tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post7907718691480551061..comments2024-03-28T10:15:19.706-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: TUESDAY, May 13, 2008 - Caleb Madison (ANCIENT GREEK WALKWAY / PULITZER-WINNING BIOGRAPHER LEON)Rex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger92125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-38016399537113674832008-06-24T13:26:00.000-04:002008-06-24T13:26:00.000-04:00I come down STRONG on the side of finding it impre...I come down STRONG on the side of finding it impressive that this quite nice Tuesday puzzle was constructed by someone who is less that a quarter of my age. Quibble all you want, but I rely on life experience for a lot of my answers. I assure you that tempura, udon and soba (my original but incorrect answer for 39D, soon corrected by one of the crosses) would not have been in MY experience when I was 15. ICBMs (1D) haven't been newsworthy since before Caleb was born. So, I find his knowledge of stuff, at the level needed to construct well, remarkable for the circumstance though it would not be so remarkable at my age.<BR/><BR/>That said, I agree if he is on the mound in Yankee Stadium at 15 batters should not lay off. Anyone remember David Clyde's stint with the Texas Rangers in the seventies, starting in 1973 when he was 18? And Bob Feller (a more felicitous case) was only 17 in his Major League debut with the Indians. Feller is one of only two pitchers with as many strikeouts as his age in a Major League game.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10151663759274004242008-06-23T10:48:00.000-04:002008-06-23T10:48:00.000-04:00Maybe I should take it easy on the guy, seeing as ...Maybe I should take it easy on the guy, seeing as he is only 15, but I must say that, to me, this was an unacceptable puzzle on all counts, with the exception of the theme. I can't find a single non-theme fill answer I really love except "BUMRAP" and... well that's about it. Everything else is boring, one-woders without sparkle or freshness. I am shocked that people seem so impressed by this puzzle. I find the theme well done, but coming up with a nice theme is only one part- you have to be able to fill in the grid with equally dazzling material. That did not happen here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-41620307921280920822008-05-14T01:58:00.000-04:002008-05-14T01:58:00.000-04:00Sorry so late. Best Tuesday in a while. When I w...Sorry so late. Best Tuesday in a while. When I was 15 I was ignoring the cliche death of Kurt Cobain while listening to Neil Young's "The Needle and the Damage Done." Sure AGOG and CEDE were weak but I'll CEDE that. I'm sick of Al Jolson, Mel Torme and whatever the 110 year olds have to throw at us. Back off Nancy S, we'll have SOULJA BOY in the puzzle before you can say CRANK THAT.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-29140337361160454912008-05-13T23:49:00.000-04:002008-05-13T23:49:00.000-04:00joon,Your bridge tour sounds like a trip, but my w...joon,<BR/><BR/>Your bridge tour sounds like a trip, but my wish was merely that cultivated Americans might consider the game as a basis for social activity, such as I've found in England and France.fergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-69712231539876645062008-05-13T23:17:00.000-04:002008-05-13T23:17:00.000-04:00I liked the puzzle. I thought the clues were fresh...I liked the puzzle. I thought the clues were fresher than they usually are. I wondered why it seemed so different than the usual tuesday puzzles until I read the blog. thanks for the all the info (and answers!) rex parker.Interpolaterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07692660636682510684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-33176180142939711352008-05-13T22:41:00.000-04:002008-05-13T22:41:00.000-04:00my two cents:a great theme can make up for lacklus...my two cents:<BR/><BR/>a great theme can make up for lackluster fill. fantastic fill (and clues) can carry a puzzle with a weak theme. but a puzzle with a bad theme is much, much worse than a puzzle with no theme, so let's not drag themeless puzzles into this discussion where they don't belong. "every word counts" in themed puzzles, too.<BR/><BR/>when i was slightly younger i played a lot of bridge and the game was very good to me--lots of free or partially subsidized trips to interesting places, and i met a bunch of great people. now that i'm no longer eligible for youth events, and not quite good enough to make waves in national events at the open level, i'm just a guy who plays bridge... except that i'm still something like 40 years younger than the average ACBL member. in 30 years i might be one of the best players around just by default. :)Joonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07825085755390339668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-36141222391756381912008-05-13T22:06:00.000-04:002008-05-13T22:06:00.000-04:00Recarve- to run the Downhill again?I actually have...Recarve- to run the Downhill again?<BR/><BR/>I actually have no problem with the clue or answer, as the clue certainly and Tuesday-easily pointed to the answer (even if the word is a tad strange).<BR/><BR/>As for theme or fill or whatever, I don't really care what the fill is, as long as the cluing is fun and interesting. Even tired old pantheonic words are cool if they're clued in a way that made them harder to figure out. It's no fun to just "fill in the blank" or "answer the question".Doc Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12540112168511893896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-16504586891057982432008-05-13T21:44:00.001-04:002008-05-13T21:44:00.001-04:00That's an interesting question. I think that I enj...That's an interesting question. I think that I enjoy fresh new fill better than a cute theme. In fact, I like themeless puzzles better than the ones with. Every word counts.machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-27507012511505436892008-05-13T21:44:00.000-04:002008-05-13T21:44:00.000-04:00As a typically late commenter, I find my analysis ...As a typically late commenter, I find my analysis sometimes swayed by what Rex and the many previous critics have to say. My initial take was that this was a quintessential Tuesday puzzle, which could have benefited from the suggested congressional districts instead of the turkey. No problems otherwise.<BR/><BR/>Rex makes a very good point, which I think Mr. Madison will have to agree with, in that he's in the big leagues now, and he should not have the ease or insult of "affirmative action" when a critique of the puzzle is made. You're on the mound at Yankee Stadium, kid, and the hitters are not going to swing any less fiercely because of your comparative youth. I found Rex's ever so slightly crotchety tone quite amusing while I read through the write-up, if only because I knew it was defusing a sentiment of genteel youth bias we've seen before. I doubt there's anything but appreciation for crossing words with such fluidity, but the point that age is virtually immaterial when it comes to judging the construction is a sound one. And I say this knowing that regardless of our current age, those of us toying with coming up with a really cool, or just a nice puzzle, are enjoying the fact that ever more people are proving that it can be done.<BR/><BR/>And I wish more people would learn to play bridge, by the way.fergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-3563404726378089912008-05-13T21:24:00.000-04:002008-05-13T21:24:00.000-04:00I think Andrea brings up a really interesting poin...I think Andrea brings up a really interesting point. I'm a constructor too, but as a solver, I do really get tired of crosswordese, abbreviations, suffixes and the like, but interesting or cute themes (with this one being a prime examples) do also typically.<BR/><BR/>To Rex, other solvers, other bloggers; to the crossword community: does a sparkling theme make up for lackluster fill? Does the converse hold true? I know I personally (and here the constructor side wins over) love fresh new fill, and would take it any day over a cute theme. What do you guys think?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-23996923783642930972008-05-13T21:07:00.000-04:002008-05-13T21:07:00.000-04:00@jc66although I wouldn't have *reeaten* the second...@jc66<BR/><BR/>although I wouldn't have *reeaten* the second half of the sandwich, I just may *recut* it to save some of it for tomorrow! ;)<BR/><BR/>.../GlitchAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-23795634107515734362008-05-13T20:21:00.000-04:002008-05-13T20:21:00.000-04:00I had trouble committing to BALD for "Yul Brynner,...I had trouble committing to BALD for "Yul Brynner, famously", as I thought it was too cruel to choose one person to exemplify and identify with baldness. I'm cool with it now, tho, as Wikipedia tells me Brynner is one of the bald-by-choice crowd.<BR/><BR/>I mainly had trouble with the O in STOA and LORCA. Didn't know either of those, and kept trying vowels until the Java applet was happy.jubjubhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00149213213886604843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-35336170534960142202008-05-13T20:16:00.000-04:002008-05-13T20:16:00.000-04:00Nice debut puzzle. My first theme answers were 17...Nice debut puzzle. My first theme answers were 17A:BLACKSMITH and 65A:BROWNSTONE, so I expected the others to have colors as well, but that's probably asking too much. More important that most of the eight names are familiar enough that I can at least confirm having heard their names even if I couldn't tell you anything about those "united artists" (39A). Well, eight by my count; RP somehow manages to "own music by nine out of ten of those people"!<BR/><BR/>4A:ARCS -- arghs, yet another b*seball clue. Still, better that than what "pop-ups" first suggested to me, which is those execrable online advertising windows.<BR/><BR/>25D:RECARVE -- would you rather have RECALVE (give birth again on the ranch) crossing HAIL? Probably not; RECALVE gets under 500 Google hits (the first few being for a surname), where RECARVE has 3500+ (though more of them involve Turkey than turkeys). Alas the three theme entries require ?E?A?V?, and the only other matches are BECARVE, DESALVO, GEMAUVE, LEFAUVE. The best of these would be DESALVO (change 37A:COOS to SEES, with 33D:TOR becoming the TER as in "laugh suffix", and the rest is easy) -- but alas DESALVO would have to be clued as the confessed Boston Strangler, and even then is probably too hard for Tuesday. The only acceptable alternative is probably LEFAUVE, even harder to justify on a Tuesday, and also much harder to fit in the grid (44A would have to end with U).<BR/><BR/>56D:IDEAS -- don't blame Victor Hugo or his editor, because the original is naturally in French: according to <A HREF="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Victor_Hugo" REL="nofollow">Wikiquote</A>, <EM>On résiste à l'invasion des armées; on ne résiste pas à l'invasion des idées.</EM> Blame the translator, but not too severely, because it's not easy to balance fidelity to the original phrasing against idiomatic English syntax.<BR/><BR/>NDEAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-52767058299711454782008-05-13T20:06:00.000-04:002008-05-13T20:06:00.000-04:00Clue: Enter an autove again?Answer: recarveI know....Clue: Enter an autove again?<BR/>Answer: recarve<BR/><BR/>I know... that's why I don't construct crossword puzzles and I'm also a young guy, like a mushroom...<BR/><BR/>Are you getting the atrocious puns?<BR/><BR/>A fine puzzle for a Tuesday.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-21137720869620357222008-05-13T19:57:00.000-04:002008-05-13T19:57:00.000-04:00I did this puzzle while watching students taking a...I did this puzzle while watching students taking a final exam, which seemed kinda mean. I was hoping that I could while away some time, but this was Tuesday, not Friday, and I had to return to the rest of the paper.<BR/><BR/> Unrelated anecodte -- I saw a fiction writer at a party a few years ago and mentioned that he had been an answer in that day's puzzle (a Saturday). He wasn't a puzzle-solver, but said that I was the third person who had told him this. I then said that he'd be really be famous when he was the answer in a Monday puzzle and the writer looked at me with completely bewilderment.Michael Chibnikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04700426644898924644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-55007875463389653972008-05-13T19:30:00.000-04:002008-05-13T19:30:00.000-04:00@Gltch aka anon 9:22amIf you you made a tuna sandw...@Gltch aka anon 9:22am<BR/><BR/>If you you made a tuna sandwich, cut it in two, ate half, and then came back a half hour later and ate the other half, would you have reeaten the sandwich? I think not. You just ate the other half.<BR/><BR/>I like the idea of recarving Mt. Rushmore tho.JC66https://www.blogger.com/profile/05324615675333287919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-19874098741422553342008-05-13T19:23:00.000-04:002008-05-13T19:23:00.000-04:00Andrea Carla MIchaels! I love your puzzles! Thanks...Andrea Carla MIchaels! I love your puzzles! Thanks for the kudos- hopefully there'll be more on the way. Glad you liked it.<BR/><BR/><BR/>CalebAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-33247552643676645322008-05-13T19:17:00.000-04:002008-05-13T19:17:00.000-04:00Real nice puzzle Calmad.Today's Zits comic strip (...Real nice puzzle Calmad.<BR/><BR/>Today's Zits comic strip (featuring a 15 year old's take on life/family/school) has a <A HREF="http://www.arcamax.com/zits" REL="nofollow">crossword theme.</A>Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07466240197659721721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-88226999113543134972008-05-13T18:48:00.000-04:002008-05-13T18:48:00.000-04:00Impressive puzzle for any constructor - regardless...Impressive puzzle for any constructor - regardless of age. I was 58 when I first attempted constructing crosswords (and a female, btw). It is so challenging, but thrilling when a puzzle is completed, and especially when one is accepted.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61984348989423911872008-05-13T18:41:00.000-04:002008-05-13T18:41:00.000-04:00Sorry, Gltch, but I don't buy it. If one day I wat...Sorry, Gltch, but I don't buy it. If one day I watch part of a show I've recorded and then watch the rest of it the next day, I'm not REwatching it. I'm just watching MORE of it. <BR/><BR/>I asked my seven-year-old daughter if she thought she might like to try making crossword puzzles when she gets older and she said, "It sounds hard." I'm going to keep working on her though. I've got a few years.PuzzleGirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06835502266781516627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-87163489163521624592008-05-13T18:36:00.000-04:002008-05-13T18:36:00.000-04:00comparing the clues to the fill, it seems junior h...comparing the clues to the fill, it seems junior had some help from grandpa - no ?<BR/><BR/>frankDAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-5116274671384434162008-05-13T18:33:00.000-04:002008-05-13T18:33:00.000-04:00I loved the puzzle theme, wish I had thought of it...I loved the puzzle theme, wish I had thought of it at 15 or 51!<BR/>Nice balance of BLACKSMITH and BROWNSTONE even!!!!<BR/>It's so funny about fill...I've never ever (till Rex's blog) thought about anything but theme theme theme.<BR/>Maybe that's also why there aren't as many young female constructors (or old ones for that matter) bec it's more likely boys that it occurs to boys to construct rather than just solve... and then strive for pangrams, and endless sports quotes, and solving speeds, and theme-letter counts and and and...<BR/><BR/>(Yep, thems fighting words)<BR/>;)<BR/><BR/>but holding my tongue about LITHGOW!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-35646586772145011692008-05-13T18:15:00.000-04:002008-05-13T18:15:00.000-04:00@Sandy,(11:50)Yes, for the first seating, I carve ...@Sandy,(11:50)<BR/><BR/>Yes, for the first seating, I carve more, but the second group (next day)is seeing the (somewhat dismembered) Turkey for the first time.<BR/><BR/>For them, I carve anew, but since it a separate attack on my part, on the OTHER side,to me it's a *recarve* for the new group.<BR/><BR/>Never said I was carving the side already carved ;)<BR/><BR/> .../Gltch aka anon 9:22amAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-74004492965728621622008-05-13T18:10:00.000-04:002008-05-13T18:10:00.000-04:00@Caleb,Thanks for stopping by. And for showing the...@Caleb,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for stopping by. And for showing the world (especially Orange) that UDON is indeed a fine, fine answer (I let Orange beat it out of my first draft of this puzzle I'm working on, but it will live to fight another day..). UDON is also ... a NOODLE (sorry I missed that connection)!<BR/><BR/>RPRex Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-82467076733838760762008-05-13T18:01:00.000-04:002008-05-13T18:01:00.000-04:00@ ehicks77 -- I must second your motion on the sup...@ ehicks77 -- I must second your motion on the super achievement in the NY Sun puzzle today. It even had a left-over nod to Mother's Day! <BR/><BR/>I don't know why I couldn't download yesterday's? I tried several times....<BR/><BR/>∑;)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com