tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post7937276766436429139..comments2024-03-28T20:49:13.267-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Young salamanders / WED 9-16-15 / E-tailer of homemade knickknacks / Psycho character who is actually corpse / Vehicle clearing no parking zone / Transportation competitor of LyftRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger85125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-41277811323890683062016-10-16T21:59:15.929-04:002016-10-16T21:59:15.929-04:00I got my first electronic cigarrete kit on VaporFi...I got my first electronic cigarrete kit on <b><a href="http://e-cigs.syntaxlinks.com/r/VaporFi" rel="nofollow">VaporFi</a></b>, and I enjoy it a lot.Bloggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07287821785570247118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-75154578657092150582015-10-22T00:19:06.662-04:002015-10-22T00:19:06.662-04:00Busy day and did the puzzle at dinnertime. Loved t...Busy day and did the puzzle at dinnertime. Loved the whole concept and really found it easy. Thank you Vancouver Nana for the Hate Watch thing. That "a" was the last letter I put in and it was a guess. I should have known because I donate to SPLC annually and believe they are the best thing since blueberry muffins. <br /><br />Anyway, I said it was very Easy for me and maybe that's because I did the puzzle late in the day. Because of my age, my mornings are a bit foggy even with a cuppa caffeine.<br /><br />Humping over Wednesday and expecting a tough Thursday. Ciao, whoever is still out there in Syndieland.<br /><br />Ron Diego, La Mesa, CA (Where we only buy and wear LOVE Watches).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-90677135038689168232015-10-21T17:26:16.107-04:002015-10-21T17:26:16.107-04:00Liked the puzzle, fun theme, good clues. Problems ...Liked the puzzle, fun theme, good clues. Problems in the Minnesota area (my home state, where life was good). Didn't know HATE-watch and guessed wrong on the quatrain sequence. Should have had it via CAREERIST (not a fan of them), but saw it too late. Further west, at the motel, at first I thought I saw mOmMA BATES in the shower, but then realized it was NORMAn gussied up as NORMA.<br /><br />All quite discomforting. leftcoastTAMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-23676652662503006642015-10-21T14:51:13.214-04:002015-10-21T14:51:13.214-04:00I thought that Norma Bates was dead and Norman was...I thought that Norma Bates was dead and Norman was talking to himself.William Heymanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02865367764472218962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-20091070183488741742015-10-21T14:24:38.313-04:002015-10-21T14:24:38.313-04:00Am I the only one who watched Bates Motel on A and...Am I the only one who watched Bates Motel on A and E? Norman always calls his mother "Norma" to her constant chagrin.Longbeachleehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10945278798020339134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-84911728066354021332015-10-21T12:31:15.410-04:002015-10-21T12:31:15.410-04:00I liked this one but I had two big problems with i...I liked this one but I had two big problems with it: 1) What is a TOW CAR? I've never seen one. I've seen lots of tow TRUCKS, but never a TOWCAR. And 2) I get the other familiar phrases, but MINDTHEGAP?? That's supposed to be "familiar?" What does that even mean? Let's see, there's a scene in "Groundhog Day" when Phil steps off the curb into a water-filled pothole; should he have "minded the gap?" I for the life of me can't think of another way this phrase makes any sense at all. Perhaps Ned the Head should have said "MINDTHEGAP!" instead of "Hey, watch that first step; it's a doozie!" Me, I like the movie version better.<br /><br />More WOEs: AKON, and SPY as clued. Oh, and HATE-watch? I don't get that one. You don't have to be on the lookout for that; it's all around us--unfortunately. Still, I thought the other themers were cute, and outside of the crutch ABAA the fill was fairly interesting. Yeah, NORMABATES would of course name her son Norman: what else? Perfectly inferable even though her name was never mentioned. B-.spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26227341163453764092015-10-21T10:22:38.418-04:002015-10-21T10:22:38.418-04:00Well I certainly wouldn’t have known MINDTHEGAP if...Well I certainly wouldn’t have known MINDTHEGAP if I hadn’t paid my SUBWAYFARE in London. Have all the other blog-posters been there, too? Or just blindly fill it in? Seems like there might have been more CROWing about that one.<br /><br />I’ll BET A dollar with THE T.A. that I ETA APPLETURNOVER and had an ECIG, TUE, during his COURSE. (ABITOF HATE for most of those answers, and TOWCAR.) SLOP.<br /><br />CASHCAB was a fun show. CAREERIST was not a fun word. A sheep lets out ABAA.<br /><br />The FITZGERALD Theatre is just blocks away from me in DT St. Paul. Home of Prairie Home Companion.<br /><br />This puz had its shortcomings, and I HATE malls, but I DOVE in and finished anyway.<br />rondonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-29074691999705017362015-10-21T09:54:05.566-04:002015-10-21T09:54:05.566-04:00ARCHIVE: PARTTWO
While eating my APPLETURNOVER, I...ARCHIVE: PARTTWO<br /><br />While eating my APPLETURNOVER, I paid my SUBWAYFARE,<br />then that NEEDY TRAMP NORMABATES sat on my lap.<br />Of COURSE,I HATE when she makes ABITOF a SCENE there,<br />saying, “You can’t MISSTHETARGET if you MINDTHEGAP.”<br /><br />--- DONNIE FITZGERALD<br />Burma Shavenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-87105183403092541732015-09-17T02:21:31.763-04:002015-09-17T02:21:31.763-04:00Hate watch has two definitions: 1) monitoring hate...Hate watch has two definitions: 1) monitoring hate groups eg by Southern Poverty Law Center; looking for "hate speech" which maybe a threat to a community. 2) or watching a TV program you hate waiting for it to be cancelled. Loosely used as watching a movie you hate or going to a club you hope will close. Urban dictionary prefers the first definition. <br /><br />Overall agree with what Rex said. Makes me feel not quite as hopeless when it comes to figuring out Wednesday puzzles!Vancouver Nanahttp://comcast.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-74384548192349487992015-09-16T22:53:45.635-04:002015-09-16T22:53:45.635-04:00@NCAPrez, EVIE can be a diminutive form of Eve, al...@NCAPrez, EVIE can be a diminutive form of Eve, also. Or it could be for the long-E Evelyn as the Brits pronounce it, as in Evelyn and Evelyn Waugh. (Laughable though that may be.)<br /><br />@Nancy, glad to see you were not successful. In drowning.Leapfingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14243620614139990887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9808781542494982832015-09-16T21:35:33.950-04:002015-09-16T21:35:33.950-04:00@Monsieur Martel le Bane des Moops
In your search...@Monsieur Martel le Bane des Moops<br /><br />In your search for a valid CHOC, all I can suggest is what shows up in Position 3 in the A-D HOC. I think CHOC finally gave us an abbrev worse than GUAC. <br /><br />Thought this was a fine and twisty challenge [for a Wednesday ;D], with a tight and clever theme, backed up through the grid with clues that make you think. The best themer was SUBWAY_FARE, because layered meanings, but APPLE_TURNOVER made me L, but not out OL.<br /><br />Made about all the close-but-no-cigar errors already mentioned (except for some that @TEE DOVE into, she deserves a gold star), and also tried 'parT OF' for A_BIT_OF. 'Furor' for SCENE with 'vape' for ECIG made the NE the ugly corner. To date, had not heard of a TOW<i>CAR</i>, CAREERIST (as fully nuanced in today's comments), CASHCAB nor HATE-watch, yet I survived.<br /><br />Can't quite believe @Rex got me to read the words 'Bone Thug-N-Harmony' and 'Kardinal Offishall' today, yet I survived that also. Taken all together, I think 55D opens up AKON of Warms.<br /><br />Other drips and drabs:<br />*Like @GeorgeB, I was shocked by the clue for ION; chemists are more likely to get a <i>charge</i> than a shock therefrom. However, as mentioned above, I didn't get A BIT OF help from the repetition.<br />*'A lot of rich people?' was cute for ESTATE, but just remember that you not-so-rich folks get to leave an ESTATE when you shuffle off these mortal coils. Hope that doesn't coil anyone's toes.<br />*Which leads me to consider just how different ENGRAVE is from ENtomb.<br />*Liked ARCHIVE (more subtle than ARscallion), CUZCO and ART_DECO. Worried about political freedoms in New England when the advertising goes to BAN_NE_RADS. "Comes the Revolution...!!!"<br /><br />If that was a bit over-the-top, chalk it up to a mild case of TURRET's Syndrome.<br /><br />Thanks for the cool collab, JFFV!Leapfingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14243620614139990887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-57067504121979818582015-09-16T21:35:06.384-04:002015-09-16T21:35:06.384-04:00This wasn't that tough for me; I did it on a t...This wasn't that tough for me; I did it on a teaching morning without taking too much time from class prep. I hadn't heard of CASH CAB, though, and idiotically thought that zETA rhymed with ETA and THETA. I had no idea about AKON, but once I realized that "John or Paul, but not Ringo" wasn't POet (my first thought—harsh!) but POPE, the crosses got it for me. I agree that TOWCAR is an abomination.Brian W. Ogilviehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05045133494402037781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-28376382610513652932015-09-16T18:49:46.056-04:002015-09-16T18:49:46.056-04:00Misspelled "zwei" as "swei" wh...Misspelled "zwei" as "swei" which left me with "pins" for fancy wheels (which I rather liked) and a bit of a muddle in that corner. Trudged thru the rest cleanly in much slower than Wednesday time so I'm glad I was't alone in finding this difficult (for a Wednesday).anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04653839074645843721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10488207253798518282015-09-16T18:08:03.473-04:002015-09-16T18:08:03.473-04:00Fine puzzle, but I am relieved to see I wasn't...Fine puzzle, but I am relieved to see I wasn't the only one who found it unusually difficult. I thought some of my problem came from having a particularly annoying day; I only got to sit down and do the puzzle after 5 PM.<br /><br />Count me among those finishing SEEDY, not NEEDY.<br /><br />Those who never heard of "HATE watch" must have missed the little flap when @Rex was quoted as "hate-solving" the NY Times crossword.<br /><br />Today's theme reminded me of when I mentioned my vacation plans over at the runtpuz blog and @M&A re-parsed my destination as a visit to the cross-wordy Mall Orca. So funny, I'll go back again next week.<br /><br />Which only leaves me to wonder at 29 A, what do young salamanders have to do with Electronic Fund Transfers? ;>)Bob Kerfufflehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02615811802419025933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-51380897733050364772015-09-16T17:34:47.855-04:002015-09-16T17:34:47.855-04:00Never heard MINDTHEGAP before. Uncle Google tells...Never heard MINDTHEGAP before. Uncle Google tells me it's a Briticism. Further sleuthing turned up a recent "Did Beyoncé Photoshop her thigh gap" flap.<br /><br />Not sure why THEGAP is clued as <i>next</i> in the clue "Some people hate the next store, but I don't mind___". Seems a tad random. <br /><br />Once owned a '68 Volvo 144---loved that car---that got TBONED by a '65 Buick Behemoth in a rain storm in Knoxville, TN. (Home of UTENN. NOT!) I came away mostly unscathed, but the Volvo was totaled. Got pulled to the junkyard by a TOWCAR. Not!Anoa Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16185183023273883700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-42964779273546670382015-09-16T17:24:16.154-04:002015-09-16T17:24:16.154-04:00R.ralphbunker - I would have loved doing that puzz...R.ralphbunker - I would have loved doing that puzzle. Thanks for the link. Now I'm inspired to head into the kitchen and whip up some fabulous desserts. Calories included!chefwenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03999206352243329280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44025985154402441412015-09-16T16:44:46.761-04:002015-09-16T16:44:46.761-04:00Tough but fun Wednesday. I agree with Rex's cr...Tough but fun Wednesday. I agree with Rex's critique. <br /><br />@Martel Moopsbane: the Trumbull Target used to be in a separate building, then was moved to the mall<br />a couple of years ago.machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-23834199490594190062015-09-16T16:22:05.621-04:002015-09-16T16:22:05.621-04:00@old guy. I used to work for an office despot but ...@old guy. I used to work for an office despot but didn't know I could find him at the mall.quilter1https://www.blogger.com/profile/09569747169212018177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-43194951828792013252015-09-16T16:21:04.299-04:002015-09-16T16:21:04.299-04:00I'm trying to come up with a clue for which CH...I'm trying to come up with a clue for which CHOC would be an acceptable answer. Best I can do is "Heavenly coffee, without the knuts."<br /><br />Anyone else?Martel Moopsbanenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-77605083316450673402015-09-16T15:32:13.234-04:002015-09-16T15:32:13.234-04:00@MartelMoopsbane, how I love that name! Thanks for...@MartelMoopsbane, how I love that name! Thanks for the TARGET info. Who knew?Hartley70https://www.blogger.com/profile/00557118655188472450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-157883254894727612015-09-16T14:15:45.610-04:002015-09-16T14:15:45.610-04:00Hey All !
Fun, punny WedsPuz. Agree with the harde...Hey All !<br />Fun, punny WedsPuz. Agree with the harder-than-normal rating. Got hung up in a few places. This puz came in waves for me. Lots of staring at white space, then a flurry of answers, followed by staring again. Odd. <br /><br />Many misdirects/writeovers:<br />mags-> BENZ<br />SCRum->SCRAP<br />pEn-> TEE<br />NORMAn<br />Emma-> EVIE<br />oleo->PATE<br />and spelled sWie!->ZWEI<br />so puz was evading me for a bit.<br /><br />But, overall, enjoyable. Do agree with most of Rex's gripes, though. At least it didn't MISS THE TARGET!<br /><br />ETA, BETA, THETA, it's all Greek to me!<br />RooMonster <br />DarrinV RooMonsterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14103892151115549684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26474432973851639032015-09-16T14:04:48.600-04:002015-09-16T14:04:48.600-04:00Wednesday? I don't think so. DNF at 7D, never ...Wednesday? I don't think so. DNF at 7D, never heard of the show and when I saw 22A, I started my Greek alphabet run with zETA so 21D was correct but 34A wasn't. And the clue for 7D made it guessable, too. Drat.<br /><br />CAREERman, stop watch, wanting some kind of nut at 24A instead of CHOC, EllE before EVIE, I'm tellin' you, my self esteem is in RUINS. I seem to have found THE GAP in my MIND!<br /><br />Thanks for the unusually challenging Wednesday, JF and FV.Teedmnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12832353448839187816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-3240070794669392392015-09-16T13:53:56.323-04:002015-09-16T13:53:56.323-04:00I didn't think the cluing was too tough for a ...I didn't think the cluing was too tough for a Wednesday, and I did like the theme. There's a Target in my local mall so I didn't have that problem. The fill was really nice with the exception of TOWCAR, ABAA, and the ETA/BETA/THETA glob. I really don't like indefinite clues. Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00959542654749153162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-82167972815785412172015-09-16T13:52:38.218-04:002015-09-16T13:52:38.218-04:00I know tow truck. Never heard of a tow car. Never ...I know tow truck. Never heard of a tow car. Never heard of T-Boned for a crash. Never heard of Cash Cab. Charleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-33982221378810168592015-09-16T13:49:04.380-04:002015-09-16T13:49:04.380-04:00Hate watch - my edition of paper has two hyphens s...Hate watch - my edition of paper has two hyphens showing before watch. (One may just be a flaw in the newsprint.) So I still don't get hate watch, particularly when crossed with an often varied rhyme scheme. I ended with abab and hbte, which does pop up with Google. linda dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00090234993796393101noreply@blogger.com