tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post6410398446538968109..comments2024-03-28T07:04:40.875-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Slave in Buck's House of Hwang — Thur., Sep. 17 2009 — Tulip-growing center of Holland / Massenet opera based on Daudet novelRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger131125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-71066246901318410032009-10-22T13:04:29.412-04:002009-10-22T13:04:29.412-04:00I am 62 and didn't have much trouble with this...I am 62 and didn't have much trouble with this puzzle. I have seen some of the crosswordese before, although I didn't find the time to do crosswords until the Shortz era. I didn't know many of the long theme answers right off, except for CONSTELLATION. But the crosses weren't all that hard and they filled in enough blanks that most of the theme answers came clear after a while. I did want BITTER kVETCH, though. I had some writeovers - Medici, Lanai for two. Also started with Babe for 14A - had no clue whose uniform number was what. Also had Aroma instead of ATTAR until I got to the place-kicker and tried *sat for MCAT. I still had MSAT until I got here, thinking that vetsh was perhaps the correct spelling. So I didn't think the puzzle was terribly hard, although I spent about 15 minutes on it, but had an error in the end.Singernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8326390193149226252009-09-19T19:02:17.050-04:002009-09-19T19:02:17.050-04:00Wonderful puzzle. Much fun. I'm another old-ti...Wonderful puzzle. Much fun. I'm another old-timer who has been doing t`he NYT since the 60's.<br /><br />Scrabble experienced helped, especialy with ais, the plural of a two letter word. One of the first things scrabble players learn is the 2 letter words.Willhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09382385095545716698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-77642321456955778922009-09-19T04:37:22.732-04:002009-09-19T04:37:22.732-04:00@Thank you Soleman!@Thank you Soleman!fikinkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06324570637549775751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91101951467662484732009-09-18T11:26:55.819-04:002009-09-18T11:26:55.819-04:00Did. Not. Like. This puzzle. At. All. For someone...Did. Not. Like. This puzzle. At. All. For someone who has not been doing puzzles since the early 80s, the theme clues were just random letters. Wednesday's and Sunday's puzzles may have been kind of dumb, theme-wise, but at least they had a recognizable logic.<br /><br />(On the other hand, I suppose my Dad and other old-timers would say that this one is payback for all the references to rappers and other people in recent pop culture...)Jackiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00061062649010323549noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-22313884539112527942009-09-18T06:49:40.209-04:002009-09-18T06:49:40.209-04:00@fikink, 7:37 PM - LOL! Bringing eels into the di...@fikink, 7:37 PM - LOL! Bringing eels into the discussion of this puzzle was magic!Fisher of Solesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-77792057928348733812009-09-18T04:52:00.753-04:002009-09-18T04:52:00.753-04:00I completed a PhD equivalent (in France) in psycho...I completed a PhD equivalent (in France) in psychology and did not ONCE cite Lacan in my mobius strip of a thesis. Lacan was still the hub around which all French psych./political thought swirled in the mid/late 80s and it was my own small act of defiance to bypass him. Never in five rounds of criticism and defense did anyone even point out the omission--kind of disappointing....I did throw in some Dante, however. Lacan remains unread, and will remain so. I do not feel impoverished either....Lacunae Lacaniennesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-59925950866219656152009-09-18T03:18:21.224-04:002009-09-18T03:18:21.224-04:00no time to write in today, too busy reading Yeats....no time to write in today, too busy reading Yeats...in comic book form!andrea the bitter vetchnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-20264984670248575532009-09-18T01:53:16.194-04:002009-09-18T01:53:16.194-04:00This 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 8:16, 7:00, 1.18, 92%, Challenging<br />Tue 8:11, 8:25, 0.97, 46%, Medium<br />Wed 8:39, 12:00, 0.72, 4%, Easy<br />Thu 21:17, 18:52, 1.13, 81%, Challenging<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 4:14, 3:43, 1.14, 83%, Challenging<br />Tue 4:20, 4:21, 0.99, 53%, Medium<br />Wed 4:21, 5:53, 0.74, 5%, Easy<br />Thu 9:45, 9:13, 1.06, 72%, Medium-Challenging<br /><br />@ChefBea ... I'll be in Wilmington overnight Saturday and then at Holden Beach for a week.sanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-71307801096923360412009-09-17T23:01:09.758-04:002009-09-17T23:01:09.758-04:00DougE, I'm 51 too ....DougE, I'm 51 too ....fergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-58053637059975709852009-09-17T22:24:05.813-04:002009-09-17T22:24:05.813-04:00I'm 51 and probably too young to be this grump...I'm 51 and probably too young to be this grumpy, but I haven't stumbled on a puzzle in weeks. This one stumped me, particularly the NE corner. Couldn't get Assam (though I had SILKWORM, WAY and HARM) or AQABA (though I had SUNUP). I got run over by the BUS, for which I had RUN (as in "run the pool table"). And BITTERVETCH? Even when I had it, I didn't believe it. BITTER KVETCH, maybe. I got the rest and believe it was fun if you remember these old clues. I didn't and though I slogged through the crosses, it felt like a chore with very little reward. And now I have to restart my clock on "Days with no incomplete puzzles". On the bright side, tomorrow can only be easier...DougEnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-77934287304855158652009-09-17T21:54:19.015-04:002009-09-17T21:54:19.015-04:00Teresa, the pages fell apart when I was reading &q...Teresa, the pages fell apart when I was reading "The Pupil" and HJ's other stories. From the late 1890s, he became increasingly complicated - so much so in the depiction of interpersonal nuance floated way too high. Nonetheless, I could not ever disregard or disparage HJ's mastery of internal thought and its jutting into another's self-same contemplation, which is probably the essence of his art?fergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-72907446491729027182009-09-17T21:38:43.073-04:002009-09-17T21:38:43.073-04:00I am late getting into the literature discussion, ...I am late getting into the literature discussion, but I loved Wade's comment. I have been not reading Henry James for 37 years, and it was 1 year too few. (And I am still irked about it .. imagine!)Teresahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13396770897787677711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-7879140567028378692009-09-17T21:32:59.606-04:002009-09-17T21:32:59.606-04:00Rex, you are you a 17th child, too? I hesitated b...Rex, you are you a 17th child, too? I hesitated but did celebrate my 11/12ths birthday. 5/6ths is pretty shabby, 3/4 is OK and 1/2 is fine, but I fall into the oddball faction with my twelths' fraction.fergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80951527883233266112009-09-17T21:16:02.742-04:002009-09-17T21:16:02.742-04:00Watch out PIX!
You're in the cross hairs!Watch out PIX!<br />You're in the cross hairs!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-47447609686913945892009-09-17T21:13:45.335-04:002009-09-17T21:13:45.335-04:00I'm 39 5/6 years old and I did this in under 7...I'm 39 5/6 years old and I did this in under 7 min. But I dream in crosswordese, so I hardly count.<br /><br />rpRex Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-18697414118254136902009-09-17T20:59:47.796-04:002009-09-17T20:59:47.796-04:00For anyone under forty, this puzzle was massively ...For anyone under forty, this puzzle was massively difficult. I had never heard any of the words before (except maybe "ai," but I had forgotten that one).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-81391176236443688902009-09-17T20:54:17.765-04:002009-09-17T20:54:17.765-04:00UGH! The worst puzzle in the last five years...ju...UGH! The worst puzzle in the last five years...just die already and get back to the 21st century stuff...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-60998003207967251172009-09-17T20:51:14.518-04:002009-09-17T20:51:14.518-04:00Although I got this completely right, it took me a...Although I got this completely right, it took me a looooong time. Seemed like a Saturday to me. I was around during the Maleska era, but didn't do the puzzles much because they weren't nearly as enjoyable as they are today.michaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50808251802220639122009-09-17T20:50:16.653-04:002009-09-17T20:50:16.653-04:00I knew AQABA... That's about it...I knew AQABA... That's about it...foodiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13052189131129098616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67857278830488462672009-09-17T20:39:01.913-04:002009-09-17T20:39:01.913-04:00And yet you have time to type that comment. Weird....And yet you have time to type that comment. Weird.Rex Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-57208791094839701402009-09-17T20:24:42.221-04:002009-09-17T20:24:42.221-04:00Rex,
Don't take this the wrong way but: I jus...Rex,<br /> Don't take this the wrong way but: I just don't care at all whether you ever read Yeats or not. Nothing personal; just not something I am concerned with. I've got other things to worry about about.PIXnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10471668074089108132009-09-17T20:12:52.929-04:002009-09-17T20:12:52.929-04:00I've only been doing puzzles seriously (i.e. n...I've only been doing puzzles seriously (i.e. not looking stuff up) for a few years, so this was very tough for me. I didn't read the note but figured out about half way through it that it was some sort of Maleska salute. With that perspective I enjoyed the struggle and finished with 2 errors. I had SASHA for 1d even though I knew at some level it was ORSINI not ARSINI. It was nice to come here and see all the comments from long time solvers. They added to my appreciation of this one. Thanks all!jaehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03385568014046336373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-17745227223352102372009-09-17T20:06:30.267-04:002009-09-17T20:06:30.267-04:00A fish out of water, I'm going back to stoppin...A fish out of water, I'm going back to stopping at Wednesdays. Even some of the ones I thought I had right were wrong. Google didn't help. I thought we were moving towards a theme of extinct plants and animals and I got very creative. Since I do my puzzle in Flairs, it was a rainbow mess.<br /><br />Brahe had a copper nose. The silver nose belonged to a fairytale Bluebeard. <br /><br />These days I read science books. <br />But, as for English Lit I prefer any and all Irish writers, and Irish music to British. Yes, I said yes.<br /><br />I'd sure like to see the puzzle Rex couldn't finish. It would probably blind my eyes.<br /><br />@Noam thanks for explaining 14A #13.Sfinginoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44147858404555686232009-09-17T19:37:00.811-04:002009-09-17T19:37:00.811-04:00All this talk of Brahe's nose just congers up ...All this talk of Brahe's nose just congers up Kid Shelleen for me. A wonderful movie, "Cat Ballou."<br /><br />Out at third.fikinkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06324570637549775751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31316848754267825592009-09-17T18:59:22.907-04:002009-09-17T18:59:22.907-04:00After reading everyone's comments as the day h...After reading everyone's comments as the day has progressed I second the thankfulness for the Shortz era. Give me clever wordplay and misdirection any day. That being said, I have enjoyed this week's homage to these seasoned constructors and wonder what the next two days will bring. <br />Welcome back Wade!<br />I have a large pile of books I should read but probably won't. There is just so much good stuff out there! The ease and appeal of the modern novel, along with some great talent, keeps me plenty busy.Two Ponieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06896743444873087885noreply@blogger.com