tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post7723174432943722505..comments2024-03-28T15:13:08.509-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Old Connecticut whaling town / WED 5-5-10 / 1930s-50s bandleader / Ancient city lent its name to fig / London Magazine essayistRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger87125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80498220063003347982010-05-06T13:47:52.392-04:002010-05-06T13:47:52.392-04:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.italianalpnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26138479451121933712010-05-05T23:40:12.189-04:002010-05-05T23:40:12.189-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.CrazyCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00245025301434920905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-87633174915351712312010-05-05T22:56:46.717-04:002010-05-05T22:56:46.717-04:00My internet and phone were out for a while in my n...My internet and phone were out for a while in my neighborhood. <br /><br />@Artlover - seems to be on my wavelength, today.<br /><br />Anyway, in the beginning, I had only got 5 clues: METOO, ATEE, BCE, TREE and LIFES, and couldn't figure out why nothing fit. The first one I was sure of was REMY Martin, as I tried to Google for anything else Martin. Then I got MYSTIC, which is more well known in the NE - and got my MYOHMY moment. It wasn't too bad after that, though I had wasted at least an hour staring at nothing. <br /><br />Further, I had Googled for Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Butler. There are two Dr. Robert Butler Pulitzermen, father and son, but with different middle names, each 4 letters. I thought there may be more tricks. Coulda had both middle names in the puzzle - also, both SMyRNA and CALIMyRNA figs coulda been.<br /><br />Did not know MyRON, but guessed it. Did not know the Mormon books, or TOMMy Moe (sports), or Herr RAU. Other than that, a breeze after the initial coma.<br />MONISM is 101 for a Philo major from a family of Philo majors (Hubster, son, sister). <br />CIRCE, who sleeps dope into your REMy, has an Island, Aiaia, which would make good CW fodder. <br /><br />@Michaels - Yes, we hated Japan, called them Japs in print. People had died, been in camps. After the war, for a while they made terrible stuff - toys and radios that fell apart. Made in Japan meant it was crap. But people brought home Japanese wives with interesting ways ("very clean") and beautiful arts. And the products got better.<br /><br />@Emba - yes Z is pronounce TZ auf Deutsch. Leibniz says "Egad - I'm a windowless monad in this best of all possible worlds." <br /><br />@Chefwen - Old Dad should get you some Old Grandad, too.<br /><br />Not bad, Dan of the beautiful wood, (literally - not being a dirty ol lady).Sfinginoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-18297920579390356742010-05-05T22:29:50.500-04:002010-05-05T22:29:50.500-04:00On a brighter, or more JOVIAL note:
Isotopss are ...On a brighter, or more JOVIAL note:<br /><br />Isotopss are claimied everywhere. I'm still stoked that the nucleus had enough protons to be called an element at Berkeley.<br /><br />There are new, evanescent, others.fergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-38605760044609801832010-05-05T22:23:36.988-04:002010-05-05T22:23:36.988-04:00@Nanpilla have to agree that it is more folk and l...@Nanpilla have to agree that it is more folk and less myth.<br /><br />I breezed through this one and liked the theme. Didn't know RAU but got it via likely crosses.<br /><br />As to BITTER ENEMY one has to recall the mood of 1941.<br /><br />Three cheers for a "maiden" effort.<br /><br />sessei= 6th generation Japanese?T-Bonenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-69598755154933892222010-05-05T22:02:48.435-04:002010-05-05T22:02:48.435-04:00This week's relative difficulty ratings. See m...This week's relative difficulty ratings. See my <a href="https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=35115061&postID=3588389571383499624&isPopup=true" rel="nofollow">7/30/2009 post</a> for an explanation. 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 6:57, 6:55, 1.01, 58%, Medium<br />Tue 8:45, 8:51, 0.99, 51%, Medium<br />Wed 13:13, 11:52, 1.11, 80%, Challenging<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:51, 3:40, 1.05, 71%, Medium-Challenging<br />Tue 4:15, 4:31, 0.94, 39%, Easy-Medium<br />Wed 6:35, 5:50, 1.13, 81%, Challengingsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-12129920849752770262010-05-05T21:56:54.034-04:002010-05-05T21:56:54.034-04:00As you say, Andrea, a BITTER ENEMy is touchy, give...As you say, Andrea, a BITTER ENEMy is touchy, given the codependency.<br /><br />Why bring this up? Alomogodo, Nagasakei .. .?fergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-12533889029257282832010-05-05T21:05:36.279-04:002010-05-05T21:05:36.279-04:00way late to the party...damn!
This was sfar and aw...way late to the party...damn!<br />This was sfar and away my fave puzzle at the tournament...<br />it was hard, which is cool so it wasn't such a blind speed race, you really had to think 9or at least I did)<br />and I LOVE the simplicity of MY Space, I think that's super sweet and clever and nice and easy to have but two letters and that he got ten of them in!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br />i was stumped at 1A thinking there could be a SAMY, leaving out an M, but then BITTER ENEM left out a Y so I was confused, till I saw YSTIC, CT...and then remembered the movie MYSTIC Pizza which takes place there so big AHA!<br /><br />BITTERENEMY about Japan felt unPC to me someehow...but I met Dan when he came to Byron's an dmy seminar in Morgan Hill 2 years ago and is closer to that era as Elaine surmised...and then felt inspired to write this puzzle, so i couldn't be more thrilled and proud...<br />Did the puzzle, loved it, then noticed the name and then wondered if that was the guy who had said he was having a puzzle in the NYT that we had inspired, so, again, I'm pleased as punch.<br /><br />I think it was a Wed bec Will had tried to have all puzzles be by West Coast constructors and already had a nifty Thursday which you'll see tomorrow, so this got pushed into Wed, perhaps...<br /><br />MY Space!!! it's just such a great idea! Definitely one of those damniwishihadthoughtofthat but was delighted to be on the solving end of it...<br /><br />For the record, knew Eric Carmen, did not know Amy Grant...and Sammy Kaye rings but a dim bell, so definitely dan managed to cross generations nicely!<br />Did i say I loved this?<br />bravo, Dan!!!andrea enjoyed michaelsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24360111144500545352010-05-05T21:04:12.259-04:002010-05-05T21:04:12.259-04:00@fergus and WEE: Here's a tidbit for both of y...@fergus and WEE: Here's a tidbit for both of you to enjoy: Leibniz's mother was Catharina Schmuck. (BTW it's less funny in German than you think: <i>Schmuck</i> means "jewelry" in German!)Ulrichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02086202853174403008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-81345535348172133282010-05-05T20:37:51.671-04:002010-05-05T20:37:51.671-04:00A Thursday-type puzzle of Thursday difficulty.
Wh...A Thursday-type puzzle of Thursday difficulty.<br /><br />What day is it?michaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-30348097302359757702010-05-05T20:03:47.246-04:002010-05-05T20:03:47.246-04:00Too bad that I followed empirical rules.
Give u...Too bad that I followed empirical rules. <br /><br />Give us the right way to say that guy that produced so many aphorisms, and died in 1900, supposedly half crazy.<br /><br />WBE -? German philosophers? I can do the French. FFfergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-49594740084897299442010-05-05T19:48:22.641-04:002010-05-05T19:48:22.641-04:00A lot of folks seem to be arguing about what '...A lot of folks seem to be arguing about what 'neocon' means in current, specific usage (with names attached). But in the abstract it just means something ambivalent like "Someone new to conservatism" or "Someone devoted to a new form of conservatism." Either one could be an ex-liberal, or not. The clue leads you to the answer in either case.Stanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02681342234536407419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50119086650998639342010-05-05T19:28:00.634-04:002010-05-05T19:28:00.634-04:00Not meant as a spelling flame, but a word-to-the-w...Not meant as a spelling flame, but a word-to-the-wise, obviously, since spelling counts if it shows up in a puzzle!<br /><br />The German philosopher/mathematician was Leibniz. No "tz" at the end, although it is pronounced that way.william e embanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-3567823065681249032010-05-05T18:40:05.376-04:002010-05-05T18:40:05.376-04:00Leibnitz and all that; the scary theory is that th...Leibnitz and all that; the scary theory is that there is no subjective point of view.fergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-6337545566721094322010-05-05T18:38:43.670-04:002010-05-05T18:38:43.670-04:00I'm reading a lot of love for rebuses here, I ...I'm reading a lot of love for rebuses here, I hope somebody is listening!johohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12708487230515532492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-22754681030201452662010-05-05T18:29:12.576-04:002010-05-05T18:29:12.576-04:00Fascinating! A little over a year ago, MONISM was...Fascinating! A little over a year ago, <a href="http://rexwordpuzzle.blogspot.com/2009/03/friday-mar-6-2009-c-rubin-sender-of.html" rel="nofollow">MONISM</a> was Rex's WOTD, even though MONISMS in the plural was actually the word in the grid, and there was a similar, less profound, discussion of how the word could ever be plural outside of a crossword puzzle.<br /><br />It is probably just a coincidence, but ENEMY MINE (echoing off of BITTER ENEMY) was also in that earlier puzzle.<br /><br />I did not realize it was a rebus until I got to (MY)SPACE. This is the second Wednesday rebus I can remember in ten years, and it is certainly much better.william e embanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24583458577628876642010-05-05T18:25:59.167-04:002010-05-05T18:25:59.167-04:00Sanfranman's numbers fit with my experience to...Sanfranman's numbers fit with my experience too. Would have been a regular Thurs, but pretty hard for a Wed. <br /><br />BC/E whatever. Ancient historians conclude that Jesus was probably born about 5 or 6 BC/E anyway.<br /><br />Maybe that's why they never worried too much about Y2K. They knew it really happened in 1994/5, and it was no problem.archaeoprofhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17956231727789223463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-83887654353484586052010-05-05T17:50:44.047-04:002010-05-05T17:50:44.047-04:00geez, started this puzzle early am and went out to...geez, started this puzzle early am and went out to play golf; when I got home my wife had finished it.<br />I really liked this puzzle; at least I got to read Rex's comments and the rest of the blog by myself.<br />my oh my was cool.your average blankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06362703669092144957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67288126268125108982010-05-05T17:28:58.816-04:002010-05-05T17:28:58.816-04:00Put this in the FWIW, big band category.
@Anon 12...Put this in the FWIW, big band category.<br /><br />@Anon 12:55 noted a Bob and Ray parody whose title mocked Sammy Kaye, ("Swing and sweat with Farley Barnett.")Great title. <br /><br />Well, my dad's a Bob and Ray fan, so I thought I'd try to find the lyrics or the album. I couldn't find any reference to either. <br /><br />But, I did find that bandleader Charlie Barnet did a piece, written by Billy May, titled "The Wrong Side" (the flip side of the album, for those who remember discs, was "The Right Side"), with the subtitle, "Swing and Sweat with Charlie Barnet."<br /><br />Even if it's not Bob and Ray, it's still a great title.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-16115170635403552842010-05-05T17:25:32.880-04:002010-05-05T17:25:32.880-04:00another ReMY assurance.
Not a very satisfying puz...another ReMY assurance.<br /><br />Not a very satisfying puzzle, yet the use of sMYrna ws pretty cool.<br /><br />Jovial, jocund, jocose<br /><br /><br /><br />(clozesse -- when the wrong girlfriend says goodbye)fergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61679200293363681462010-05-05T17:21:13.458-04:002010-05-05T17:21:13.458-04:00@Martin: Glad you don't believe in pixie dust....@Martin: Glad you don't believe in pixie dust. :) I think I did misread you a bit initially. I read your comment on the use of "maybe" as a more universal comment than it appears you intended. Agreed that for this clue, it works, given the history of the movement.Steve Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15185067739452052656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-22426701690493327592010-05-05T16:56:09.748-04:002010-05-05T16:56:09.748-04:00@Steve J,
I'm not sure what you think I meant...@Steve J,<br /><br />I'm not sure what you think I meant (and I'll have to admit vice versa), but I was only speaking of this clue. It would have been fair (IMO) without the "maybe;" with it there seems to be little to argue about (in that it acknowledges that the definition of "neocon" is flexible).<br /><br />I don't believe that "maybe" is magic pixie dust for clues.<br /><br />On the BCE clue, I agree that it's a bit of a mixed metaphor, but you obviously can't use "C.E." in a clue for BCE. "A.D." doesn't share any etymons with "B.C.E.," which is why the clue works. With "A.D." and "C.E" being functional synonyms (ignoring religious and political implications), it seems a reasonable compromise.Martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-7971267854525585902010-05-05T16:53:18.271-04:002010-05-05T16:53:18.271-04:00Dear Old Dad gets a (big) bottle of REMY Martin fr...Dear Old Dad gets a (big) bottle of REMY Martin from me every fathers day, his drink of choice after dinner, so that was my starting point also. Love, love, love rebus puzzles and this one was fun, only write over was a triple one from joyous to joyful to JOVIAL. As many others the last to go in was the U in RAU.<br /><br />Super puzzle, thank you Dan S.chefwenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03999206352243329280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-69251583572159774432010-05-05T15:50:07.547-04:002010-05-05T15:50:07.547-04:00Midday report of relative difficulty (see my 7/30/...Midday report of relative difficulty (see my <a href="https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=35115061&postID=3588389571383499624&isPopup=true" rel="nofollow">7/30/2009 post</a> for an explanation of my method):<br /><br />All solvers (median solve time, average for day of week, ratio, percentile, rating)<br /><br />Wed 13:10, 11:52, 1.11, 79%, Medium-Challenging<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Wed 6:44, 5:50, 1.16, 84%, Challenging<br /><br />This one will probably wind up in the Challenging category for both groups of solvers come day's end.sanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-32085123367943696642010-05-05T15:22:53.657-04:002010-05-05T15:22:53.657-04:00Yeah, what Aaron said. BC is pre-AD, BCE is pre-CE...Yeah, what Aaron said. BC is pre-AD, BCE is pre-CE. It's like saying that Roma is the capital of Italy. Roma is the capital of Italia, but Rome is the capital of Italy. (I would have used Wien 'cause I saw an Austrian movie last night, but I didn't want anyone to yell at me about the spelling of Oesterreich.)<br /><br />Me too is maybe Artoo's cousin, Mystic is a pizza, and Myron is a Cope. I'm gonna maybe name my cat Myron; I once cat-sat for a Circe. Mostly, I just dislike the puzzle for leaving me with Eric Carmen in my head.SethGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13753036404140901368noreply@blogger.com