tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post6213524481472346586..comments2024-03-29T11:47:42.710-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Some Strauss compositions / 8-17-10 / 1959 top 10 hit for Ricky Nelson / Confit d'___ (potted goose) / Small cave, poeticallyRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger155125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91285814559193187702010-09-21T16:07:40.991-04:002010-09-21T16:07:40.991-04:00Difficult (impossible?) to come up with anything n...Difficult (impossible?) to come up with anything new/original to say 5 weeks later, so I'll just describe my solving experience which is all I usually do anyway. First run-through "by the numbers" produced a grid that was about 3/4 complete. I had GIS from the "GIt-go" but the rest of GALOPS eluded me until I had all the crosses in place - fortunately for me, Shaq is one of the few NBA players I actually know by name or I would have had my own personal Natick there. Only write-over resulted from wanting Crab for CUSS, which kept me from seeing SOUNDSOFSILENCE for a while. All in all this was a very enjoyable Tuesday for me. Interestingly (to me at least) I was thinking, "This is pretty easy for a Wednesday" when I remembered that today is TUESDAY so my view of the difficulty level differs from many above. And now I know what @Rex and @ACM were chuckling about a few days ago - SOS, redux! Congratulations Michael Sharp on your debut! And now I have to go look up "sycophant" to see if I are one.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-68202575229702612932010-09-21T14:56:44.611-04:002010-09-21T14:56:44.611-04:00Rex/Michael, just a shout out from syndication lan...Rex/Michael, just a shout out from syndication land. Congratulations! I thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle and, not knowing your real name, was pleasantly surprised with Andrea's reveal note! May this be the first of many NYT puzzles for you. Now off to read everyone else's congratulatory messages!midjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01839241181602534916noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67225172373596536232010-09-21T13:54:36.432-04:002010-09-21T13:54:36.432-04:00@Rex-
I loved the puzzle and hope that your elbow ...@Rex-<br />I loved the puzzle and hope that your elbow is still sore from patting yourself on the back for the past 6 weeks....having your debut in the Times has an aura that last that long...doesn't it? <br />I always read the constructor last as to not pre-judge the puzzle and was quite pleased when your name showed up. Good job!<br /><br />and and additional Good Job! to ACME for her terrific blogging skills. Nervous or not, the write-up was simply smashing.Lurking, Just Behind Younoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-59868770368095860302010-09-21T13:16:34.892-04:002010-09-21T13:16:34.892-04:00From syndicity: Congratulations, Rex. A truly enjo...From syndicity: Congratulations, Rex. A truly enjoyable Tuesday puzzle. Thanks. For some reason, the word ORDAIN with both its ecclesiastical and laic usages always reminds me of PRIMATE which does a similar double duty, in its case involving both monkeys and the Archbishop of Canterbury.Waxy in Montrealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04395751487137805245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-25281487578443481322010-09-21T11:06:10.539-04:002010-09-21T11:06:10.539-04:00A newbie also. Tuesday can be tough but I'm ol...A newbie also. Tuesday can be tough but I'm old enough that the SOSs came right up. Great help with the crosses. xoxo is a family sig on emails. Lucky me. First thought for Rick Nelson was Mary Lou but no way. Wednesdays are my over the hump day. Usually have to google or go to Rex. We'll see tomorrowdollynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-73995925645662670892010-08-18T10:33:06.123-04:002010-08-18T10:33:06.123-04:00Congrats! I enjoyed it, especially HOG CALLS. I th...Congrats! I enjoyed it, especially HOG CALLS. I thought that 1A might be GALOPS but boy I fought it forever ... that was my last area filled.joecabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16862252671814767307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-78493661596706470772010-08-18T10:01:07.874-04:002010-08-18T10:01:07.874-04:00Doh! I forgot to say this yesterday: when I hear...Doh! I forgot to say this yesterday: when I hear SOS - I think of creamed chip beef on toast. But of course, the answer would have to be sanitized ("Stuff on a shingle"?) to make it into the NYT.Arbynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-85379885470587264452010-08-18T05:55:42.860-04:002010-08-18T05:55:42.860-04:00I am waaaaaaaaaaaay late coming to the party for t...I am waaaaaaaaaaaay late coming to the party for this puzzle as it TOOK ME MOST OF YESTERDAY (at various junctures) to solve the fiendish devil (and, of course, I kept saying, "If this is a Tuesday, then I'm gonna be REALLY HURTING by Thursday..." LOL)<br /><br />However, I have a HILARIOUS PIC of me (per Rex's instructions, though I'm not sure exactly why--because he knew IN ADVANCE that we would all be pulling what hair we have left out of our heads on this one!) that I'll try and post at some point of me trying to solve this puzzle while POOLSIDE in the late morning. From this diabolical picture, you will begin to see Sparkydog is, quite literally, coming apart at the seams and choosing momentarily to take the matter into the DEEP END OF THE POOL. <br /><br />Meanwhile, a few comments about some of the entries: <br /><br />I've had my fill of LLAMAS lately: they seem to be EVERYWHERE in my crossword activity. But, thankfully, CAMELID (60 Across) is a new addition to my lexicon.<br /><br />This DOGFACES business (1 Down) and then coming back for a pickup on 58 Across. Had to seek outside aid on both of these.<br /><br />The XOXO (50 Down) is ADORABLE, yes? And a special COUNTRY BOY SHOUTOUT to all those RURAL CLUES, from COUNTRY MAIL ROUTES (52 Down) to an ORNERY SORT (51 Down) read: CUSS and the always AMUSING and PAROCHIAL HOG-CALLING ("Noises from a Country Fair" 38-Down). Here in Kentucky, we spend an inordinate amount of time calling the hogs, and the chickens, and whatever else we can summon to the barnyard for closer inspection. LOL. <br /><br />I had one of those ANNOYING CROSSOVERS with the 28-Down business of URGES ON. I had a "D" in place and thought that I had gained momentum by inputting GOADS but, alas, PRODS won the day. Always hate those kind of mendacious discoveries, especially when you do the puzzle in INK. Now you get to ANNOUNCE TO THE WORLD, "Well, I ain't as slick as I think here, am I, Freddy?"<br /><br />Well done to our PERIPATETIC GUEST EDITOR and look forward to Rex's return on Wednesday...........Sparkydog77https://www.blogger.com/profile/17738788521763620197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-28232551024824056342010-08-18T01:37:12.609-04:002010-08-18T01:37:12.609-04:00from a novice:
tough puzzle but awesome. congratul...from a novice:<br />tough puzzle but awesome. congratulations!!!!!oaklandxwordnovicenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-81204256026226149482010-08-18T00:00:32.325-04:002010-08-18T00:00:32.325-04:00@DanFeyer - I may even be more gobsmacked by you t...@DanFeyer - I may even be more gobsmacked by you than I was initially.....<br /><br />Your solving video was so interesting, and such a cool way to memorialize the puzzle.hazelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04627015904603641109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-22755953501490920922010-08-17T23:50:53.963-04:002010-08-17T23:50:53.963-04:00Wanted 33D to be either Men at Work's "Wh...Wanted 33D to be either Men at Work's "Who Can It Be Now" or Dave Edmunds' "I Hear You Knocking" instead of the bland Wings number, but hey you can't have everything.<br /><br />Puzzle was definitely crunchy for a Tuesday, but the obscurities were all pretty easy to decipher from crosses (this is important!)<br /><br />Seriously, I would have thought this was a fun, engaging puzzle if I had no idea who did it.<br /><br />Andrea: Great write-up!!!Stanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02681342234536407419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-48018894769610486922010-08-17T23:47:56.444-04:002010-08-17T23:47:56.444-04:00That's awful sweet, and I'm the least sent...That's awful sweet, and I'm the least sentimental.fergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-49003221864058713002010-08-17T23:02:08.790-04:002010-08-17T23:02:08.790-04:00Michael,
Congratulations!
I remain, as always, y...Michael,<br /><br />Congratulations!<br /><br />I remain, as always, your number one fan.<br /><br />Your MomSarah Sharpnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10913227102626951022010-08-17T22:19:48.731-04:002010-08-17T22:19:48.731-04:00Michael,
Excellent debut--really enjoyed it--big ...Michael,<br /><br />Excellent debut--really enjoyed it--big cyber high-five! Especially loved SCHWINN, YOGI, and SAWEDOFFSHOTGUN.<br /><br />My one beef was the cluing to REALTY, which I kept misreading as "landed properly." Better clued perhaps as<br />"Trump's trade."<br /><br />Hope to see more of your puzzles in the Times!deerfencernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-42653556745851670872010-08-17T22:16:58.050-04:002010-08-17T22:16:58.050-04:00Sorry to keep commenting, but two more stray thoug...Sorry to keep commenting, but two more stray thoughts. <br /><br />1. Love that you got LETEMIN into the NYT puzzle. Beatles are of course invited whenever they like, but Wings, why not, let 'em in.<br /><br />2. In his typically brilliant New York Times Magazine essay "Roger Federer as Religious Experience," the late David Foster Wallace refers to the Swiss tennis Mozart as "Mr. Roger N.M.I. Federer." I was somewhat taken aback not that the suavely international Federer had three middle initials, but rather that I as a devoted fan had not previously known this. It was only after a minute's reflection that I realized Wallace meant "No Middle Initial."<br /><br /><a href="http://benbassandbeyond.blogspot.com/2008/09/roger-federer-as-religious-experience.html" rel="nofollow">More on David Foster Wallace and Roger Federer here.</a>Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04754156636762779545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-52791028746984924382010-08-17T22:16:02.060-04:002010-08-17T22:16:02.060-04:00Hi foodie, so nice to hear from you today. I have ...Hi foodie, so nice to hear from you today. I have loved *All* of the feedback today. Most people are, frankly, being way too kind. Feedback is generally thoughtful, and even the haters are showing an admirable exuberance and attention to detail. Exhilarating. A great day.<br /><br />Everyone spoke affectionately of you at dinner in Queens on Saturday. Really wish you could have been there.<br /><br />rpRex Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-23044753905205517432010-08-17T22:08:35.616-04:002010-08-17T22:08:35.616-04:00Just came back and read through AAAALLL the commen...Just came back and read through AAAALLL the comments! Wow. I'm really happy to read the great enthusiasm that so many feel about this debut. It's lovely.<br /><br />Rex, I'm very impressed by your style in responding to critique. I know that as an academic, you've undoubtedly had your share, as we all do in our business. But this is playing out in a more public forum, and on your own turf. You have found the perfect pitch for explaining your rationale (e.g. the SAWED OFF SHOTGUN) but being lighthearted and humorous. My hat's off to you. <br /><br /> Re NMI, who knew! And I don't have a middle initial! I'm going to use it and always think of today! Or else I could use Smurfologist, something that Rex suggested a couple of days ago : ) <br /><br />@SanFranMan: that concordance of the mean and the median is remarkable. Re the issue of late in the week- I think a lot of people don't even try, or they give up, so they never show up in the stats to distort your mean. <br /><br />@NDE, I enjoyed reading your post, especially the listing of the pool of common SOS phrases.foodiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13052189131129098616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-1762458960751147472010-08-17T22:02:41.646-04:002010-08-17T22:02:41.646-04:00Rex has no idea what the most Googled clues are. ...Rex has no idea what the most Googled clues are. All he can tell is which ones end up going to his site. If the most Googled clues have links to other sites higher up on the search page than links to rexworld, Rex doesn't get the traffic.<br /><br />We should have known that the only reason Rex would put bad fill into a grid was for a joke. That is soooooo awesome!!!!! I doubt there's another NYT crossword constructor with the balls to do that. Once again, Rex stands out from the pack. Absolutely awesome. Oh yeah and loved the sawed off shotgun. I cant wait for the next King Rex puzzle!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10339336666912120252010-08-17T22:02:02.885-04:002010-08-17T22:02:02.885-04:00This 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 6:38, 6:58, 0.95, 28%, Easy-Medium<br />Tue 11:09, 8:52, 1.26, 97%, Challenging<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:33, 3:43, 0.96, 33%, Easy-Medium<br />Tue 5:38, 4:34, 1.23, 97%, Challengingsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56392809390860721322010-08-17T21:37:53.247-04:002010-08-17T21:37:53.247-04:00@Sfingi - I believe it's relatively easy for s...@Sfingi - I believe it's relatively easy for someone to find out what Google searches return their site.<br />captcha: fawking - I needn't say moreAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56555377235467856322010-08-17T21:29:44.611-04:002010-08-17T21:29:44.611-04:00Rex, as good as Andrea's writeup is, I second ...Rex, as good as Andrea's writeup is, I second those who would like to read your take on the experience. Your Wordplay interview was a good start but I'd guess you might have more to say.Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04754156636762779545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-43122072042947053812010-08-17T21:25:46.861-04:002010-08-17T21:25:46.861-04:00oops 2 min longer... whateveroops 2 min longer... whateverBenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04754156636762779545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-36945310719303042662010-08-17T21:22:47.780-04:002010-08-17T21:22:47.780-04:00@Rex - you do have guts. Keep 'em coming.
@Ci...@Rex - you do have guts. Keep 'em coming.<br /><br />@Citizen Dain - I continue to ask the apparently stupid question - How do you know what was the most-Googled clue? Either someone is kidding or I'm not paranoid enough. It's bad enough I have to shake off new toolbars every week.<br /><br />@Seth - I wanted SAMEOLDSameold.<br /><br />@Chefbea - Yes - huge number of comments - usually 3x the LA, which has 33 at this point.Sfingihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06903616949048940858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-29821401274537168322010-08-17T21:19:31.676-04:002010-08-17T21:19:31.676-04:00Chiming in late in the day to say congratulations....Chiming in late in the day to say congratulations. I wouldn't have caught this until the weekend (when I've lately been blowing thru the Mon-Thu puzzles all at once) but I just saw your Facebook video exchange with D. and I was all, you go Rex! <br /><br />Nice work on the puzzle. I share your and others' sense that it was tougher than a Tue. It took me almost 3 min longer than the Monday puzzle. Usually I can do Mon and Tue more or less equally fast.<br /><br />SAWEDOFFSHOTGUN... love it. <br /><br />Good writeup, ACM, and fun puzzle yesterday too.Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04754156636762779545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-88156898965487576962010-08-17T21:00:30.223-04:002010-08-17T21:00:30.223-04:00Not a heavily googled puzzle, actually, considerin...Not a heavily googled puzzle, actually, considering how (relatively) difficulty it's proving. [Some Strauss compositions] leads, with [Small cave, poetically] and [Weapon for Clyde Barrow] well behind.<br /><br />As for NMI, Orange's comment (at "Diary of a Crossword Fiend") is pretty much right. Plus, after I trashed NMI, lots of military folks told me I was an idiot. Which may still be true.<br /><br />rpRex Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.com