tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post6227247219148640084..comments2024-03-29T09:48:31.305-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Female lead in Brigadoon / FRI 5-2-14 / 1901 Kipling book / Martin Chuzzlewit villain / Actor Franco of Now You See Me / US chain stores since 1985Rex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger98125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46056080797167365112014-06-07T20:52:40.446-04:002014-06-07T20:52:40.446-04:00It took me two days to reduce this to one blank sq...It took me two days to reduce this to one blank square and one wrong square - if I had known CLICKBAIT I would have been home free. Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-33898433071148844982014-06-06T19:51:49.829-04:002014-06-06T19:51:49.829-04:00Ugh. I got everything evetually except for the &qu...Ugh. I got everything evetually except for the "b" and "t" in "clickbait" because i had guessed "Big ten". Otherwise, a fun puzzle.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-30273701468232666032014-06-06T18:36:55.508-04:002014-06-06T18:36:55.508-04:00Color me cross; I'd googled aday's pleasur...Color me cross; I'd googled aday's pleasure away and put myself through a strainer. Feeling great angst, I know I'll be an insomniac tonite so I'll try to take a petit lenapAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-47224539619349331942014-06-06T14:30:39.193-04:002014-06-06T14:30:39.193-04:00So much I didn't know, and still I finished. G...So much I didn't know, and still I finished. Guess that's due to a good constructor and a lot of good guesses? A fair amount of my fill came from deciding that the only letter that seems to fit is .... Thanks to @Steve J for explaining CLICKBAIT and all those who commented on Mr. Silver, whom (who?) I know only from his interview on Cobert, or was it Stewart? At any rate, I'll settle for having the most written over puzzle since puzzling began!<br /><br />My address leaves me out of the game!DMGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-87351548280345544272014-06-06T13:55:14.806-04:002014-06-06T13:55:14.806-04:00Similar experience to OFL's, but I knew strabi...Similar experience to OFL's, but I knew strabismus, ANDRE, and DOTTIE, and the cluing and fill were so up to snuff that, like others, I got CLICKBAIT, HENRIETTA,and 538 without ever having heard of them. <br /><br />It is clearly a very well-constructed puzzle, but I don't appreciate so many names (unless I know them right off, ha ha).<br /><br />The best I can say is that BEQ seems to know where people will have difficulty, and so has entries that will ease you through those trouble spots. The southeast was brilliant.<br /><br />rain forestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-42223943532641548912014-06-06T13:19:19.216-04:002014-06-06T13:19:19.216-04:00Real fine puzzle, only googled once for "cros...Real fine puzzle, only googled once for "crossed eyes" but the rest just fell into place, mainly because of guessing. And, learned all about clickbait and 538 from the commenters. Thank you all.<br /><br />Nice breezy write-up by Mr. Man. I hope he continues. Been thinking of sending him a wad of special leaves to smoke. <br /><br />Ron Diego 10:20 PSTAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91062254320191287952014-06-06T11:48:47.504-04:002014-06-06T11:48:47.504-04:00What @Torb said--despite never having heard of Nat...What @Torb said--despite never having heard of Nate Silver, let alone 538. Went in 100% on crosses, as did CLICKBAIT, NORAH and LEANNE. Gimmes SAVANNAH and VARDALOS helped in the NE/SW, respectively. I question TIRE pump; they're called air pumps, typically. How many KELP (S?) can there be? And, "Steer" = DRIVE? Well, partially. One has to do other stuff as well as steer to DRIVE.<br /><br />Still, those nits aside, I agree this is a tight grid, fully up to what we expect from BEQ. One w/o: LETSgo before LETSAT. However, the only dog in the grid, ASTRO, seems way too good-natured to be LET AT anyone.<br /><br />Glad you STOPPEDBY, Brendan!<br /><br />Just an address, but three aces anyway.spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50635937418569583172014-06-06T10:34:59.021-04:002014-06-06T10:34:59.021-04:00finished. no googles. tough and a few leaps of fai...finished. no googles. tough and a few leaps of faith to finally solve. good friday poser.Torbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01813931192681953872noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-48205833067532169732014-05-03T13:31:52.934-04:002014-05-03T13:31:52.934-04:00I do follow politics and sports, folks -- I simply...I do follow politics and sports, folks -- I simply try not to spend my life staring into screens. I read books, magazines, and newspapers.jazzmanchgohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02568707898871466512noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10897129808968011852014-05-03T11:25:58.647-04:002014-05-03T11:25:58.647-04:00A prescient Friday...did Bostonian BEQ get a sneak...A prescient Friday...did Bostonian BEQ get a sneak preview of Janet Napolitano's commencement speech at Northeastern this same day?<br /><br />“Beware the tyranny of the straight line.”<br />To illustrate her point, she described sailboats skimming the whitecaps on Boston Harbor, noting they all share one important characteristic: they don’t glide in a straight line. Rather, they zigzag, and in doing so they go forward.<br /><br />“In 2064, when you’re wearing a golden robe and you return to Northeastern for your 50th reunion, my hope for you is that you will look back on the decades that have passed and see the twists and turns—the TACKing—that are the hallmark of a well lived life.”<br /><br />Kudos to my niece who I had the honor of watching graduate yesterday...well done, and watch out world!Titahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368251255494687496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-90932479476604364612014-05-03T07:37:24.330-04:002014-05-03T07:37:24.330-04:00Hahaha, strabismus was the first. A giveaway sinc...Hahaha, strabismus was the first. A giveaway since I worked for Helen Keller International with lots of ophthalmologists. Ditto on Lenape since my son had to do a huge project on them in fourth grade. Sigh, little victories for a neophyte who still has to google most of the celebrity names. Don't pay attention and don't really care enough to fill my head with all their names. The hard drive of my brain is running out of space already.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-37543030839106771222014-05-02T22:28:29.956-04:002014-05-02T22:28:29.956-04:00@jazzmanchgo - Which doesn't mean everyone wil...@jazzmanchgo - Which doesn't mean everyone will know him - not everyone follows politics and sports - only that "random" doesn't apply.Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-78849141694423204862014-05-02T22:25:27.999-04:002014-05-02T22:25:27.999-04:00@jazzmanchgo - Hardly "random." FIVETHIR...@jazzmanchgo - Hardly "random." FIVETHIRTYEIGHT was prominently featured on the <a href="http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/about-fivethirtyeight/" rel="nofollow">New York Times Politics</a> page throughout the last presidential election, most <a href="http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/64m0vg/exclusive---nate-silver-extended-interview" rel="nofollow">major news organizations</a> run stories about Silver (except Fox, which only would complain on occasion that he was biased during the last election), and was just featured prominently in news reports again when 538 ran a piece about the odds of the Republicans gaining control of the Senate. Paul Krugman (NYT columnist) commented first because there is an ongoing "feud" between him and Silver. It's pretty hard to not know about Nate Silver and 538 unless you ignore politics (and sports - he started at Baseball Prospectus and still does lots of sports stories).Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-81510753746606815062014-05-02T20:16:04.644-04:002014-05-02T20:16:04.644-04:00For those wondering about CLICKBAIT: It's the ...For those wondering about CLICKBAIT: It's the practice of sites like Huffington Post, Upworthy, and many others of writing provocative headlines to mundane stories in an effort to get people to click through links posted in Facebook, etc., thereby increasing page views and therefore ad revenue. <br /><br />A better way to grasp the concept is this <a href="http://xkcd.com/1283/" rel="nofollow">great comic</a> showing well-known 20th century events and their possible CLICKBAIT headlines. Steve Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15185067739452052656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-52998101146605046742014-05-02T19:14:40.452-04:002014-05-02T19:14:40.452-04:00What the hell is a "CLICK BAIT"? And how...What the hell is a "CLICK BAIT"? And how is a person supposed to recognize the name of what amounts to a random website, one of millions on the internet?jazzmanchgohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02568707898871466512noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56617683276158469482014-05-02T19:08:46.908-04:002014-05-02T19:08:46.908-04:00Was in the hospital* all day, having my heart re-w...Was in the hospital* all day, having my heart re-wired a bit. (Still ticking.)<br /><br />When I got home, I ripped into the Times crossword, but never looked at the constructor's name; only learned it was a BEQ from Rex! But agree with general view, so many proper names yet somehow everything fell into place, actually Medium for a Friday, no write-overs.<br /><br />And though already noted, I have to say that anyone who went to public school in New Jersey knows the Lenni Lenape.<br /><br />*Not going to name the hospital - As I read through the comments here, I noticed some bumps under my clothes and pulled off nine of those little sticky patches they used to attach electrodes to my body! Guess it's quicker for them to let the patient remove them!Bob Kerfufflehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02615811802419025933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-33471345895351779562014-05-02T19:05:25.016-04:002014-05-02T19:05:25.016-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.jazzmanchgohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02568707898871466512noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-17633025670649830542014-05-02T18:52:04.947-04:002014-05-02T18:52:04.947-04:00@anonymous 6:29. Abstruse is abstruse. Always re...@anonymous 6:29. Abstruse is abstruse. Always remember to eschew obfuscation.Mohair Samhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16502840715719161565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-58986731869966240652014-05-02T18:30:19.482-04:002014-05-02T18:30:19.482-04:00@M &A - "Gorgeous area; wife admired vie...@M &A - "Gorgeous area; wife admired view while I white-knuckle-drove the winding "scenic" road." <br /><br />Yup, been there.jaehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03385568014046336373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-75095586097434001572014-05-02T18:29:16.663-04:002014-05-02T18:29:16.663-04:00Henrietta Barnett is extraordinarily abstruse, vir...Henrietta Barnett is extraordinarily abstruse, virtually unknown to all but north Londoners.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80986947376706535642014-05-02T18:05:33.779-04:002014-05-02T18:05:33.779-04:00At least this one didn't COW me like yesterday...At least this one didn't COW me like yesterday's did...Karlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-1731454475278616952014-05-02T17:32:31.563-04:002014-05-02T17:32:31.563-04:00Timelier clue for 55A. would've been 'NCA...Timelier clue for 55A. would've been 'NCAA winning coach'. Go, Huskies.<br /><br />ChICKBAIT ruined a perfect, Google-free Friday for me. Never heard of it and blanked on the Delaware Valley-ites. Chip Hiltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11944056030047563287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-41185832272833512652014-05-02T16:52:23.196-04:002014-05-02T16:52:23.196-04:00Had a DNF yesterday, but was "uncowed" b...Had a DNF yesterday, but was "uncowed" by this one. Very tough for me, since I never heard of click bait, nor five thirty eight, nor skateboard slang (Ollie), nor Dave Franco, nor Leanne Marshall, but I finished without errors. Thinking about Fiona singing "Waiting for my Dearie…"OISKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16808675378318214461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-82392470657486546092014-05-02T16:30:42.608-04:002014-05-02T16:30:42.608-04:00@jberg and Z - Thanks. I'll be sure to get St...@jberg and Z - Thanks. I'll be sure to get Stranger. Sounds like a good book.Danphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06368147966029831819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45051544623062271542014-05-02T16:25:40.954-04:002014-05-02T16:25:40.954-04:00Midday report of relative difficulty (see my 8/1/2...Midday report of relative difficulty (see my 8/1/2009 post for an explanation of my method and my 10/15/2012 post for an explanation of a tweak to my method):<br /><br />All solvers (median solve time, average for day of week, ratio, percentile, rating)<br /><br />Fri 20:24, 21:06, 0.97, 43%, Medium<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Fri 12:41, 12:18, 1.03, 55%, Mediumsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.com