79240898584576538972010-07-09T14:25:15.420-04:002010-07-09T14:25:15.420-04:00Banned aids= CRIBS. Still trying to figure tha...Banned aids= CRIBS. Still trying to figure that one out.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-311242090844648432010-07-09T14:23:57.281-04:002010-07-09T14:23:57.281-04:00Reading a book called the Science of superstition-...Reading a book called the Science of superstition- according to the author a crowd of 27 strangers has a 50/50 chance of having two people share a birthday and that our over-estimating the likelyhood of coincidences causes to see patterns that aren't theresyndyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16814698406887041710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67329882485434936682010-07-09T14:12:35.389-04:002010-07-09T14:12:35.389-04:00New to weekday puzzles and find myself growling an...New to weekday puzzles and find myself growling and googling a lit. I'll get over it and learn something as I go. From reading this blog, I'm learning a lot about the difficult and elegance of puzzle construction.<br /><br />Loved clue for STREAK--I kept trying to make STRIP fit. Am a Texan so got TREVINO early. LENYY was later than it should have been because I was a Fosse fan.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-62418279260796011592010-07-09T13:48:31.927-04:002010-07-09T13:48:31.927-04:00Real nice grid. Real nasty clues. "Minced&q...Real nice grid. Real nasty clues. "Minced" was over my head, so glad Martin came to our rescue. SOPOR ain't in my dictionary, but I'll take 44's word for it. Really wanted a form of REPO to fit in 28-A. REPO-UP? REPOIN'? REPOEE? REEEPO? Naw.<br /><br />Wasn't havin' too much problem, once I sussed out RENTAL, until I got down to just that SW corner left. Then I built a whole intricate web of completely bogus -- yet elegantly interlocking -- words down there. Took a couple hours to dig myself out. And for what? No theme and two U's. Ah well, it's the journey, not the destination, on yer usual FriPuz or SatPuz.<br /><br />Thinkin' 44's right about two puz's sharin' a word. Odds probably aren't too long. Kinda like two dudes in a math class havin' the same birthday; not as unlikely as one might suspect. Can't back it up with a math proof; seems like you'd have to do lots of assumin' about size of puz and size of word pool, ...etc. Hurts my head; let joon do it.Masked and Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-58719060992212240242010-07-09T13:42:56.677-04:002010-07-09T13:42:56.677-04:00This was a beautiful but difficult puzzle. After t...This was a beautiful but difficult puzzle. After two passes, I had but a half dozen words. Just couldn't be patient today so I googled MICMAC, element 34 and the Abe quote. That got me going.<br /><br />Made some of the same mistakes as mentioned above: rob for HOG, libels for SLIMES, only for MERE. Got them all worked out.<br /><br />With - - I, I thought of PEI for big name in modernism but like @rex, thought he was too current. <br /><br />Favorite clue: Run out of clothes? STREAK.<br /><br />@rolin mains, you are not alone...I have some similarly worn-out undies (next stop: the rag bag) with visible LASTEX. Oh, so that's what that stuff is called.shrub5https://www.blogger.com/profile/09466867716773759568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-5184384782876434022010-07-09T13:37:05.941-04:002010-07-09T13:37:05.941-04:00You mean it wasn"t outpaid-egad I must of mis...You mean it wasn"t outpaid-egad I must of missed that! pretty sure I had outpaid.@jaywalker it's been harder lately -takes at least two tries-hit publish:get a captha-type that- may or may not accept my name if not- publish again and usually autofill will step in!!syndyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16814698406887041710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-18711592443715707702010-07-09T12:45:25.271-04:002010-07-09T12:45:25.271-04:00Of course I meant "without really
blaspheming...Of course I meant "without really<br />blaspheming"<br />Thank you Martin.Anon 12:07noreply@blogger.com