tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post726215798977317417..comments2024-03-28T10:59:47.227-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Rex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-37010447915554584112014-09-09T16:06:54.242-04:002014-09-09T16:06:54.242-04:00@ Ellen S - Yes, just like "source of milk&qu...@ Ellen S - Yes, just like "source of milk" being "carton." You start writing U-D-D... and realize that you have an extra square so you say "WTH, must be a POC," and end up adding between five secs (Rex) to two hours (hi @Casco Kid) to your solve time. I loves me a good puzzling CLEW. <br /><br />@Matt Gaffney - yes, I would have reacted less negatively to your posts from the get-go if you had said that the font was probably a style manual decision, not a Will Shortz decision. A bigger issue to me than the font size is the signing away of future publishing rights. The similarities of the power relationship to that of, say, indentured servitude are just a bit much. Okay, that may be an over-the-top comparison. More like a new band that signs away the rights to their music before they know enough to have a lawyer. Again, that's not Shortz, that's the NYT and their lawyers exploiting a situation in a way that should be illegal. Just One Man's Opinion. <br /><br />Pretty sure I've exceeded my limit. Tomorrow is take #3 to college day so see you all Thursday. Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-4133894202665200382014-09-09T15:31:55.435-04:002014-09-09T15:31:55.435-04:00@Diri|: Never was more than vaguely aware Presley...@Diri|: Never was more than vaguely aware Presley. '56 was the year I finished school, took a job in a new town, no TV. My singers were more radio-juke box days. Remember "Huts Hut Ralston" (that was how it sounded) and "Marzey Doats"? Or, how about "A-huggin and a-chalkin"? Sometimes I think I'm older than everyone here!<br /><br />New deal is 449. Sometimes it pays to come back!DMGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67550468476524123742014-09-09T14:50:32.088-04:002014-09-09T14:50:32.088-04:00My completed grid is a pristine affair with nary a...My completed grid is a pristine affair with nary a write-over - I even spelled Aladdin right with no crosswords. I guess I could say the puzzle was lacking any BUGABOOS.<br /><br />@DMG - Elvis Presley made his first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show on this date in 1956 - were you among the 83% of TV viewers tuned in to the event?<br /><br />105 - could be good enough?Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46925265473053948962014-09-09T13:27:41.055-04:002014-09-09T13:27:41.055-04:00That's "prefer" not "prepare&qu...That's "prefer" not "prepare". You wouldn't believe it, but I actually do try to proofread these things!DMGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-38191357466284959912014-09-09T13:23:52.007-04:002014-09-09T13:23:52.007-04:00A fun bit of wordplay. Only pause came waiting for...A fun bit of wordplay. Only pause came waiting for Zukerman's name to appear from the crosses, but at least I recognized it! Oh, I suppose it's generational, but I also wanted Carie's dad, Eddie. He was BIG in my tuned-in years. My grandmother had one of those new (6"?) TV sets, and when we visited I got to see his 15 minute show. Remember those?!! Think of Douglas Edwards wrapping up the day's news in the time it takes a current broadcaster to "interview" some disaster victim who would no doubt prepare to be left alone. I now get my news from various papers which allows me to skip the "if it bleeds, it leads" mentality. How did I get on this soapbox?<br /><br />Got there by a different hand, but I join @Spacecraft at the 3's table: 1497.DMGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46407373071017849712014-09-09T11:47:03.247-04:002014-09-09T11:47:03.247-04:00A pleasant bit of fluff on the eve of the playoffs...A pleasant bit of fluff on the eve of the playoffs. Easy, and with few exceptions, well-filled.<br /><br />Of course, ODDJOB does not make me think of a handyman, but of a certain gent who's handy with a metal hat. When he crushed the golf ball, he had MY attention.<br /><br />I'd love to see a real game with those four on the field! For a non-taxing solve, this was fun. A.<br /><br />4350: I won't be a SORELOSER.spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-36590614496739887192014-08-05T16:42:38.832-04:002014-08-05T16:42:38.832-04:00I didn't catch on that it was all about sports...I didn't catch on that it was all about sports, a subject I continue to know little about. Still finished Tuesday style.<br /><br />Had debbIES ON before the daughter. I guess Eddie is totally forgotten, though he was the source of the name. Unless he made it up, Hollywood style.<br /><br />Hubster is and my mama was a stickler for grammar. I could never figure out bring/take, so I said both together. What gets me are pronunciations. Did you know "terrorist" is a 2-syllable word, now? Even on NPR. And "tourist" is pronounced tore-ist? Yeesh.Sfingihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06903616949048940858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-34777240494809936782014-08-05T16:22:04.134-04:002014-08-05T16:22:04.134-04:00POST PUZZLE PUZZLE solution:
The reason is that t...POST PUZZLE PUZZLE solution:<br /><br />The reason is that these words begin with the two-letter state abbreviations.Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09709142959535977331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-63941609890864427492014-08-05T16:19:33.003-04:002014-08-05T16:19:33.003-04:00Midday report of relative difficulty (see my 8/1/2...Midday report of relative difficulty (see my 8/1/2009 post for an explanation of my method and my 10/15/2012 post for an explanation of a tweak to my method):<br /><br />All solvers (median solve time, average for day of week, ratio, percentile, rating)<br /><br />Tue 7:07, 8:01, 0.89, 17%, Easy<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Tue 4:42, 5:10, 0.91, 14%, Easysanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-68124581943877981022014-08-05T16:08:41.389-04:002014-08-05T16:08:41.389-04:00Enjoyed this limpid Lempel from its start with COB...Enjoyed this limpid Lempel from its start with COBS of corn to its end with Roald Dahl's Esio TROT.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-15941582928212143292014-08-05T15:11:01.522-04:002014-08-05T15:11:01.522-04:00Poor Rex, being compared to PewDiePie! At least c...Poor Rex, being compared to PewDiePie! At least compare him to TotalBiscuit.Golden Dragonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-27133892333226809802014-08-05T13:52:02.542-04:002014-08-05T13:52:02.542-04:00@Tiny Bicuspid, que horror! I'll never say ...@Tiny Bicuspid, que horror! I'll never say 'unhinged' again.<br /><br />It's a good thing your mouth went dry, you know, else you'd have been drooling into your lap all through that long drive. No strange looks from drivers pulled up beside you at traffic lights?<br /><br />Hate to say, but thewhole episode is a set-up for Too Many Jokes.<br /><br />Crowned as Queen for a Day!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-38906142986578687892014-08-05T13:39:54.884-04:002014-08-05T13:39:54.884-04:00I hope Lynn and Catherine can hear all the applaus...I hope Lynn and Catherine can hear all the applause. Brava!!!Hartley70noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-51047465900137465652014-08-05T13:32:01.304-04:002014-08-05T13:32:01.304-04:00I feel like any time a puzzle is based around base...I feel like any time a puzzle is based around baseball, its a total loss. It's just completely and totally anathema to me. Baseball clues annoy me, and baseball puzzles are just a lost cause. So this was a zero star puzzle to me. <br /><br />Now if they ever got serious and someone made a hockey puzzle, I would be all about it. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-28438777188343005122014-08-05T12:59:33.362-04:002014-08-05T12:59:33.362-04:00Lynn Lempel is clearly a master at her craft. Als...Lynn Lempel is clearly a master at her craft. Also, really liked havin OLEO, OREO and ROMEO all in the one puz. And OBOE, which I've heard is an OBEO wanna-be. And ALOE -- but it's just got yer one O, so let's not rub that one in.<br /><br />One side effect of such a masterdly work, is the lack of noteworthy weejects. Man, there's not a doggone desperate thing in the whole grid. Loosen up, Lynn. Slip in a STATOOTS, or somesuch. Toss me a bone.<br /><br />Love the theme. Admire the coed nature of the ballclub. <br />And... Got yer UP and DOWN. ON and OFF. OUT and... whoop... Need an IN one, for the sake of utter, candy-assed obsessive-compulsive neatnik completeness. Gotta "Take It To The Limit", mon amigos. Leave no stone unturned. Stall for time, until U think of somethin that'd work... (CHIP'S IN is pretty good, @muse, btw)... <br /><br />* "Dogg scores!" Pretty weak... SNOOP'S IN?<br />* "Limbaugh waddles home!"... RUSHES' IN has the spelling problems.<br />* "Warner crosses the plate!". Pretty ok... POP'S IN is kinda short for a themer, tho.<br />* "Old man Walton comes across!". There yah go... GRANDFATHER'S IN... primo length. QED.<br /><br />M&AMasked and Anonymo4Usnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-85052685415335004052014-08-05T12:53:56.318-04:002014-08-05T12:53:56.318-04:00Hey folks, thanks for all the nice comments about ...Hey folks, thanks for all the nice comments about my write up and about my blog. It's a cliche to say I'm just honored to be here, but honestly I am just honored to be here! <br /><br />@joe, yes near Medina in sunny Bath!<br /><br />@Fred Smith, ah the French. It's like they have a whole different culture. I love them, though, but I feel like I'm sort of in a straight jacket while I'm there, in a way. With rowdy boys even more so. Last year we took them to London, and found it to be also sort of "seen and not heard" environment for kids. Maybe Americans are actually the odd man out. <br /><br />@mathguy, I think you're right about the "trying to steal" vs "trying for a steal" thing. Is "steal" a noun or a verb? That's the question. I think baseball people would say it's a verb.... don't know though whether this is Lynn's issue or maybe Will's!<br /><br />@Lewis, I am actually sort of miserable that I forgot to point out how wonderful the long downs are!!! It's just the whole experience of getting a puzzle at 10 pm and trying to write it up before midnight. I have some regrets! <br /><br />@numinous, that's a great story! I really hope it's true!! Too classic. I also love the Mousies song. <br /><br />@whirred whacks and others, I was sort of weaned on B. Kliban, which may account for my strange sense of humor today. I remember actually being a child and looking at this Kliban drawing of an old withered man pointing into the distance, titled, "It was hell, recalls former child." And I understood that this was very funny, and that somehow I shouldn't think it was funny at the same time. <br /><br />For one of my favorite funny but odd blog entries, read this one about a strange dental mishap. It was hell at the time, but now I think it's hilarious. <br /><br />http://www.fineyoungfauves.com/?p=753<br /><br />--Catherine (my son co-opted my google account, hence the "tiny buscus")Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04386174844528805806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-71632725464603582872014-08-05T12:26:35.107-04:002014-08-05T12:26:35.107-04:00"Love to eat them mousies
Mousies that ... "Love to eat them mousies<br /> Mousies that I love to eat<br /> Bite they little heads off<br /> Nibble on they tiny feet"<br /><br />I don't recall if that was on a t-shirt belonging to the then girlfriend or what but Kliban cats were a part of my life for a year or two. Liked them better than Bunny Fo-Fo.<br /><br />The first theme answer I got was PATS DOWN and I was thinking drug bust or something. I looked back at P____SOUT thought ETER but couldn't relate that to a three strike felony. It wasn't until later that I got the baseball gist. Face palm "DOH". <br /><br />@loren, loved the way you pointed out the elegance of the solutions which sorta slipped past me as I was reveling in being able to type instead of stabbing one letter at a time with a stylus. In fact, much of the goodness of this Lempel effort slipped past me because I was grooving on typing instead of stabbing.(I would have said "niceties" but didn't want that misinterpreted.) I had to come here to read about what I'd missed. So, thank y'all. <br /><br />And thank you Catherine for your write up and your blog. You brought back memories for me of Paris and honeymoons many moons ago. We stayed in St Germain a block or so from the Deux Magots and De Flor. Bought salt glazed candlestick and a few other goodies, including a Sabatier chef's knife that was still in use more that 20 years later though looking more like a filet knife, from a cluttered little shop that sold kitchen stuff in the street between them. I've eaten breakfast at both of those cafes several times and on other trips to Paris as well. A friend of mine in Geneva swore this was true: a college friend of hers, an American who was at the "silver plate" stage of speaking French was waiting for her at the Deux Magots. She had been speaking with an older man who had been hitting on her while she was waiting. She apparently told the guy that he was spouting existential BS. My friend turns up and the old guy turns away. Friend asks, "So, how do you know Sartre?" Yeah, another face-palm DOH moment from the annals of French cafe luncheons. Dunno if the story is apocryphal or not but my friend dined out it more than once.<br /><br />I promise I'll get over the thrill of being able to type a puzzle and pay more attention tomorrow.<br /><br />Numinoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01263999193499725814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-81151629822379338672014-08-05T12:22:16.368-04:002014-08-05T12:22:16.368-04:00POST PUZZLE PUZZLE (PPP) hint:
Think outside the ...POST PUZZLE PUZZLE (PPP) hint:<br /><br />Think outside the envelope.Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09709142959535977331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-18673740763845159652014-08-05T12:14:11.315-04:002014-08-05T12:14:11.315-04:00In some ways, it may be more challenging to constr...In some ways, it may be more challenging to construct an interesting Monday or Tuesday puzzle than the other days of the week. I would rate this as a decent effort. I did not get caught in the mini traps set out here but, I also did not have any' oh, I did not know that' or 'that is amusing' moments. Such as it is.Andrew Heinegghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18101651673327984167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-51774101860157961202014-08-05T12:09:34.109-04:002014-08-05T12:09:34.109-04:00Just learned why penguins don't do crosswords....Just learned why penguins don't do crosswords. According to this morning's Science Times, they only have four words on their vocabulary. "I'm in danger," "I'm lost," "Come here," and "I love you." As babies they only had two words. "I'm hungry," and "I'm very hungry."mathguynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8821183607406535192014-08-05T11:47:30.340-04:002014-08-05T11:47:30.340-04:00P.S. Great write-up, Catherine!
P.S. Great write-up, Catherine!<br />machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-1514878431842453852014-08-05T11:46:07.695-04:002014-08-05T11:46:07.695-04:00I'm with @Loren, elegant, witty Tuesday! Loved...I'm with @Loren, elegant, witty Tuesday! Loved it.<br />Getting the names, baseball terms, Shakespeare referenced clues, so much to have fun with!<br /><br />Hardest part was the NE, because I spelled Aladdin with two lls and one d. <br /><br />Two Dutch clues (three if you count Mac): Bugaboo and North Sea. I'll be on that shore next Monday!machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-1045479454400441902014-08-05T11:45:53.253-04:002014-08-05T11:45:53.253-04:00Cruised along until the incorrect spelling Alladin...Cruised along until the incorrect spelling Alladin brought things to a halt in the NE. It was all a din up there for about five minutes until I was able to let go of that spelling. I guess it is like Ali rather than Allah.<br /><br />r.alphbunkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00657275501845781384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80983509699642176862014-08-05T11:32:45.337-04:002014-08-05T11:32:45.337-04:00Changed my mind.
I think you can tell a Really Go...Changed my mind.<br /><br />I think you can tell a Really Good Puzzle when there's a spate of early comments, all rushing to get their reactions in. Like today. Had a bunch of pain with wifi going out and mobile access being temperamental too, so there was No Way I'd be early, but still enjoyed JACK being such a Hit.<br /><br />Swung at all the curveballs, like ears, paba, mac, Alladin [because Allah]. 'For the lips', even thought of Estee Luster. Japanese model: an abbrev'd GEISHA?<br /><br />Besides the really tight, funny and natural theme, liked:<br />O LEO in August<br />BOTTLEFED crossing BREWPUB with SLURP nearby<br />The TEMP TEMPEST temper<br />The SHREW SHREWd connection, something to think about. Even without going into the whole mole, chicken mole, soapy amole business.<br /><br />I've been a Gahan Wilson, GLarson, JFeiffer fan since I was NEHI to a grasshopper, but Kliban is the only one I have a dish for, a Kliban-cat creamer. Since I don't fancy drinking anything that pours from a cat's mouth, it now holds a small plant.<br /><br />I feel for Lempel's attempt at gender equity in the theme, and tried to help. Thought of CONNIE'S TOGA, though there isn't much waggin' in baseball...and then CONNIE turned out to be MACK, after all that.<br /><br />Liked the Catherine-with-a-C blog, and, if @Roomie will share, think LaLempel has not only FLARE, but MAGIc.Leapfingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-16154135560859379562014-08-05T11:23:26.481-04:002014-08-05T11:23:26.481-04:00@jberg & Loren Muse Smith
This is the first I&...@jberg & Loren Muse Smith<br />This is the first I've heard that there might be any question about which was "proper" -- raise or rear. Both words have a lot of history. I also couldn't find any comment by H.W. Fowler that weighed in on any difference between "rear" and "raise", not in his book on usage. In Fowler's dictionary, the Pocket Oxford, he simply defines each word. In the Universal Oxford Dictionary, that he contributed to, there is the comment that "raise" as in "raising a child", is now used chiefly in the U.S. (the book was published in 1933).Samnoreply@blogger.com