tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post6936402418325140669..comments2024-03-29T03:22:09.826-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Sketches pseudonym / SAT 3-8-14 / Pimienta's partner / 100-at currency unitRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger88125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-86375806561464389112014-06-13T15:17:48.954-04:002014-06-13T15:17:48.954-04:00A very late comment here, but I'm surprised no...A very late comment here, but I'm surprised no one commented on another clue that this is a teenaged constructor, and not the Beatles-era comic: SEXY SADIE <i>isn't really a "she"</i> .HC Visigothnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-7515287180222754102014-04-13T17:23:10.941-04:002014-04-13T17:23:10.941-04:00Even tho I'm old enough to be DS's grandmo...Even tho I'm old enough to be DS's grandmother, I appreciate all his puzzles. His talent is remarkable. He just may be my schadenfreude!Shaxnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-20351585306414370542014-04-12T19:35:01.337-04:002014-04-12T19:35:01.337-04:00Apropos of nothing, Apollo 8 was the one which ign...Apropos of nothing, Apollo 8 was the one which ignited my enthusiasm. Not only was it the first time ever that people had been unable to see the Earth (what a feeling that must have been!), but the shape of the number matches the shape of the trajectory.<br /><br />Oh yes, the puzzle. Enjoyable enough, but a bit of a trivia quiz in disguise.straylinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13536180563789923012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50948487539951495812014-04-12T15:17:20.822-04:002014-04-12T15:17:20.822-04:00First time through decided this wasn't for me,...First time through decided this wasn't for me, looked at the author, knew I was right, and quit. Mr S. and I seem to exist in two different spaces. Just came here, to Syndiland, to say 'See you all Monday".DMGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-17170477620791759832014-04-12T14:10:09.702-04:002014-04-12T14:10:09.702-04:00I thought it was brilliant. Loved the whacky clui...I thought it was brilliant. Loved the whacky cluing. For 3-Down (turn positive, say), I had gObluE for a while, thinking pregnancy test. I do not know why.<br /><br />Didn't understand KIP until I googled after I'd finished. The clue "100-at currency unit" refers to the fact that the Laotian kip is made up of 100 ats. Typing that, it seems obvious, and maybe y'all got it right away. But I didn't. Also had to (after the fact) google BOZ. That one, I'm embarrassed about.<br /><br />It is truly spring here in the Canadian south west. Or the Pacific Northwest. Or Cascadia. Whatever you want to call it. Too bad I have papers to mark :-( though that might explain why I'm posting a comment…. sigh)Red Valerianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04638265039015470938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-70727875401737937752014-04-12T13:29:59.411-04:002014-04-12T13:29:59.411-04:00NW was a mess for me. Mainly because I couldn'...NW was a mess for me. Mainly because I couldn't figure out how to turn the obvious answer CANDY STORE (too many letters) into CANDY SHOP. How does one plow through these puzzles on a daily basis and not be able to think of a four letter synonym for STORE that begins with S? Well, he gets impatient, that's how. Should've put the paper down for a while and come back to it later.<br /><br />Had to guess at the Apollo mission. I know XI was the first and XVII was the last, so that narrowed it down to XII, XIV and XVI. A pure guess, since 8d & 9d were foreign to me, and with 33% better odds per square I chose XII. Score one for math as a means of solving.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-85509824572463317242014-04-12T11:23:32.981-04:002014-04-12T11:23:32.981-04:00Looking at this initially, I was convinced I'd...Looking at this initially, I was convinced I'd never get it. Finally found something I knew--DREI--and worked from there. Some time later, I had it done, and still don't remember how I managed it. At times I was throwing down pure guesses: could bad-tempered be BILIOUS? What about Ultra_____? Wait, wasn't there an old toothpaste called Ultra-BRITE? Could clearing simply be OPENAREA? These stabs turned out to be right; even a blind squirrel, etc.<br /><br />Then in the still undone NW (didn't know 1d and forgot 2d) I spotted a gimme I'd missed earlier: BOZ. Needless to say, this was a Godsend. It still took quite a while to parse out that X from EXHALES into part of a Romanumeral with APOLLO, and at last the headslap of JAILBREAK let me infer JACOBS. My only literary A.J. thus far was Cronin.<br /><br />This was for me the friendliest Steinberg yet--and still was "Ultra" hard. Like it? Gotta like the ones you think you'll naver get through--but do. It didn't help that my restroom door read WOMEN for too long, or that my Goya was ARAGONian before being -ESE. A near natick at GOOGLEB_T/ARI_SI, but -BAT made less sense than -BOT, so I went with it. Only three techie references and nary a rapper. I'll take it! Thanks, David.spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-39962712273029715302014-03-10T14:46:15.442-04:002014-03-10T14:46:15.442-04:00@curious - Ratio - missed that part of your questi...@curious - Ratio - missed that part of your question... Median time for this week's puzzle on the website compared to the average median for that day of the week in his data base.Anyonenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-32536560656729449292014-03-10T14:42:48.116-04:002014-03-10T14:42:48.116-04:00@curious - Rex's FAQ page might be of interest...@curious - Rex's <a href="http://rexwordpuzzle.blogspot.com/p/frequently-asked-questions-i-get-lots.html" rel="nofollow">FAQ</a> page might be of interest to you. As for @sanfranman59 - he uses the solve times on the NYT website for those using the java applet.Anyonenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10559372991152273302014-03-10T13:53:16.818-04:002014-03-10T13:53:16.818-04:00Sanfranman or anyone: in scoring the difficulty of...Sanfranman or anyone: in scoring the difficulty of a puzzle, what two quantities determine the Ratio?<br />Also, please explain "an tick" for a noob. Thankscuriousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-66577458536508189492014-03-09T20:00:38.699-04:002014-03-09T20:00:38.699-04:00Thanks Mr. Dirigonzo - Pretty impressive to have t...Thanks Mr. Dirigonzo - Pretty impressive to have that kind of ability. Gotta wonder how it will be with his kids!KMSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-84672035272925444902014-03-09T13:20:18.985-04:002014-03-09T13:20:18.985-04:00@KMS - Not that David Steinberg, THIS David Steinb...@KMS - Not that David Steinberg, <a href="http://www.customcrossword.com/p/about-me.html" rel="nofollow">THIS David Steinberg</a> who I believe is still a teenager.<br />Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50284248269844217702014-03-09T10:19:27.365-04:002014-03-09T10:19:27.365-04:00@Anonymous, alone? A triumph indeed! My husband a...@Anonymous, alone? A triumph indeed! My husband and I are - jointly - a genius. But I once did a Saturday alone, so I know how you feel. Ahhh!Debby Weinsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09697339459488288520noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-54984665193699694652014-03-09T10:11:55.922-04:002014-03-09T10:11:55.922-04:00"just do it" as Nike's slogan."just do it" as Nike's slogan. Debby Weinsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09697339459488288520noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-90369428593736232222014-03-09T10:06:25.917-04:002014-03-09T10:06:25.917-04:00Hey! Why all the bile? This is for fun! We too ...Hey! Why all the bile? This is for fun! We too were slowed down but not stopped by cultural references we simply did not know, but then we were able to dig them out by working on the crosses a little harder. I think the problem of people who get all bent out of shape by the harder puzzles is that they are trying to do them alone. Super competitive people don't always know how to have fun, and even if they worked with their very best buddy, they'd resent that person for getting an answer first. Lighten up!Debby Weinsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09697339459488288520noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-59512531968912649602014-03-09T07:15:04.367-04:002014-03-09T07:15:04.367-04:00Must be that David Steinberg and I jive on crosswo...Must be that David Steinberg and I jive on crosswordese - another Sat. w/out having to google. Not surprisingly OTIS was my JAILBREAK, somehow identify w/ alkies in old TV shows. And my artist wife will be happy to know at some future date, that I recall Goya as ARAGONESE.<br /><br />Seeing Mr. Parket referring to David as a "nice kid", makes me wonder if I'm wrong about his identity, thought he is the former standup comic. Yes, no?KMSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8825389357324499792014-03-08T22:03:58.982-05:002014-03-08T22:03:58.982-05:00Have fun, Michael!Have fun, Michael!KarenSampsonHudsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12072958906391798661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-81757866453655642242014-03-08T21:04:34.854-05:002014-03-08T21:04:34.854-05:00I could not agree moreI could not agree moreAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-63938625211708936612014-03-08T20:35:28.965-05:002014-03-08T20:35:28.965-05:00Oh, and I'll add that if you didn't do the...Oh, and I'll add that if you didn't do the Friday LA Times crossword this week I highly recommend it. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04983081176623722693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-879614202750033642014-03-08T20:34:17.680-05:002014-03-08T20:34:17.680-05:00Seemed hard to me, but I did manage to finish with...Seemed hard to me, but I did manage to finish with no errors, which isn't usually the case in a Saturday. Managed to guess condor after a few crosses (gee, what could possibly be better than an eagle?) but words like apatow took every cross. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04983081176623722693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-75939581490596651292014-03-08T19:54:04.132-05:002014-03-08T19:54:04.132-05:00JACOBS also wrote "A Year of Living Biblicall...JACOBS also wrote "A Year of Living Biblically" which is really "enlightening." I recommend it. Totally enjoyable read.bad hair daynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91357048759622249082014-03-08T19:00:50.366-05:002014-03-08T19:00:50.366-05:00Go to Laos often, anything but kip is not in circu...Go to Laos often, anything but kip is not in circulation even in the poorest hilltribe villages<br />Is what happens when CW creator's world is a crossword dictionary<br />Didn't know apatow. Msdos updated to windows 95 in 1995 so it wouldn't hurt to say '95. My skill level couldn't get me from curse to swear and white to bte so DNFPhilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44336860842595555792014-03-08T18:19:57.179-05:002014-03-08T18:19:57.179-05:00A condor is four under par, thus a two on a par si...A condor is four under par, thus a two on a par six is also a condor. Perhaps that's where the three occurred.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-18962371233218042372014-03-08T18:04:48.019-05:002014-03-08T18:04:48.019-05:00This 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 6:04, 6:18, 0.96, 30%, Easy-Medium<br />Tue 8:07, 8:16, 0.99, 49%, Medium<br />Wed 10:46, 10:14, 1.05, 66%, Medium-Challenging<br />Thu 21:36, 18:35, 1.16, 79%, Medium-Challenging<br />Fri 24:12, 21:06, 1.15, 79%, Medium-Challenging<br />Sat 24:08, 28:16, 0.85, 18%, Easy<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:47, 4:00, 0.95, 19%, Easy<br />Tue 5:10, 5:13, 0.99, 44%, Medium<br />Wed 6:09, 6:14, 0.99, 45%, Medium<br />Thu 14:12, 10:36, 1.34, 85%, Challenging<br />Fri 14:20, 12:15, 1.17, 76%, Medium-Challenging<br />Sat 16:23, 18:05, 0.91, 31%, Easy-Mediumsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91267753981690397322014-03-08T17:14:35.348-05:002014-03-08T17:14:35.348-05:00Really enjoyed this one, DS! A fight to the finish...Really enjoyed this one, DS! A fight to the finish -- good thing I solve on an iPad, because of all the writeovers! Loved seeing BILIOUS in the grid; not a word I see every day. Thanks!Kim Scuderahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15325616360993250306noreply@blogger.com