tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post794438355875893539..comments2024-03-29T01:22:33.864-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Former name of Kazakhstan's largest city / SAT 4-3-21 / Soup bone selection / Pro in tech since 2015 / Maker of candy corn and conversation hearts / The sentinels silent and sure per a Les Miserables song / One of 20 standing in the HouseRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger92125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31189375512208146622021-06-20T16:59:18.853-04:002021-06-20T16:59:18.853-04:00Does no one complain about UP being in the puzzle ...Does no one complain about UP being in the puzzle 3 times? TATTED UP 36A, KICKS IT UP 10D, ICE UP 15A?ramroothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14316802282814191149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10945482757527045362021-05-08T19:48:40.093-04:002021-05-08T19:48:40.093-04:00I've got one bone to pick--and it's not a ...I've got one bone to pick--and it's not a HAMHOCK. It's the clue for 11-down:<br /><br />"THEY'RE (emphasis mine, present tense) on a mission."<br /><br />You mean to tell me that after two centuries, those guys are STILL AT IT?? This clue screams foul ball. It's bad enough to earn a bogey for the whole puzzle.spacecrafthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09125304293611865503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-92009134826609289742021-05-08T17:09:27.251-04:002021-05-08T17:09:27.251-04:00....but not quite the end. This story could have b.......but not quite the end. This story could have been made even longer by inserting CURIOUSER, FLAUNTED, and TEEN MOM in the obvious places. (Was this a set up by Mr. Collins?)leftcoasternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-15371167158414448192021-05-08T16:17:51.669-04:002021-05-08T16:17:51.669-04:00There’s a story here --
AMUSES, FLIRTATIOUS, KIC...There’s a story here -- <br /><br />AMUSES, FLIRTATIOUS, KICKSITUPANOTCH, IMSOEXCITED, SPERM (oops dammit) THE THRILL IS GONE. <br /><br />The end.leftcoasternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8758659242880180672021-05-08T15:17:08.824-04:002021-05-08T15:17:08.824-04:00When BurmaShave didn't fit into 1A, and BSII f...When BurmaShave didn't fit into 1A, and BSII fit but didn't help, I knew I was in trouble. But things got better.<br /><br />Hey - HESS trucks show up- in crosswords all the time, even if you don't remember the gas stations.<br /><br />It must be Saturday.<br /><br />Diana, LIWDiana, LIWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-22301087013473879522021-05-08T13:15:57.209-04:002021-05-08T13:15:57.209-04:00RILED UP
YON TEENMOM IS SOEXCITED;
A FLIRTATIOUS ...RILED UP<br /><br />YON TEENMOM IS SOEXCITED;<br />A FLIRTATIOUS AMISH hotty,<br />ATEN, TOP NOTCH, can't fight IT,<br />to THE EXTENT that she IS KNOTTY.<br /><br />--- RILEY HESSBurma Shavenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-17726677970477459442021-05-08T13:03:27.450-04:002021-05-08T13:03:27.450-04:00Hess? Is this a regional brand? Someone please exp...Hess? Is this a regional brand? Someone please explain...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-79061792999365497792021-05-08T11:18:27.910-04:002021-05-08T11:18:27.910-04:00IMSOEXCITED I BEAT this one. And it’s not because ...IMSOEXCITED I BEAT this one. And it’s not because my alma mater is ALMA ATA U. I give it ATEN.thefogmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01870509029973778266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44604659953099807242021-04-05T13:51:16.086-04:002021-04-05T13:51:16.086-04:00Only tough part for me was Almaata. I had ATEN, an...Only tough part for me was Almaata. I had ATEN, and then thought UMASS had gone to the AAC like Temple. Left it at ATEN. Had Black Magic Woman for my first answer, but couldn’t get any crosses. Erased it and put The Thrill is Gone. Kept rolling until I had Almayta. Changed the y to an a.Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05964501472593587070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8984522778774696502021-04-04T12:47:07.390-04:002021-04-04T12:47:07.390-04:00How is it not earFlap? The missing F made me think...How is it not earFlap? The missing F made me think for a sec that it was a themed Saturday.JCohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11219444902124894111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-765461232753341942021-04-04T06:41:40.780-04:002021-04-04T06:41:40.780-04:00@domaddy — Technically, you’re correct that stet m...@domaddy — Technically, you’re correct that stet means let stand. But this clue, I believe, refers to the routine editing process of a manuscript in which an editor (or proofreader) rejects a specific proposed change in the manuscript by crossing out that proposed change and writing “stet” — meaning, “Nah, this change is no good [for any number of reasons], so please stet the writer’s original version of the sentence.”BrucieKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02741121819447275031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-20844403168903705982021-04-03T20:37:35.094-04:002021-04-03T20:37:35.094-04:00@Anonymous 5:58. F that! @John H castigated Rex by...@Anonymous 5:58. F that! @John H castigated Rex by saying Emeril “shouldn’t be brushed off like that”. And, correctly, recommends that Rex shouldn’t trash a subject he knows nothing about. @Z has been banging this drum since 8:12 this morning. <br />Isn’t there a frisbee tourney or a public school district to grift somehow?<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91617867516033192852021-04-03T19:43:31.475-04:002021-04-03T19:43:31.475-04:00Really enjoyed this one. A real battle but got the...Really enjoyed this one. A real battle but got there in the end with no cheats. <br /><br />It’s interesting that ARSE is used freely here. In the UK and Ireland, it’s considered quite rude; much ore so than ASS here. Always makes me do a double take and think Really? when I see it oriordanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11557251907978545881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-62065571988558162032021-04-03T18:47:04.237-04:002021-04-03T18:47:04.237-04:00@Larry 6:08 PM
Gotta say, that made me laugh. No,...@Larry 6:08 PM <br />Gotta say, that made me laugh. No, I've never seen an Emeril infomercial. But the vehemence of your apparent emotion was funny. Could I recommend changing the channel or turning the TV off? ;-)<br /><br />(I'm like that too sometimes. I won't name the people I can't stand, because I could do without the hate mail that would arrive in the form of comments. But often I put my objects of scorn on mute. Sometimes mimicking them also works for me.)TTrimblenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-89450651640400996632021-04-03T18:08:59.535-04:002021-04-03T18:08:59.535-04:00Emeril might be a great chef & a nice guy, but...Emeril might be a great chef & a nice guy, but I doubt anyone but @Lewis could watch his infomercials for any length of time and not want to punch him right in his fat face.Larrynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-63909865080262744032021-04-03T17:58:04.982-04:002021-04-03T17:58:04.982-04:00Ladies and gentleman of the board,
I implore you: ...Ladies and gentleman of the board,<br />I implore you: read Z’s last post and John H’s post.<br />Z has lied, baldly, by omission. The point of John Z’s post wasn’t to praise Rex as “Generally a nice guy”, but to take him for task for his errant attack. We all know Rex was attacking Emeril by dismissing him. Chip Hilton is quite right.<br /> But back to the point. Z is lying when he agrees with an assumption of his own making and completely ignoring the black letter complaint that John H made. This is so patently dishonest it’s bizarre. Why on Earth is Z so interested in protecting Rex? It’s clear many reasonable people here believe as John H does that not only does Emeril not deserve a yuck but that a yuck means trashing. Set aside whether you agree with his assume that. That IS his assessment, clearly. That Paula Deen was more severely criticized by OFL does not change the fact that OFL was criticizing Emeril. I’m not sure who Z thinks he fooling with this self evident false equivalency. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-48699541031460088712021-04-03T17:43:34.036-04:002021-04-03T17:43:34.036-04:00My wife and I have been doing Saturdays for maybe ...My wife and I have been doing Saturdays for maybe 6 months so far? This was the hardest we've personally run in to. I think it was largley the result of just having trouble getting a footing in the start. We knew very few of the trivia-type answers off the bat, and we had a number of wrong answers for the more vague clues. I actually jokingly guessed SPERM bank, but didn't put it in because I did not expect that to be in a puzzle. So we had river and then .. something else for a bit. ochre instead of SAUTE.<br /><br />Also, BROWN != SAUTE. Saute is to fry something in a pan with a fat. You absolutely do not have to brown something to saute it. Sometimes you actually don't want to brown something - say if you're sweating onions. Outside of the NATICK-y SW corner, this is the only clue I can remember having any issue with it. Mostly good stuff, just was not on the wavelength today. Better luck tomorrow!<br /><br />Thanks @bocamp! CreamyThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12957003548541033539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-84090546287354427792021-04-03T17:16:12.256-04:002021-04-03T17:16:12.256-04:00The comments read like a high PPP puzzle, so I dou...The comments read like a high PPP puzzle, so I double checked. 19/66 for 29%. EARLAP seems to have caused people problems. Both American Heritage and Merriam-Webster say “see ‘ear flap’” so i guess there’s room for complaint. I did learn that EARLAP is from the 12th century while “EARfLAP” is a relative neologism from the 1820’s. I had no problem with EARLAP which makes me suspect my youth in a lake effect snow belt might have something to do with getting that easily. At any rate, I am surprised that so many found this challenging. <br /><br />@Chip Hilton - “Again, yuck” just doesn’t strike me as a “trashing.” We’ve seen Rex trash something, and this ain’t it. As someone alluded to, Rex trashed Paula Deen. That was a trashing. As @John H pointed out, Emeril seems like a pretty nice guy generally, but I’m not going to lose sleep over Rex not agreeing. Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-49058417611604597832021-04-03T15:57:01.376-04:002021-04-03T15:57:01.376-04:00@jae 2:40 PM
Thx, I'm on it; sounds like a fu...@jae 2:40 PM<br /><br />Thx, I'm on it; sounds like a full week's workout. <br /><br />Currently doing Newman's Sat. Themeless; thx @Son Volt (8:23 AM). Don't recall ever having done a Stumper, but this one is challenging (tougher than a typical NYT Sat).<br /><br />@Oldactor <br /><br />Watching Space Raiders (Disney+); just got to your part. Btw, nice opening scene on "The Vals" (YouTube).<br />___<br /><br /><br />pg -4<br /><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_DxNpW1kHQ" rel="nofollow">Peace ~</a> Empathy ~ Amity ~ Kindness ~ Hope ~ "With malice toward none; with charity for all" (A.L.) 🕊bocamphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02524629632075020985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-36249419043380499392021-04-03T15:35:49.339-04:002021-04-03T15:35:49.339-04:00Easy for a Saturday - but fun!
Years ago, I inte...Easy for a Saturday - but fun! <br /><br />Years ago, I interviewed BB King and asked him to record a voicemail for me that I then put on my phone - it said: "The Thrill is Gone, and so are the (our last name).... so please leave a message after the beep." This is the edited version; he said it much more charmingly and roundabout. Everybody loved it.jbhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13541145720961142201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45160777331280716842021-04-03T15:27:16.176-04:002021-04-03T15:27:16.176-04:00A Saturday challenge, exactly what I want. Rex. ...A Saturday challenge, exactly what I want. Rex. Geesh. While Emeril isn’t my favorite, he certainly doesn’t deserve Rex’s trashing (and @Z, you betcha, it was a trashing). I also couldn’t understand Rex’s problem with the LUSTRE clue. Crown Jewels = England-related, ergo, an alternate spelling. Not an incorrect spelling, just different from U.S. standard. <br /><br />Emeril defenders: Good on you.<br />Peter A. Collins: Thanks for a fine tussle.Chip Hiltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11944056030047563287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26096192072324794512021-04-03T15:21:18.330-04:002021-04-03T15:21:18.330-04:00Well, I've heard of Alma-Ata, but thought it w...Well, I've heard of Alma-Ata, but thought it was further east than Kazakhstan, and was wondering whether there was a new name for Ashkhabad (there is, Ashgabat, but that doesn't fit either -- and it was supposed to be the old name). So I needed a couple of crosses. And I live in Massachusetts and thought the U of M was in the ACC (not a sports fan). But my real problem was getting to Brasilia. I made the all-too-common mistake of thinking that since BA is on the East Coast and Brasilia in the interior, it must be NNW. I needed EXTENT to fix it.<br /><br />My experience at Emeril's is similar to anon's -- we were staying at a B&B in the French Quarter and our host recommended it. We couldn't get a table, but they offered us two seats at the counter about three feet away from a fry cook. It was just after opening; when we got there a lot of diners were standing around, and we could see the staff inside holding a kind of pep rally; then they all came out, each one calling the name of someone with a reservation, whom they led in. Very impressive -- and watching the guy at the fry station managing about 10 little skillets at once was amazing, as was the food. <br /><br />I think 'let's kick it up a notch' came first; when he got popular, he created Baby BAM to bottle and sell. I could be wrong, though, I never actually watched his show.<br /><br />A fun puzzle, with lots of nice entries, but the three UPs did bother me.jberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02169065390875378077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91200415769309630052021-04-03T15:02:25.430-04:002021-04-03T15:02:25.430-04:00A couple of straightforward but fun long fills.
S...A couple of straightforward but fun long fills.<br /><br />Some "near misses" the kept the going slow:<br />KICKS IT UP AN OUCH (spice ... I originally had "Turns" vs "Kicks" too)<br />ALL TATTOOED<br /><br />Still unhappy about EARLAP. Initially thought this must be some obscure theme variation on "earflap"; was tempted to fill 15-A ICEAP ("icecap").<br /><br />ALMA ATA? Had to peak on that. I HATE obscure geography fills and don't feel the smarter for having learned them.<br /><br />The Ordnung? My first fill was REICH until cross fills suggested AMISH, with a modest forehead slap.<br /><br />When GESSO revealed itself, had to immediately look it up. (This one I DO FEEL "SMARTER" FOR knowing now ;) )<br /><br />I lust for the day when a relatively tame Saturday (in hindsight) such as this is a breezy run! (No time soon ...)Harryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15375953201255032682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-78331118614587733722021-04-03T14:40:07.895-04:002021-04-03T14:40:07.895-04:00Easy-medium. Solid, reasonably smooth, and sparkl...Easy-medium. Solid, reasonably smooth, and sparkly, liked it a bunch!<br /><br />@bocamp - I started Croce’s Freestyle #597 today and at this point I have serious doubts about being able to finish it. Too bad the Stumper is no longer with us.jaehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03385568014046336373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-33499782387668193752021-04-03T14:13:01.290-04:002021-04-03T14:13:01.290-04:00Well, he did mention Emeril a few times, the last ...Well, he did mention Emeril a few times, the last time with a "yuck", so he did seem to go on over-long about the guy. Once would've been enough. I like Emeril Lagasse well enough, and what he produces in the kitchen looks like food I'd really enjoy. Anyhow... <br /><br />No real complaints about this puzzle, and lots to enjoy. Well, the only thing I might complain about is how often the Kazakhstanis seem to change the name of their cities. I think I'm doing well if I just remember Almaty and Astana. Nur-Sultan annoys me a little. And who can remember ALMA ATA? Don't look at me! <br /><br />The long answers are quite nice, I find. I like KICKS IT UP A NOTCH and THE THRILL IS GONE, and CURIOUSER and FLIRTATIOUS and ALL TATTED UP. They put up enough resistance to be satisfying, but without taking up lots of my time. (Yesterday's was *really* easy for me -- close to a PR.) <br /><br />GESSO kept me guessing a while, but was glad to have recalled it. And AMISH gave me pleasure, once found (didn't know about the Ordnung, although I recognize the German word; I wasn't expecting to find the answer on this continent). <br /><br />Love me a split pea soup with HAM HOCKs in it. Bam! Would be perfect on a chilly day like today. <br /><br />Side-eye at Rex for complaining about the cluing for LUSTRE. I thought it was fair, and honestly, someone of his experience ought to be alert to the possibility of different spellings, so I say he only has himself to blame. <br /><br />(@Frantic Sloth -- if you're reading, hope all is well with you. Miss ya!) <br />TTrimblenoreply@blogger.com