tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post6464267591750374973..comments2024-03-29T01:22:33.864-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: FRIDAY, Jan.9, 2009- P. Gamache ("Hooked on Swing" jazzman Larry / Italian beans Dean Martin standard / Dept. store founder pioneered credit unions)Rex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger124125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-52792920412757465652021-02-28T22:55:17.598-05:002021-02-28T22:55:17.598-05:00Is not 'bore' (make a hole) a homophone fo...Is not 'bore' (make a hole) a homophone for 'boor' (put to sleep)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56447381660413366442009-02-14T03:29:00.000-05:002009-02-14T03:29:00.000-05:00This was a great puzzle. The only thing I would ha...This was a great puzzle. The only thing I would have liked different was the last "pair" of answers that I got: "pair" and "exes." When I first started doing crosswords I learned that one of the "rules" for constructors is to be uplifting. Interesting that the most frustrating part of the puzzle for me (apparently for others, too) was that part. Even though I could see it intellectually, my mind did not want to go there. By the way, the reason I am a regular (reader, not commentator) at this site is that it is so much fun. Thanks, Rex, and all others.Richard Leahy Heatonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12524119664226919571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50019055779666745552009-02-13T23:09:00.000-05:002009-02-13T23:09:00.000-05:00I was able to self-correct "predator" into "maneat...I was able to self-correct "predator" into "maneater", and also get "seep" into the right "ooze" clue on the second try; I agree that "emit" just doesn't work.<BR/><BR/>Finishing out "areacode" required a mild epiphany, but it was worth it; I too had "dime" for "axis".<BR/><BR/>The frustraing what-the-foo for me was that, in trying to figure out "EdwardII", I had crossed it at "maneater", "educe" (great word!), "smiths" and "QEII" - and I just could not figure it was an Edward (spent much too much time bemoaning that "Richard" didn't go).Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12782611527979353982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-81594565732976113832009-01-11T12:13:00.000-05:002009-01-11T12:13:00.000-05:00On Googling: The idea of puzzles is to have fun, a...On Googling: The idea of puzzles is to have fun, and Googling should be an option for those who find getting stuck so frustrating that it kills the fun. I was introduced to crosswords by a favorite uncle who admonished me never to look things up (he died before there was a Google). I follow his advice and work on puzzles without help. It may take me a long time to finish, and sometimes I'm just not able to finish. But at least I've given it my best shot--that is what is rewarding for me.joaniejayahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08169693325560466009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-6883719106442733632009-01-10T18:09:00.000-05:002009-01-10T18:09:00.000-05:00Thanks to everyone for all the good tips. I appre...Thanks to everyone for all the good tips. I appreciate you taking the time, especially steveisaid, to do this.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-5584830423005664092009-01-10T12:20:00.000-05:002009-01-10T12:20:00.000-05:00I figure if I complete a Friday puzzle without hin...I figure if I complete a Friday puzzle without hints/clues/google, it must be rated easy. So I am surprised to find that Rex rated it medium-challenging. Is it possible I'm that good? <BR/><BR/>Nah, I don't think so. At least not yet. ;) As a west-coaster, I guessed Filene, known to me only by their Annual Bridezilla Stampede.<BR/><BR/>I initially had "felt" in place of "batt," but corrected that with the crosses. And like Rex, I spelled "leder" with an "a."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46461039155237130102009-01-10T04:50:00.000-05:002009-01-10T04:50:00.000-05:00Loved this puzzle. Had to put it down and pick it...Loved this puzzle. Had to put it down and pick it back up a number of times but that's fine.<BR/><BR/>As I solved it, I was enjoying it.<BR/><BR/>Only had to google once, to find musician Larry.<BR/><BR/>The comments here are hilarious today.<BR/><BR/>Andrea's are quite fun--gave me a headache to follow all of the points, but enjoyed the last one as the coup de grace about the Jewish point for Ulrich.<BR/><BR/>For the newer puzzle solver, you can google whatever you want. There are no puzzle-solver big brothers or sisters over your shoulder. The more you do the puzzles, the less you'll have to google, but it's your call and your enjoyment, so do whatever.<BR/><BR/>This definitely was a lovely puzzle.<BR/><BR/>Great way to end a week.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-62763096183576439892009-01-10T02:40:00.000-05:002009-01-10T02:40:00.000-05:00Piling on the LoveFest, I suppose. Felt good about...Piling on the LoveFest, I suppose. <BR/><BR/>Felt good about this one. Only recently have I been able to crack the Friday, and still, not always.<BR/><BR/>PREDATOR was the only somewhat crippling error. <BR/><BR/>Great puzzle, but I'm quite tired of clues that use "Seeing red?" (8D) or some derivative. It just seems very common. Had DYING there, thought it was a pun on DYEING, I guess. I don't know. Sometimes things make sense in the heat of the solving. Upon figuring it out, I did really like the side-by-side pair at 8D & 9D. Your VICE (gambling too much) could keep you OWING (possibly until you take out a mortgage and become a LIENEE). <BR/><BR/>One of these days I will remember words like SUET and EADS.<BR/><BR/>When that moment happens, here's hoping it's on a Friday or Saturday.<BR/><BR/>Having cursory knowledge of French (thank you, four years of school in Quebec) has been coming in handy lately. In Quebec, they smoke their TABAC both APRES and Avant the meal. Trust me.ordinarypersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13618888081961378236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-71978569450514761972009-01-10T02:35:00.000-05:002009-01-10T02:35:00.000-05:00PS Just noticed a bleed over from Thurs... "Porgy"...PS Just noticed a bleed over from Thurs... "Porgy" novelist Heyward and today GEORGIEPORGIEAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56108288661912064852009-01-10T02:33:00.000-05:002009-01-10T02:33:00.000-05:00I'm here RCaesar!And I won't even go into a rant a...I'm here RCaesar!<BR/>And I won't even go into a rant about the Mall of America despoiling Minnesota's good name...<BR/>certainly not in the week of a sweet Franken victory!<BR/><BR/><BR/>Here's a word for FAST STARE<BR/>how about FASTARE?<BR/>;)<BR/>(I get paid for this, you know!)<BR/><BR/>(Ok, usually I don't)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45484697291036607342009-01-10T02:10:00.000-05:002009-01-10T02:10:00.000-05:00The "Dean Martin standard", That's Amore, was comp...The "Dean Martin standard", <I>That's Amore</I>, was composed by Harry Warren, whose parents changed their name from "Guaragna" when they came here from Calabria. But the <I>words</I>, including FAZOOL, were the work of one Johnny Burke, who was so Irish that Bing Crosby called him his favorite leprechaun.<BR/><BR/>FILENE is no longer regional, not since a Filene's Basement appeared in the Mall of America.<BR/><BR/>I came here just to get the T in GATELEG, and read all the comments. Hope someone is reading mine...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-51629946509108771462009-01-10T00:32:00.000-05:002009-01-10T00:32:00.000-05:00I liked WHAT WORD DO WE SAYfor SAY THE MAGIC WORDI...I liked <BR/>WHAT WORD DO WE SAY<BR/>for SAY THE MAGIC WORD<BR/><BR/>It didn't interfer with HOTROD..<BR/><BR/>I had FOOTBALLWIDOW..<BR/><BR/>but WOLFWHISTLE I knew was wrong..<BR/><BR/>liked SHOERS for SMITHS..<BR/><BR/>and I objected to SMITHS because surely EMIT couldn't be right.. it's not an oozing thing.. it's released, like light..<BR/><BR/>also ROOTOUT would not be considered because its sense is remove, not destroy.. and where does "find" come into it?<BR/><BR/>I got the southern hemishere, but wisely, as it turns out, gave up on the north. <BR/><BR/>ETHER for "clear sky"? It's too far off. <BR/><BR/>This puzzling is a new romance for me, but am I wrong for wanting less wooley clues? -or is it supposed to be like that.liquid el layhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00955796642605260715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-6526483263968418602009-01-09T23:58:00.000-05:002009-01-09T23:58:00.000-05:00@meotch: Kudos on the Bannockburn/overcooked oatca...@meotch: Kudos on the Bannockburn/overcooked oatcake thing. Well played, sir or madam. Well played.<BR/><BR/>@Andrea: I thought I remembered that "Victor Borge" was his stage name. Right from his Wikipedia bio comes this: "Born Børge Rosenbaum in Copenhagen, Denmark, into a Jewish family." Here's what I have to say about that: !!Orangehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12433254398377357737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-87718323042712643062009-01-09T23:22:00.000-05:002009-01-09T23:22:00.000-05:00Jim Horne at Wordplay was told by Paula Gamache t...Jim Horne at Wordplay was told by Paula Gamache that the grid had corner holders like a page in an old photo album with the puzzle as the picture in the center.<BR/><BR/>I like that image almost as much as I liked the puzzle. I manged to knock this one out of the park in one sitting of about an hours duration.<BR/><BR/>I like Ms. Gamache's puzzles, particularly the themeless ones, as I always seem to resonate with her and find her puzzles to be free of most old crossewordese and other obscurities. I always see her puzzles as fair fights and like the freshness and vitality in find in them.<BR/><BR/>To Andrea - sorry to hear about the loss of your friend. My family lost our oldest survivor last year and I feel a certain disconnect as a result.Bill from NJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10103923612595508277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-58336042098360235472009-01-09T23:13:00.000-05:002009-01-09T23:13:00.000-05:00Whoa, I'm getting a contact high off of the commen...Whoa, I'm getting a contact high off of the comments section. Also Rex's write-up, which struck me as particularly hilarious. Maybe I'm just happy and unfamiliar with the symptoms. <BR/><BR/>Are all crossword people like this? So...nice? I'm serious; I spend way too much time on the internet and there is no other neighborhood like this. It's such a pleasure I almost feel embarrassed. Too much...friendliness...cannot...process.<BR/><BR/>BDD: You make up your own rule for googling. That's the rule.green mantishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01823785147354157816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-88904446715134077272009-01-09T23:11:00.000-05:002009-01-09T23:11:00.000-05:00Did Edward II really lose a battle to an overcooke...Did Edward II really lose a battle to an overcooked oatcake? What a wuss!<BR/><BR/>My third fastest friday ever.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-54343887161942645232009-01-09T23:10:00.000-05:002009-01-09T23:10:00.000-05:00K. Did this on a plane coming back from Frisco to...K. Did this on a plane coming back from Frisco to Chi-Town. Been reading Rex since old friend told me about him a few months ago (Props to Rex; he rocketh). <BR/><BR/>Great puzzle. Got a few answers before oxygen-deprivation-sleep-on-takeoff kicked in, then busted it somewhere over Utah or Colorado after I woke up (watched "Ghostown" too; decent flick).<BR/><BR/>But here's what I don't get. What's with all the googling of answers? Is there an etiquette to that? Like, you can only google after you give up? Or can you, such as, cheat? Google a toughie and then tackle the rest? Just wonderin' . . .Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-64496602741146033362009-01-09T23:09:00.000-05:002009-01-09T23:09:00.000-05:00Orange, thanks for the advice, and I'm definitely ...Orange, thanks for the advice, and I'm definitely getting the book.<BR/><BR/>And of course, thanks Rex for the great blog, the great comments, putting this all together for us!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-19615218710926000642009-01-09T22:05:00.000-05:002009-01-09T22:05:00.000-05:00It's Joan Baez' birthday today (Jan 9, 1941)It's Joan Baez' birthday today (Jan 9, 1941)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67152786175345055732009-01-09T21:51:00.000-05:002009-01-09T21:51:00.000-05:00I do the Times puzzle when I can, (most days) but ...I do the Times puzzle when I can, (most days) but I gotta say, this blog is intense. How wany comments are typical? This has got to hold some sort of record...expecially since it isn't a political blog. Any numbers anyone??Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91385736617068389822009-01-09T21:40:00.000-05:002009-01-09T21:40:00.000-05:00Based on today's discussion I put together a new ...Based on today's discussion I put together a new crossword puzzle and posted it on Amy's Crossword Fiend site... http://www.crosswordfiend.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=2<BR/>It is called New Puzzle. Buon Appetito!PhillySolverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06896753042626337920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-38435050580597323472009-01-09T21:35:00.000-05:002009-01-09T21:35:00.000-05:00@rex: are we going for a record tonight? You have ...@rex: are we going for a record tonight? You have created a monster!machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-54534481718297048582009-01-09T21:27:00.000-05:002009-01-09T21:27:00.000-05:00fazool really bothered me. Pasta Fagioli rules.fazool really bothered me. Pasta Fagioli rules.dr nichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15246661548908435331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-43480122103070039312009-01-09T20:48:00.000-05:002009-01-09T20:48:00.000-05:00@Foodie: from now on, no more thinking! We'll jus...@Foodie: from now on, no more thinking! We'll just SpeedGaze our way through the puzzle.johohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12708487230515532492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8000814730060835272009-01-09T20:26:00.001-05:002009-01-09T20:26:00.001-05:00Chiming in with praise for the puzzle, which I did...Chiming in with praise for the puzzle, which I did on the bus today -- both to and from. Couldn't believe how long it took to find the pudding and pie.fergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.com