tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post7879729462924904513..comments2024-03-28T04:22:09.431-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Stalin defier / SAT 12-7-13 / Keel extension / Sportscaster Nathan with star on Hollywood Walk of Fame / Onetime pop star who hosted PyramidRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger81125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-90703263771575885462014-01-11T19:46:14.111-05:002014-01-11T19:46:14.111-05:00Weird looking grid, but I really enjoyed this puzz...Weird looking grid, but I really enjoyed this puzzle. It's rare for me to finish a Saturday, but this one must have been in my wheelhouse.<br /><br />Surprised that STU Nahan hasn't generated more complaints. He was a sportscaster in LA, oh so many years ago, and this is the Times of New York. <br /><br />SANDALTAN is a real thing. I've had one, and it sure looks dumb when you wear a sandal with a different strap configuration.<br /><br />I've played a lot of BlackJack at a BPOE Lodge, and even won on occasion. <br /><br />Love the clue for ZERO, @DMG The Australian Open is coming up soon.<br /><br />@August West 2:20 Thanks for the very apt description of crossnerding, and why so many of us are addicted to it.<br /><br />Way to go Hawks! But it sure wasn't easy. Phew<br />Gingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07156872089175084024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-713113570971068832014-01-11T18:47:04.522-05:002014-01-11T18:47:04.522-05:00@Spacey - sorry, no such luck. I do the Saturday p...@Spacey - sorry, no such luck. I do the Saturday puzzle in real time because my local rag doesn't publish on Saturday, so no syndi-puzzle and I have to shell out $2.50 (now plus state sales tax in Maine) for the NYT to get my daily puzzle-fix. The rest of the week you're still stuck with me, though.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-32450214150376224342014-01-11T15:34:41.298-05:002014-01-11T15:34:41.298-05:00This must be an excellent puzzle! Just like @Space...This must be an excellent puzzle! Just like @Spacecraft, there were so many opaque areas, that I thought I would DNF, but the clever cluing, and some intuitive leaps got me through. It was almost as if the constructor was guiding my pen/mind as I went along. <br /><br />Perhaps the grid is chopped up, but I found the overall solve very smooth, even with several words or people I didn't know. I have heard the term "calves" applied to large chunks of iceberg that drop off, somewhere.<br /><br />A nice Saturday which started off challenging, but ended up medium.rain forestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8166052189996119332014-01-11T14:42:22.535-05:002014-01-11T14:42:22.535-05:00Got all of it, but the NW. Zoomed through this one...Got all of it, but the NW. Zoomed through this one except for that corner where I was completely out of the loop. Didn't know the medicine, never saw the movie, and they crossed a whole bunch of proper names that were surely not "givens" to me. Not helped by vetO for the defier and PIus for the Pope. No idea how many of those there were, but it fit! Did enjoy the parts I was able to work out.<br /><br />@spacecraft: For some reason Diri crosses over to,the other world on Sarurdays, but I think we can look forward to his time-travel return to Syndiland on Monday.DMGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-59053766385531402812014-01-11T12:09:59.811-05:002014-01-11T12:09:59.811-05:00Haven't done the puz yet, but want to weigh in...Haven't done the puz yet, but want to weigh in with<br />GO HAWKSGingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07156872089175084024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26580987332326123112014-01-11T11:39:15.280-05:002014-01-11T11:39:15.280-05:00Thanks Mr. Mulhern for an easy Sat puzzle. Easy b...Thanks Mr. Mulhern for an easy Sat puzzle. Easy but delicious. I jump all over the grid on the newspaper, and when everything falls into place - with only one lookup - it's a real pleasant way to start the day.<br /><br />Ron Diego 8:35 PST 1/11/14Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-41035172816869808882014-01-11T11:18:34.044-05:002014-01-11T11:18:34.044-05:00Talk about your education via crossword. Here'...Talk about your education via crossword. Here's a list of things this OLDGEEZER HASNOIDEA about:<br /><br />RAMEAU<br />EMMASTONE<br />SKEG<br />calves: little BERGS? Really?<br />ELO as other than a rock group<br />KAL Penn??<br />And finally: SANDALTAN? That's not a thing, that has to be a made-up phrase to fit in this grid.<br /><br />Tell ya the truth, I don't know how, with all these WOEs and with Saturday-brutal cluing, I managed to get this done, with no lookups and not even a writeover. I know I made several leaps of faith--"Wow, could THAT really be it??"--which turned out to be, um, it. Call me vastly lucky. The rating of easy-medium is a joke. I'm not laughing.<br /><br />Oh, and "Nonstop" would be NOEND, not ONEND. That little hiccup stalled me for a while in the SW. But then that was only STALLONE.<br /><br />Hey, if you're gonna throw tomatoes, could you make them fresh ones?<br /><br />@Diri, looks like you crossed over. We will miss you here in Syndiland.spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31820714048835880662013-12-08T12:00:11.376-05:002013-12-08T12:00:11.376-05:00Thanks!!!!!!Thanks!!!!!!Knitwithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01398200634979957147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-39696507524026599092013-12-07T20:37:59.197-05:002013-12-07T20:37:59.197-05:00This is the first Saturday I've ever completed...This is the first Saturday I've ever completed without outside help. Put me in a great mood all day. I wonder if my daily ETATS d'ame rely too much on crossword success or failure. meg knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-14144301936374172482013-12-07T20:31:06.947-05:002013-12-07T20:31:06.947-05:00I feel compelled to take note that today is Decemb...I feel compelled to take note that today is December 7, Pearl Harbor day - "A date that will will live in infamy" - or maybe <a href="http://dirigonzo.blogspot.com/2013/06/a-date-which-will-live-infamy.html" rel="nofollow">Check this out</a><br />not. It seems worth mentioning.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44001158687893050952013-12-07T20:00:38.635-05:002013-12-07T20:00:38.635-05:00At Benko:
I was talking about the difference betw...At Benko:<br /><br />I was talking about the difference between two types of footwear: thongs and sandals. I don't agree that the former is a type of the latter. Thongs are "flip-flops" and sandals are closed with a series of straps going across the foot. (The tan lines would be very different.) <br /><br />Anyway, I'm not complaining that it was a difficult answer to get. Joe The Jugglerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08623445472297705053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61420784271710756352013-12-07T19:36:58.244-05:002013-12-07T19:36:58.244-05:00I worked hard at this one, but I got it (Yippee!)....I worked hard at this one, but I got it (Yippee!). For some reason, I had trouble with the SW, even though I had "sandal tan" figured out from very early on. I liked Rex's review of this puzzle very much. Unlike some of the people who write comments here, I don't think Rex complains too much. I just wish people who design crosswords would listen to us fans and get their acts together a bit more.Dolgorukynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44229372102546643162013-12-07T18:57:41.284-05:002013-12-07T18:57:41.284-05:00Enjoyable puzzle; I would have finished a lot quic...Enjoyable puzzle; I would have finished a lot quicker if I hadn't fallen into a couple of traps through bad luck. I bypassed the NW and ended up getting ACNE (well, getting the word, not the disease), so immediately jumped up to 1A and confidently typed in TINACTIN. Much, much later, struggling to finish off that pesky NW corner, it dawned on me that Tinactin is for something else. It fit so well with ANAIS, COS, TITO, and IDOL, it just had to be right!okanaganerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03082227619755246335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-74166858190060788712013-12-07T18:39:50.680-05:002013-12-07T18:39:50.680-05:00I'm a Type B (EASYGOING) and I breezed through...I'm a Type B (EASYGOING) and I breezed through this i8n my leisurely fashion until I had all but the NW section complete, and Rex's write-up on that section was prophetic: "I mean, even if you didn't know RA-EAU, I doubt you're going to guess ERMA STONE. Or maybe you would, but you then maybe you know enough about French names to know RAREAU is absurd." I did guess ERMASTONE but RArEAU didn't seem absurd to me, so I finished with OWS, which on a Saturday I call a total victory.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-58079848482942770912013-12-07T18:38:25.717-05:002013-12-07T18:38:25.717-05:00I knew PLAn and ETAL but didn't know PLAT and ...I knew PLAn and ETAL but didn't know PLAT and EnAL. I fuessed wrong and got the big DNF.<br /><br />Johnny-jump-up, to me, is hard, Irish cider. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8OkAd6MyLzA" rel="nofollow">Johnny Jump Up</a>gifcanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12612467417938884430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-74658277669414743492013-12-07T18:03:26.184-05:002013-12-07T18:03:26.184-05:00Now that's how to do it. Beautiful, smart, cl...Now that's how to do it. Beautiful, smart, clever and fun. It was hard to get a toehold, but once I did, I had a blast!Notsofastnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50944270463531852962013-12-07T18:03:02.639-05:002013-12-07T18:03:02.639-05:00This 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 5:43, 6:07, 0.93, 19%, Easy<br />Tue 8:18, 8:12, 1.01, 57%, Medium<br />Wed 10:50, 9:52, 1.10, 73%, Medium-Challenging<br />Thu 19:17, 17:47, 1.08, 66%, Medium-Challenging<br />Fri 13:44, 19:17, 0.71, 7%, Easy<br />Sat 23:22, 26:56, 0.87, 22%, Easy-Medium<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:40, 3:46, 0.97, 31%, Easy-Medium<br />Tue 4:46, 5:01, 0.95, 31%, Easy-Medium<br />Wed 6:26, 5:49, 1.11, 76%, Medium-Challenging<br />Thu 10:32, 10:07, 1.04, 57%, Medium<br />Fri 7:50, 11:12, 0.70, 7%, Easy<br />Sat 13:21, 17:17, 0.77, 9%, Easysanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-39276717748183515632013-12-07T16:38:58.922-05:002013-12-07T16:38:58.922-05:00Thanks for the clarification jae.Thanks for the clarification jae.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-63360000214788256112013-12-07T16:20:06.760-05:002013-12-07T16:20:06.760-05:00@Benko: I thought of Handel, too.
Seeing -IV at ...@Benko: I thought of Handel, too. <br /><br />Seeing -IV at the end of 1A I thought 28A had to be pretty serious….machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-18181433116511864862013-12-07T16:07:53.509-05:002013-12-07T16:07:53.509-05:00@ Anon 3:21 - bad call. Both OGEES and BPOE are fa...@ Anon 3:21 - bad call. Both OGEES and BPOE are familiar to a good number of this crowd IMO. You don't know either, and that happens to all of us sometimes. Just learn them for next time.retired_chemisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13181126754941899228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-25380799207298513452013-12-07T15:21:23.049-05:002013-12-07T15:21:23.049-05:00I enjoyed it overall, but I call serious BS on the...I enjoyed it overall, but I call serious BS on the OGEES/BPOE crossing, having never heard of either of those.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-59894946264063697282013-12-07T15:12:52.397-05:002013-12-07T15:12:52.397-05:00From the OED, it seems that the use of "calf&...From the OED, it seems that the use of "calf" for a small iceberg simply came from sailors' talk. Not a surprise, since sailors have always used language in a colorful way.<br /><br />PLAT was totally new to me. R. McGeddonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-17158704897809879712013-12-07T15:07:28.091-05:002013-12-07T15:07:28.091-05:00Just saw the first PROACTIV commercial I can recal...Just saw the first PROACTIV commercial I can recall. How timely. Or, maybe they have been on programs I watch and I never noticed them before today's puzzle.retired_chemisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13181126754941899228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31883081055045279962013-12-07T15:05:21.523-05:002013-12-07T15:05:21.523-05:00NW completed, but the rest of the clues much too s...NW completed, but the rest of the clues much too subtle or tricky for me . So I threw in the jock early and moved on with the rest of my [quite cold for Sausalito) day. Hope for a more satisfying Sunday. Congrats to all who found this one "easy."LaneBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24343310476374134852013-12-07T14:37:41.668-05:002013-12-07T14:37:41.668-05:00A good Saturday puzzle. The proper names required ...A good Saturday puzzle. The proper names required more googling than usual.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com