tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post6432047716381788004..comments2024-03-28T20:26:11.908-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Guilt Trip actress Graynor / SAT 11-2-13 / One may be played by geisha / Game in which lowest card is 7 / Austrian conductor Karl / Scandinavia's oldest university / 2002 Cesar winner for Best Film / They were labeled Breakfast Dinner SupperRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-7255665825315282152013-12-09T13:47:23.896-05:002013-12-09T13:47:23.896-05:00Three days late to the party so I'll keep it b...Three days late to the party so I'll keep it brief since I threw out Saturday's paper and my memory isn't that good.<br /><br />I kind of liked this tough puz but I have one QUIBBLE with the cluing (besides the Twin's rival/ORIOLE foul ball): WUNDERBAR means "wonderful" in German. I believe the clue was "Super German." It should have been "German super." I was trying to fit "WUNDERkind" into not enough squares. So Tom and Will, I'm calling you guys out on this one. Solving in Seattlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04249420848844874936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-83989479943905221632013-12-07T15:14:04.325-05:002013-12-07T15:14:04.325-05:00Another Saturday DNF, but I'm used to that. L...Another Saturday DNF, but I'm used to that. Learned a lot today, some of which I'll remember, JAMCAM is not one of them. Ridiculous compilation. Wanted Karl Orff at 5-D, kept it much too long. Not a NYer, so the Park Ave building could have been anything. Alternate clue: _7. Just add ice, neat.<br /><br />Wrote in ECARTE with no crosses, where that came from I've no idea. Worked northward from there until I cried Uncle Google. @Spacecraft, agree with your PET PEEVE, no way was this 'easy-medium'.Gingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07156872089175084024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45952448413888638432013-12-07T14:56:22.722-05:002013-12-07T14:56:22.722-05:00Didn't get enough of this one to even make it ...Didn't get enough of this one to even make it fun. Apparently @spacecraft and I live in the same world, where abominations like KIDULT are banned as assaults on the language. My Captcha is IzTechs, maybe a comment on those who favor this kind of thing, with the Z standing for 'zany'. I'm out of here!DMGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-81968327130789819692013-12-07T13:22:17.013-05:002013-12-07T13:22:17.013-05:00I have to agree with Spacecraft. When you get word...I have to agree with Spacecraft. When you get words like Kidult and Jamcam and those words are not recognizable and not in general usage, well, I believe it's a bit unfair.<br />A pox on you, Heilman !<br /><br />Ron Diego 10:20AM PSTAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-17766665871677178442013-12-07T11:32:07.768-05:002013-12-07T11:32:07.768-05:00MY PET PEEVE? Blog leaders who grade "easy-me...MY PET PEEVE? Blog leaders who grade "easy-medium" when I didn't even come close to finishing! KIDULT? AQUIVER? KRATIONS? ILLIN? KOTO?? Did I leave English behind somewhere? Where am I? And now I'll segue into Roy Neary: What the hell's going on around here? WHO THE HELL ARE YOU PEOPLE?<br /><br />Don't worry, guys, it's just another movie quote, not a rant. But I just couldn't even get any traction today. Even with SETBAIL and JOKE to start.<br /><br />And of course, my #1 gimme, the only card game with 7-low I've ever heard of; EuchrE. ECARTE? That belongs with that list a couple of paragraphs up. And BOHM, I'm supposed to know him. MR. Obscurity 2013.<br /><br />And this collection of WTFs gets an easy-medium?? Get serious.spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-3248518371201962632013-11-05T11:27:17.241-05:002013-11-05T11:27:17.241-05:00Definitely have heard jamcam in NYC area. Maybe e...Definitely have heard jamcam in NYC area. Maybe even on Simpsons? Maybe not the kind of thing one rushes to put on internet, hence low google count?<br /><br />Kidult news to me.<br />Both inferable mhm (not quite aha) moments.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-49606159136939522322013-11-03T22:23:33.475-05:002013-11-03T22:23:33.475-05:00@Davis - "Unlike most we were fine with JAMCA...@Davis - "Unlike most we were fine with JAMCAM (a Philly station uses the term all the time)."Not Mohair Sam but I read his commentnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-72532500921774457462013-11-03T21:45:20.882-05:002013-11-03T21:45:20.882-05:00Following up on my earlier comment, some more exte...Following up on my earlier comment, some more extensive Googling efforts make it clear that JAM CAM is simply not in the language. Some basic data:<br /><br />(1) Searching "jam cam" in quotes returns about 82,000 hits. That seems like a lot until you consider that (a) most of these are not traffic-related, and (b) when you start going through the results Google cuts you off at only <b>279</b> hits because the remaining ones are "very similar" to those 279. This typically means that the remaining hits are from the same sites (or from mirrors of those sites).<br /><br />(2) Searching "jam cam" and "traffic" gets you the more relevant results, but now you're down to 31,000 hits, which trims down to 230 results after cutting out the duplicates.<br /><br />(3) Searching "jamcam" (no space) and "traffic" ostensibly gets you a more reasonable sounding 514,000 hits, but (a) this list trims down to 109 results, and (b) for some reason the initial results list is only 43,200 if you put quotes around "jamcam".<br /><br />All of this is to say that JAM CAM is in no way in the language according to Google. It's also worth noting that no commenter or blogger at Rex's blog or at Crossword Fiend stated that they had actually heard this term. How often does that happen with a legitimate entry among all these word nerds?Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15336260911834780345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-19430440902058209912013-11-03T03:15:23.135-05:002013-11-03T03:15:23.135-05:00The SW made this challenging for me. First tried B...The SW made this challenging for me. First tried BEJEWELED, then ELABORATE, then EXPENSIVE, before finally getting EXQUISITE.<br />If I'd been working on paper, I would have ripped right through with all of that erasing. Great puzzle.Doloresnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-57425400922826138602013-11-03T00:04:37.805-04:002013-11-03T00:04:37.805-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.jaehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03385568014046336373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26696043434834102102013-11-02T19:51:13.003-04:002013-11-02T19:51:13.003-04:00One of the easiest and fastest Saturdays ever for ...One of the easiest and fastest Saturdays ever for me. No idea why. More like a Wednesday.Michaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-87730863208236122102013-11-02T19:48:56.975-04:002013-11-02T19:48:56.975-04:00Let's try that link one more time (and if it w...Let's try that link one more time (and if it works, great thanks to @<br />Tita for the instruction): <a href="http://dirigonzo.blogspot.com/2010/10/brat-pack.html" rel="nofollow">the brat pack</a>.<br />Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-39015026984395409482013-11-02T19:43:17.430-04:002013-11-02T19:43:17.430-04:00I was delayed starting the puzzle after work due t...I was delayed starting the puzzle after work due to a general break-out of <A HREF="http://dirigonzo.blogspot.com/2010/10/brat-pack.html>the brat pack</A> from the back yard so I had to spend an hour or so trying to round them up. In the end, three girls from down the street caught them and brought them home - I love living in a close-knit community.<br />Anyway, with all the dogs home and a drink in hand, I set upon the puzzle and in the space of an hour or so managed to reduce the grid to one blank square: AB_S - the crossword was no help so I left it blank and came here to learn about A BAS. I once owned a brand-new "1965 classic with a 389 engine", so the GTO was a slam-dunk. <br /><br />Don't forget to "fall back" tonight - DST ends at 1:00am Sunday.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-41010596390155358712013-11-02T19:19:33.853-04:002013-11-02T19:19:33.853-04:00Thank you @sanfranman59. Since I had a major left ...Thank you @sanfranman59. Since I had a major left coast DNF on this one I can feel a little better that it came in as challenging in your stats.<br /><br />The Baltimore Orioles moved from St Louis in 1954. The Twins were The Washington Senators until 1960. So there was a half decade where they were beltway rivals. (I don't buy it, either)<br /><br />@balanchine - I have sometimes waxed at length on topics barely tangential to the puzzle, but I must bow to your speeding greatness. I wonder if that lipstick ploy would work for me.<br /><br />A <a href="http://www.subaqueousmusic.com/production-articles/free-music-tools/89-aq-koto-instrument-to-add-some-asian-spice" rel="nofollow">geisha playing a KOTO</a>.Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-39931588977108126702013-11-02T18:10:51.439-04:002013-11-02T18:10:51.439-04:00@ Loren use Smith;you have three toes? @ Danp;no. ...@ Loren use Smith;you have three toes? @ Danp;no. Hand up for Bejeweled..WHOA to THOU to CLOP.syndyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16814698406887041710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-90583251023061359612013-11-02T18:01:04.461-04:002013-11-02T18:01:04.461-04:00This 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 7:13, 6:07, 1.18, 97%, Challenging (8th highest ratio of 201 Mondays)<br />Tue 7:16, 8:15, 0.88, 16%, Easy<br />Wed 11:06, 9:44, 1.14, 81%, Challenging<br />Thu 20:04, 16:44, 1.20, 81%, Challenging<br />Fri 23:02, 18:38, 1.24, 88%, Challenging<br />Sat 31:46, 26:51, 1.18, 87%, Challenging<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 4:16, 3:46, 1.13, 91%, Challenging<br />Tue 4:36, 5:09, 0.89, 13%, Easy<br />Wed 6:15, 5:37, 1.11, 79%, Medium-Challenging<br />Thu 13:11, 9:30, 1.39, 89%, Challenging<br />Fri 12:57, 10:42, 1.21, 81%, Challenging<br />Sat 20:20, 17:01, 1.19, 84%, Challengingsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-12455904603077785692013-11-02T17:50:56.110-04:002013-11-02T17:50:56.110-04:00Oops, in amending and deleting my first post for f...Oops, in amending and deleting my first post for failure to space and two typos, I must have accidentally deleted my appreciation of NOOGIE, and its clue. I literally LOLed. Worth the price of admission, right there.August Westhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09919963003128838777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-18140690723602012222013-11-02T17:42:18.515-04:002013-11-02T17:42:18.515-04:00Hated KIDULT, ORIOLE as Twins' rival, and JAMC...Hated KIDULT, ORIOLE as Twins' rival, and JAMCAM. Didn't like SEA/SEAGRAM. But there's so much great stuff in there, the puzzle as a whole earns a thumbs up here. Loved the clues for STUCKUP, CLOP, TOTASTE, REVISE, ONEMORE. SQUABBLE crossed with QUIBBLE. EUPHORIA, EXQUISITE, PETPEEVE, UTTERROT, UNPILE, LITOUT, AQUIVER, WUNDERBAR, all good stuff. Over 1:40 quicker to the finish line today, I think FRI and SAT entries should have been reversed.<br />August Westhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09919963003128838777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-39248916718250520592013-11-02T17:40:21.754-04:002013-11-02T17:40:21.754-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.August Westhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09919963003128838777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-35530478519065647162013-11-02T15:25:10.094-04:002013-11-02T15:25:10.094-04:00JAM CAM makes sense, but after taking a stroll thr...JAM CAM makes sense, but after taking a stroll through the Google I don't think its usage is anywhere near widespread enough to be a <b>good</b> entry.<br /><br />Wading through the first ten pages of Google hits I found that (a) most instances of this term as clued were in the UK, and a few of of those were actually hits on "Traffic Jam Cam," (b) maybe 3 or 4 instances of this term as clued were in the US, and (c) entirely unrelated uses (including some computer peripheral using that name) far outweigh the use as clued.Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15336260911834780345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-55764647716273759632013-11-02T15:03:32.634-04:002013-11-02T15:03:32.634-04:00Took me forever but finished correctly. Doing puzz...Took me forever but finished correctly. Doing puzzle pre-caffeine probably not best idea.<br />Agree w/ @jberg. When I was about thirteen , wrote letter to owner of Ariz Meteor Crater to prove to my science teacher that should be meteorite. Still have reply somewhere. Yes.<br />Hands up for bejeweled, skycam before jamcam, putt before grip. knew noogie, though not from youth.<br />Impressed w/exquisite number of Qs.I skip M-Wnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91415963412546180842013-11-02T14:52:07.497-04:002013-11-02T14:52:07.497-04:00@Quest - I plunked down MET LIFE immediately also....@Quest - I plunked down MET LIFE immediately also. Made a mess of that corner. Sometimes knowing too much is worse that knowing just enough.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09567874862630285191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-23357928358406565542013-11-02T14:37:53.288-04:002013-11-02T14:37:53.288-04:00@balanchine -- thanks for your "shy" exp...@balanchine -- thanks for your "shy" explanation. Now the clue makes perfect sense.<br /><br />It was a plodder for me. Work on one section, then another, then another, then back to the first, etc., until things came into view.<br /><br />Never heard of KOTO or UPPSALA, or ECARTE. I want to hate KIDULT, but it's already becoming an earworm. I like STUCKUP intersecting with UTTERROT.<br /><br />An excellent Saturday -- thanks, Tom!Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09709142959535977331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-53574131318206466692013-11-02T14:37:34.000-04:002013-11-02T14:37:34.000-04:00KIDULT
... this I can accept.<a href="http://fashionista.com/2013/06/marc-jacobs-responds-to-second-kidult-graffiti-attack-with-clever-marketing-push-are-they-in-cahoots/" rel="nofollow">KIDULT</a><br /><br /><br />... this I can accept.Questiniahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06225633428852696530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-35452912426456145542013-11-02T13:59:22.372-04:002013-11-02T13:59:22.372-04:00@jberg: yep...
* SETT = badger den. But I learned ...@jberg: yep...<br />* SETT = badger den. But I learned that it's also a granite pavin block. If laid by badgers.<br />* METEOR = shootin star = the streak of light made by a meteoroid hittin the atmosphere. Seems kinda fuzzy, as far as large meteoroid vs. small asteroid size cutoffs. Whatever hits the ground is called a meteorite.M and A Help Desknoreply@blogger.com