tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post7924864812942208695..comments2024-03-29T04:46:57.646-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Controversial one-act play by Mamet / FRI 11-4-11 / 1994 sci-fi film about alien artifact / 1990s cartoon dog / R&B drinking song covered by Ray CharlesRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger90125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-28042573737118737722011-12-19T10:37:29.665-05:002011-12-19T10:37:29.665-05:00Surprised nobody saw this? Answers containing same...Surprised nobody saw this? Answers containing same words crossing each other:<br /><br />morTIMER/TIMER in NW<br />ODElay/ODEs in NE<br />CHUM/CHUMpchange in SE<br />iMIN/feMINism in SWC.H.I.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02475537993673885999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-40047994693152445022011-12-10T00:05:04.043-05:002011-12-10T00:05:04.043-05:00Damn! I too was shocked... (At my easy solve, unt...Damn! I too was shocked... (At my easy solve, until I got here).<br /><br />In re "best comment ever" (--Steelworder Rex) @ 10:41: It seems Berry's fill is so straightforward (w/ just a few names thrown in for balance), that sometimes, 'as long as' I've gotten a start, it's easier to look for a common word to fit the grid and voila! I thought that was the approach I used to get a nice clean solve today in Syndiland. Alas, until the regulars set me straight, as usuual. <br /><br />Pippin, if you are still checking in, way to go! It's nice to see other relative newcomers around. <br /><br />I was surprised no one mentioned the cool grid. It made me think that maybe, Mr. Shortz stuck in a pattern for us syndi-sovers to think of a nice, well-designed mall store layout, where the people enter from the southwest, walk through the (imacs, say) section along the middle, split aisle, but have to go off to the side rooms to see the really cool stuff. The classic products are on the left today, and the new phone hook-ups are on the right. Then it's migrating out the northeast to forage in the food court and check out Santa's elves.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-20163716350429127252011-12-09T22:46:03.952-05:002011-12-09T22:46:03.952-05:00Maybe it was *easy* if you had done the same puzzl...Maybe it was *easy* if you had done the same puzzle just a few weeks earlier, but I found it challenging and ultimately very satisfying - just the way a Friday puzzle should be.<br /><br />Way back in 2006, December 9 in Rexville looked like this:<br />- "Solving time: about 48 min."<br />- "I always start in the NW, out of habit or convention. Starting at 1A seems as natural as starting a maze at "start" (if I did mazes, which I don't, as I'm not 8). Maybe I should get out and venture to other parts of the puzzle first some time."<br />- "Very much loved 17A: Write seperately, say (misspell), if only because it had me baffled for a long time (unlike many of my solving peers, I did not notice that "seperately" was misspelled), and I didn't really catch the significance of the answer until the puzzle was done. Then had the very satisfying "aha" / "gotcha!" moment. Well played, Messrs. Wolfe and Shortz."<br />- "It was with great regret that I completed the puzzle by EXPUNGing Joe MORGAN's name from the grid and inserting this CRONIN guy I've never heard of instead. MORGAN won back-to-back MVP Awards with Cincinnati's Big Red Machine back in the mid-70's. CRONIN ... was a teammate of Red Sox greats Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Grove, and, most notably, Ted Williams. Then the war started and Williams went off to serve while CRONIN stayed behind like a coward and played baseball."<br />- There were 17 comments, many from syndicated solvers who had just discovered the blog. Rex said this in reply to one of them: "Rudiger!<br /><br />I was laughing before I ever read your comment. The very name ...<br /><br />Good to know that not every paper botched the "seperately" thing. <br /><br />I'd forgotten how brutal this puzzle was. Sorry to say, they don't get any easier. Today's (1/27/07), for instance, was pretty crushing - but you'll discover that soon enough. Come back often, "Rudiger"<br /><br />RP"Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9510212343814179992011-12-09T18:43:55.385-05:002011-12-09T18:43:55.385-05:00Sorry that @Rex and presumably others of his gener...Sorry that @Rex and presumably others of his generation aren't familiar with Leslie Howard who in his time was one of the most important and famous actors on both the London and Broadway stages as well as in Hollywood. He usually played the perfect gentleman perhaps like Hugh Grant more recently. Always liked him in "The Petrified Forest" along with Bette Davis and Bogey as the notorious killer Duke Mantee. Lots of controversy about Howard's death in 1943, shot down by the Germans in a plane (probably not a trijet) over the Bay of Biscay: Churchill wrote that the Nazis mistook Howard's plane for the one scheduled to carry him (Churchill) back to the UK after a secret visit to Portugal.<br /><br />See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Howard_(actor) for more. <br /><br />Captcha=deddly, Dudley Do-Right's more accomplished brother?Waxy in Montrealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04395751487137805245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-20852641707528391412011-12-09T15:45:03.056-05:002011-12-09T15:45:03.056-05:00@Anonymous 2:03 PM - I often have the trouble you ...@Anonymous 2:03 PM - I often have the trouble you mention with trying to get the current day's syndy puzzle. When it happens I scroll to the bottom of the previous day's syndy puzzle and click on "Newer Post". But it is still annoying that it doesn't come up with the first hit for syndication.<br /><br />@Lewis - I'm with you! Don't care how "easy" this one was rated, I was thrilled to finish a Friday! And this capped a five day run of finishing all the puzzles so far this week. I will probably get shot down tomorrow.<br /><br />Arsenic and Old Lace is one of my all-time favourite movies.<br /><br />Loved CHUMPCHANGE,SUMMERED and INCAMERA. Loved this puzzle. Love ALL Patrick Berry's puzzles! (Surely Anonymous 10:41 AM was not serious! If so, What a GRINCH!)Pippinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-29181609097788070782011-12-09T14:03:04.982-05:002011-12-09T14:03:04.982-05:00Spacecraft here, trapped in syndiland. When I hit ...Spacecraft here, trapped in syndiland. When I hit the syndicated spot, up came Thursday with all its splits. So, laboriously, I had to type in the correct date on the heading. Most annoying!<br /> Also, as I only do these from the paper, I have no memory of this particular puzzle, so I have no clue what the rest of you are talking about, re repeats.<br /> A good one today--and it looks as though Mr. Berry paid attention to some of my earlier grousing: this one seems more in the spirit of fairness. Some cluing still tricky, but gettable.<br /> I had one writeover, which held me up in the SW for a while: I misremembered Mr. Howard as TREVOR. He was the guy in Mutiny on the Bounty, wasn't he? Right. "Should any man disobey the least of thee orders, I shall cause that man to curse his mother for giving him birth." I still get chills. Anyway, both DOLITTLE and FEMINISM made me get rid of him in favor of the proper LESLIE. That left only the Natick at O_ELAY. Not a Beck fan, I had no idea. Was it ODES? But why "high-flying?" Or was it OLES? Could be; I'm guessing your average bullring has nosebleed seats. The high-flying thing really messed with my mind. I broke down and Googled Beck, so, finished with one lone Google. So sue me.<br /><br />tribb: thing that caused all that "troub" on Space Station 7.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46874711131394532262011-12-09T11:16:12.478-05:002011-12-09T11:16:12.478-05:00It wasn't that long ago that you'd never h...It wasn't that long ago that you'd never have HELL or DAMN in a NYT Crossword. Now we get them both on back-to-back days. The world's going to handhellbasket.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-79259914226896642462011-12-09T11:09:24.556-05:002011-12-09T11:09:24.556-05:00Syndication land meets the real world: both 11/4 a...Syndication land meets the real world: both 11/4 and 12/9 bear Patrick Berry's name.<br /><br />First letters in grid were <b>_ M _ _ OR</b>. Unfortunately I entered them in 2d instead of 1d. (GOTTA get that eye exam.) I wanted F MINOR to match my <a href="http://www.allmusic.com/album/mass-in-f-minor-r36551" rel="nofollow">Electric Prunes album</a>, but it turns out that had nothing to do with Bach.<br /><br />Sensed another "split" theme with BLAST OFF at 1a, but that was the end of it.<br /><br />I recently read <i>The Natural</i> as well. I actually found it nearly as ridiculous as the movie, but perhaps all those groan-inducing baseball cliches were not yet cliches at the time the book was written. And yeah, the movie got it completely wrong. Aside from the "Florida surf shop" ending, Redford portrayed Hobbs as this All American golden boy hero, whereas Malamud's Hobbs was basically just a jerk. I know lots of A's fans who wish Kirk Gibson had emulated the book's Roy Hobbs.<br /><br />I miss A&M records, where some of my favorite artists resided.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-36626384655738568312011-11-05T01:30:14.024-04:002011-11-05T01:30:14.024-04:00This week's relative difficulty ratings. See m...This week's relative difficulty ratings. See my 8/1/2009 post 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 6:23, 6:50, 0.93, 25%, Easy-Medium<br />Tue 7:24, 8:51, 0.84, 8%, Easy (10th lowest median solve time of 124 Tuesdays)<br />Wed 11:18, 11:49, 0.96, 43%, Medium<br />Thu 13:42, 19:02, 0.72, 7%, Easy (9th lowest median solve time of 125 Thursdays)<br />Fri 15:16, 25:35, 0.60, 2%, Easy (2nd lowest median solve time of 124 Fridays)<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:16, 3:40, 0.89, 7%, Easy (8th lowest median solve time of 123 Mondays)<br />Tue 3:50, 4:34, 0.84, 6%, Easy (7th lowest median solve time of 124 Tuesdays)<br />Wed 5:34, 5:50, 0.95, 40%, Medium<br />Thu 6:44, 9:17, 0.72, 10%, Easy<br />Fri 7:13, 12:39, 0.57, 2%, Easy (2nd lowest median solve time of 123 Fridays)sanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-79141801727599155612011-11-05T00:47:10.094-04:002011-11-05T00:47:10.094-04:00@acme: Just go ahead and slip in a Bush joke anyt...@acme: Just go ahead and slip in a Bush joke anytime you get a chance!pknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-64950023385519655192011-11-04T22:23:15.124-04:002011-11-04T22:23:15.124-04:00Anyone know how I clear old puzzles off the NYT Cr...Anyone know how I clear old puzzles off the NYT Crossword iPad applet so I can download the October 7 puzzle (which is the same) and do the Steve jobs one?Boasterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01453130471693176951noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-469571553912485662011-11-04T22:20:31.213-04:002011-11-04T22:20:31.213-04:00That's right--everyone talked about a Steve Jo...That's right--everyone talked about a Steve Jobs puzzle but I subscribe to the iPad version of the NYT and puzzles so never got to do the Steve Jobs one and did this one instead. That's why it seemed so familiar and I sailed through it!Boasterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01453130471693176951noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-79860336260069442692011-11-04T20:32:24.829-04:002011-11-04T20:32:24.829-04:00I solve on paper and hadn't seen this before. ...I solve on paper and hadn't seen this before. Perhaps the easiest Friday ever for me. Under ten minutes without hurrying at all.michaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-28830267584306630402011-11-04T20:06:31.888-04:002011-11-04T20:06:31.888-04:00@John V ... I don't know about online solve ti...@John V ... I don't know about online solve times vs paper. I haven't solved a crossword on paper in quite some time. Off the top of my head, I'd say that the times would be comparable, but there are a lot of factors to consider. Some people type a lot faster than they can write and vice versa. I'd be interested in hearing others' takes on this.<br /><br />I also think the user interface for solving on the computer is a big factor. I solve most NYT puzzles using the online interface so I can quickly see where I rank with my solve time, but I actually find it rather cumbersome. I solve 3 other daily puzzles using Across Lite. It's also got its shortcomings, but I think I've become accustomed to them. I also do the CrosSynergy puzzle online at WashingtonPost.com and really dislike the crossword-compiler interface. I find that it's not very user-friendly for speed-solving purposes when I make a typo. My solve times on that puzzle have gone up noticeably since they stopped making their puzzles available in the .puz format and I could solve them in Across Lite. I'm attributing that to the change in interface and am assuming that the difficulty of their puzzles has not been ratcheted up (although I could be wrong about that). They do typically have at least a couple of Bob Klahn puzzles each month and that always ratchets up the difficulty level for me. I average about 10 or 11 minutes on his puzzles vs. about 5 1/2 or 6 minutes on others. But they've always had regular Klahn contributions for as long as I've been a CrosSynergy solver.<br /><br />Come on gang ... no Jeopardy spoilers! Some of us don't get to watch it for another couple of hours.sanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-84076465367532109822011-11-04T19:58:08.870-04:002011-11-04T19:58:08.870-04:00just watched jeopardy!!! Un beeting believable!!! ...just watched jeopardy!!! Un beeting believable!!! Go joonchefbeahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15195945085405126511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91761588655896744392011-11-04T19:12:20.951-04:002011-11-04T19:12:20.951-04:00I think this was a record Friday for me...
Since ...I think this was a record Friday for me...<br /><br />Since I STILL have no power, and only a scant few necessities are plugged into the generator, I have to solve using AcrossLite instead of printing on (recycled) paper, as is my wont. (Computer is necessity - printer is not).<br /><br />Was ready to settle in for a good long struggle with Friday, then slip off into dreams of utility crews on my street, but after a scant 15 minutes I was done!<br /><br />Always liked LESLIE Howard, who was Professor Higgins long before Rex Harrison (Dr. Dolittle)was.Titahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368251255494687496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-28111909122198605622011-11-04T17:39:01.127-04:002011-11-04T17:39:01.127-04:00I just saw Joon Pahk on the Jeopardy tournament of...I just saw Joon Pahk on the Jeopardy tournament of champions. No spoiler, but try to see it just for what he said he is going to do with the money he won previously.quilter1https://www.blogger.com/profile/09569747169212018177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-4940560019096973802011-11-04T17:10:14.106-04:002011-11-04T17:10:14.106-04:00@ JohnV, I just finished watching Edmond and thank...@ JohnV, I just finished watching Edmond and thank you so much for recommending it. You're right that it's not for the feint of heart but so worth it. Is there anything that Wm. H. Macy cannot do well?Two Ponieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06896743444873087885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-27305647565199771742011-11-04T17:07:58.690-04:002011-11-04T17:07:58.690-04:00So, it's official - I am no longer a math geek...So, it's official - I am no longer a math geek but am now a computer geek. The LESSTHAN sign was to me a LEFTANGLEBRACKET. Oh well.<br /><br />Oh, I'm also old. The Beck Album clue made me think "Oh, Jeff Beck won a Grammy in '96? That's odd"Petenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-76226572256971697442011-11-04T16:47:56.961-04:002011-11-04T16:47:56.961-04:00Rex Stout's first Nero Wolfe novel, FER-de-Lan...Rex Stout's first Nero Wolfe novel, <i>FER-de-Lance</i>, has been in the puzzle before. It should probably be memorized. Even better, it should probably be <i>read</i>. A fairly good novel, overall, it took a few novels before Stout/Wolfe became a phenomenon. Rex (the <i>other</i> Rex) thought it was "rickety". It was my first fill!<br /><br />Since I solve the puzzles on paper, I thought at first semicolon was what was above the comma and that didn't fit, and I was stumped. Off of LE------ I thought it might be LEFT----, but that didn't work either. I don't think they had LESS THAN signs on keyboards back when I learned to touchtype. It certainly never occurred to me as I tried to feel what was on my mental keyboard, and I don't think shifting occurred to me, since I recall commas, like periods, being the same after shifting.william e embanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-28881649139710971512011-11-04T16:42:06.762-04:002011-11-04T16:42:06.762-04:00Yes, a fer de lance is a poisonous snake.
Hand u...Yes, a fer de lance is a poisonous snake. <br /><br />Hand up for dough before shape, but I knew Leslie, Stu and Mortimer. I was a stay at home mom for a number of years and watched the old movie channel while folding diapers. Also read a lot of Stephen King as soon as the library got them.quilter1https://www.blogger.com/profile/09569747169212018177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-74652331675680867622011-11-04T16:14:44.390-04:002011-11-04T16:14:44.390-04:00@sanfranman59
In your opinion, is there a typical...@sanfranman59<br /><br />In your opinion, is there a typical relationship between on-line and paper solver times? I know on-line is typically quite a bit faster, but what is your view on this?<br /><br />Thanks.John Vhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10557037910799243636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80555319337479639182011-11-04T15:58:24.029-04:002011-11-04T15:58:24.029-04:00Midday 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):<br /><br />All solvers (median solve time, average for day of week, ratio, percentile, rating)<br /><br />Fri 15:10, 25:35, 0.59, 2%, Easy<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Fri 7:29, 12:39, 0.59, 2%, Easy<br /><br />Since this is a repeat puzzle (sort of), I think I'm probably going to exclude it from my database. I hate when real life gets in the way of good science (kidding, of course). By the numbers, this is definitely an outlier for a Friday. That said, I didn't do this puzzle when it was first published online 10/7 and I finished it with my 5th fastest time of the 125 Fridays in my spreadsheet.sanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26081819132901352582011-11-04T15:34:55.127-04:002011-11-04T15:34:55.127-04:00I mean duh, of course Will decides which day the p...I mean duh, of course Will decides which day the puzzles run, but are constructors writing the puzzles with a specific day in mind?JenCThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18290169184354765840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-57937318628205735882011-11-04T15:22:33.431-04:002011-11-04T15:22:33.431-04:00Hand up for DOUGH. Another fine Berry puzzle.
Qu...Hand up for DOUGH. Another fine Berry puzzle.<br /><br />Question: There are so many complaints about whether a puzzle is too hard/easy for the day of the week that it's printed. What I'd like to know is, does the constructor indicate which day he/she is submitting a puzzle for, or does Will decide which day it should run? Also, since I hear that Will changes many of the clues, does he intentionally change, say, a Wednesday puzzle to a Friday puzzle, etc., via the cluing? Just wondering.JenCThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18290169184354765840noreply@blogger.com