tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post6851165367413130499..comments2024-03-29T06:32:07.322-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: WEDNESDAY, Jul. 9, 2008 - Tim Wescott (MEXICAN MURALIST OROZCO / OLD GERMAN DUCHY NAME)Rex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger71125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-75769319414884437932008-08-13T17:38:00.000-04:002008-08-13T17:38:00.000-04:00I wait tables (we're not ALL doctors here) in a pl...I wait tables (we're not ALL doctors here) in a place that thankfully includes an 18% tip in the bill. While I would love to wait on someone as brilliant as Ms. Michaels I'd be heartbroken to know she won't come off more than 15%:) Most servers are required to tip a percentage of their sales to their bartender and their busser regardless of what the actually make in tips. Plus they have to pay a percentage (up to 2.5%)every time someone pays with a credit card. Add that to the fact that they make $2.13 an hour...well, you do the math. Anyhow, I'll get off my soapbox.<BR/><BR/>I really liked this puzzle despite the fact that Noah stumped me again. I keep expecting some obscure term for ancient mariner. All those years of Christian school at least payed off with 1Down. Anass was a gimmee.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46942716104261043532008-08-13T16:53:00.000-04:002008-08-13T16:53:00.000-04:00Hi, CA Lady - I know you do the puzzle 5 weeks lat...Hi, CA Lady - I know you do the puzzle 5 weeks later like I do, so there's some hope that you will actually read this! The Descartes joke wasn't a math joke, which is why you didn't get it, hahaha - it was a philosophy joke. Descartes is the guy who said "I think, therefore I am", thus when he said "I think not", he disappeared.<BR/><BR/>Now, if you were being facetious and actually got all that, and I've just embarassed myself by explaining what Basil Fawlty calls "The bleeding obvious", I apologize...<BR/><BR/>juliebeeJuliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08877038657361699565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-63265645396897022492008-08-13T16:22:00.000-04:002008-08-13T16:22:00.000-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08877038657361699565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-53636348488117298132008-08-13T16:04:00.000-04:002008-08-13T16:04:00.000-04:00A chemist, a physicist, and a mathemitician are st...A chemist, a physicist, and a mathemitician are stranded on a desert island. A crate filled with canned baked beans washes up on shore, but the trio can't figure out how to open the cans.<BR/><BR/>"Build a catapult and launch them into the air, the cans will split open when they land," suggests the physicist.<BR/><BR/>"That will never work," says the chemist. "We should build a fire, then put the cans in it, and they will expand and explode."<BR/><BR/>"That's ridiculous," says the physicist. They both turn to the mathemicician.<BR/><BR/>The mathemitician says, "Assume a can opener ..."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-17923962555005290752008-08-13T14:46:00.000-04:002008-08-13T14:46:00.000-04:00Found this puzzle fairly easy, maybe because the S...Found this puzzle fairly easy, maybe because the San Diego Union neglected to italicized clues. Thus, 65A just seemed like a funny " hint" to something that could occur in any puzzle, and I wasn't left with all the numerical fun you all had.<BR/>As a long ago math major, I enjoyed all the talk about perfect numbers and such. However, I totally don't get the Descartes joke-maybe because I don't have any Latin beyond the obvious as hoc and such? <BR/> Don't know where ACMe lives, but here in California where the tax in 7.5%, all you have to do is double it to figure the tip! Tho I note that restaurants are now pushing for 20%!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-84528009081279214392008-08-13T13:49:00.000-04:002008-08-13T13:49:00.000-04:00After reading 65A (the HINT to the theme), I lamen...After reading 65A (the HINT to the theme), I lamented once again that my newspaper does not often take the time to italicize ANYthing in the puzzles (plea to the puzzlemakers: use CAPS for selected clues!!!) So I took it upon myself to find (and circle) the six "italicized" clues. So far no one has mentioned what I noticed: that 3D (TROIS musketeers) could be a SEVENTH italicized clue. (I did not see what was perfect about six. I mean, you have to pitch at least nine innings for a perfect game, right?)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-20313391371231232332008-08-13T13:06:00.000-04:002008-08-13T13:06:00.000-04:00Enjoyed the blog more than the puzzle. Wasn't awa...Enjoyed the blog more than the puzzle. Wasn't aware of all the humor in the math world.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-69705623184242063352008-07-10T08:15:00.000-04:002008-07-10T08:15:00.000-04:00Three statisticians go hunting. The first one shoo...Three statisticians go hunting. The first one shoots and misses 10 feet to the left. The second one shoots and misses 10 feet to the right. The third one jumps up and down and shouts "I hit it!"Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13631743840776360363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-32890974679260408282008-07-10T04:12:00.000-04:002008-07-10T04:12:00.000-04:00no math jokes, tho the extrovert/shoe one reminded...no math jokes, tho the extrovert/shoe one reminded me of the Swedish joke about the swedish man who loved his wife so much, he almost told her!<BR/><BR/>Anyway: re puzzle I had POMADE and ODDMANOUT and have owndered all day what was wrong with MOON SDAPA.<BR/>Neil Sdapa, maybe...but moon sdapa?<BR/><BR/>Also thought 10 should be the perfect number, but I never got past finding X in math. <BR/>Despite taking pre-calculus, I think the most math I've ever done the past 30 years is to divide a check and figure out 15%.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-72644212190121021232008-07-10T03:09:00.000-04:002008-07-10T03:09:00.000-04:00Two mathematicians are in a bar. The first one say...Two mathematicians are in a bar. The first one says to the second that the average person knows very little about basic math. The second one disagrees, and claims that most people can cope with a reasonable amount of math. The first mathematician goes off to the washroom, and in his absence the second calls over the waitress. He tells her that in a few minutes, after his friend has returned, he will call her over and ask her a question; all she has to do is answer, "One third x cubed." She agrees, and goes off mumbling to herself. The first guy returns and the second proposes a bet to prove his point. He says he will ask the blonde waitress an integral, and the first laughingly agrees. The second man calls over the waitress and asks, "What is the integral of x squared?" The waitress says, "One third x cubed." Then, while walking away, she turns back and says, "Plus a constant!"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-12613633788607440822008-07-10T01:21:00.000-04:002008-07-10T01:21:00.000-04:00I'm cranky about the way that crossword puzzles ha...I'm cranky about the way that crossword puzzles have evolved. The themes are getting more and more clever, but so many words aren't in common use. This separates crossword solvers from real people and real language. Who says APTER? This isn't some odd fill here and there -- this is #1 across. I've gone my whole life and never said APTER. How about "Suffix with origin" = ATOR? What is the point of parsing words like this? I'd rather that the crossword creators worried less about clever clever clever themes and worried more about using normal words.John Hoffmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07357699268976237292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50986432779018533122008-07-10T00:14:00.000-04:002008-07-10T00:14:00.000-04:00A real number is a normal (positive, zero or negat...A real number is a normal (positive, zero or negative) value. In addition to the set of all real numbers is a set of imaginary numbers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imaginary_number), for example the square root of negative one, commonly denoted by an italicized lowercase "i."<BR/><BR/>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imaginary_numberBethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13825749125045140997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-15678044227895056942008-07-09T22:05:00.000-04:002008-07-09T22:05:00.000-04:00jc66 -- my polish-born grandfather used to ask tha...jc66 -- my polish-born grandfather used to ask that same riddle at family gatherings -- and take great pleasure in doing so! he'd be, oh, about 120 or so if he were still alive. thx for the reminder!<BR/><BR/>;-)<BR/><BR/>janiejaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15129173620859824730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9073505862702847892008-07-09T21:13:00.000-04:002008-07-09T21:13:00.000-04:00Great puzzle---I found that I've dabbled just enou...Great puzzle---I found that I've dabbled just enough in all the right subjects to keep a fairly brisk pace throughout this puzzle.<BR/><BR/>SYSTOLE came fast once I had a cross or two, as I could imagine characters from ER or House shouting it. KINESIS feels like a weird answer, but as it's a cool word I like the clue anyway. ACUMEN, NUCLEI, and EPOXY are great words, happy to see them. And I have a soft spot for Walter MITTY, too, so I was happy all over the place. I did practically had to walk through the alphabet to get my last letter, the cross of REAM and POMACE...clearly, REAM should have come a lot faster.<BR/><BR/>As for the theme, it's great. I had the exact same reaction to 33D, because...I mean, of course the crossword uses real numbers. But looking at the theme answers as a whole, I can't fault him for taking a gimme there; six theme answers, with self-referential clues, that are arranged perfectly symmetrically. It's amazing that they held together so well! The balance of PERFECT and SQUARE alone is a little bit crazy, so I can only imagine what it was like constructing this so that the clues' numbers lined up properly. <BR/><BR/>Oh, and while I probably couldn't have told you off the top of my head what a perfect number was, once I saw that 6 was an example, it all came flooding back to me. Thanks a ton for the Euclid refresher, SethG, you've triggered a bunch of (surprisingly) happy flashbacks to a number theory class from a few years ago.<BR/><BR/>Kudos to Tim Wescott, I hope to see more puzzles from him. I definitely dig his wavelength.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13631743840776360363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-53635162821969407642008-07-09T20:59:00.000-04:002008-07-09T20:59:00.000-04:00Cortes conquered Cuba? He was a lowly notary allow...Cortes conquered Cuba? He was a lowly notary allowed by Governor Valezquez to accompany Narvaez to the defenseless island. Cortes was years away from becoming the conqueror of Mexico.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24739702022322100732008-07-09T20:49:00.000-04:002008-07-09T20:49:00.000-04:00Too many prefix and suffix clues for me, but other...Too many prefix and suffix clues for me, but otherwise quite fun.<BR/><BR/>And these math jokes are cracking me up. More please.jeff in chicagohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10492964479021891094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-1777059542839469582008-07-09T19:35:00.000-04:002008-07-09T19:35:00.000-04:00Nice puzzle Mr. Wescott.One of the answers tonight...Nice puzzle Mr. Wescott.<BR/><BR/>One of the answers tonight on Jeopardy was SPINOFFS.<BR/><BR/>14 across made me think of BERT LAHR'S "If I Only Had the Nerve."<BR/><BR/>He pronounced it NOIVE.Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07466240197659721721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-18666857748579151812008-07-09T19:24:00.000-04:002008-07-09T19:24:00.000-04:00Since I've randomly returned to orange and blue, i...Since I've randomly returned to orange and blue, instead of the insignificant chesspiece, I thought I'd perform a few keystrokes and see what happens. Normally I'm fairly competent with computers but my submissions in public spaces often seem to be haphazardly cursed.fergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61789850769093563462008-07-09T19:10:00.000-04:002008-07-09T19:10:00.000-04:00@miriam b -- great joke! have you heard the one ab...@miriam b -- great joke! have you heard the one about the statistician? <BR/>answer: probably. <BR/><BR/>Here's an apt Dinosaur comics entry to perhaps bring the nerd pun pain to an end:<BR/>http://www.qwantz.com/archive/000359.html<BR/><BR/>ps if you just haven't had enough, there's an entire article devoted to them in the journal of the american mathematical society:<BR/>http://www.ams.org/notices/200501/fea-dundes.pdfjubjubhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00149213213886604843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-23934829213795580962008-07-09T19:08:00.000-04:002008-07-09T19:08:00.000-04:00As a former math major and baseball fan, I enjoyed...As a former math major and baseball fan, I enjoyed this puzzle a lot. But I'll join many others in decrying "real" for 33. Even "rational" would have been better...Michael Chibnikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04700426644898924644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24587105499583728032008-07-09T18:37:00.000-04:002008-07-09T18:37:00.000-04:00Best math jokes at a couple different levels:Q: Wh...Best math jokes at a couple different levels:<BR/><BR/>Q: What did 0 say to 8?<BR/>A: Nice belt.<BR/><BR/>Q: What's the difference between the diameter and the radius?<BR/>A: The radius.<BR/><BR/>Q: What do you get if you cross a mountain climber and a tsetse fly?<BR/>A: Nothing. You can't cross a scaler with a vector.<BR/><BR/>Q: What do you get if you cross an orange and a banana?<BR/>A: Orange banana sin theta.<BR/><BR/>Q: What's purple and commutes?<BR/>A: An Abelian grape.<BR/><BR/>Q: How can you tell if a mathematician is extroverted?<BR/>A: He looks at your shoes instead of his own when he's talking to you.<BR/><BR/>Okay, now that I'm way beyond annoying Rex, ACRE still bothers me--it seems like saying "Living room?" could be SQFT.SethGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13753036404140901368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-83925763446804970422008-07-09T18:05:00.000-04:002008-07-09T18:05:00.000-04:00"Thank you for calling the Mathematics Department...."Thank you for calling the Mathematics Department. The number you have dialed is imaginary. Please rotate the phone by 90 degrees and try again."<BR/><BR/>Or this one:<BR/><BR/>In a dark, narrow alley, a function and a differential operator meet.<BR/>The operator says "Get out of my way, or I'll differentiate you until you're zero!"<BR/>"Try it. I'm e^x".<BR/><BR/>My apologies to anyone who doesn't get it. I'll stop now.<BR/>-ronathanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-2499472618598301572008-07-09T18:00:00.000-04:002008-07-09T18:00:00.000-04:00My father used to try and stump the kids by asking...My father used to try and stump the kids by asking them how to divide 7 apples among 4 people:<BR/><BR/><BR/>MAKE APPLESAUCE!!!JC66https://www.blogger.com/profile/05324615675333287919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-87223056987088945572008-07-09T17:47:00.000-04:002008-07-09T17:47:00.000-04:00@miriamb: that's a wonderful joke! Had to read it ...@miriamb: that's a wonderful joke! Had to read it twice and remember my latin.<BR/>My spaetzle press really looks exactly like a potato ricer, but my husband's aunt made the dish by putting a spoonful of eggy batter on a wooden board and very quickly scraping bits into boiling water with a large knife!machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-78629748549940201122008-07-09T17:45:00.000-04:002008-07-09T17:45:00.000-04:00It's not quite a math joke, but . . . Why was 10 s...It's not <I>quite</I> a math joke, but . . . <BR/><BR/>Why was 10 scared? Because 7 8 9.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com