tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post8021251037411062315..comments2024-03-28T14:47:10.991-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Toon with size 14-AAAAAA shoes / WED 6-19-13 / Toon voiced by Jim Backus / Jagged as leaf's edge / Game with multiplier Rex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-43717819071687055992022-04-18T19:28:12.455-04:002022-04-18T19:28:12.455-04:00Perhaps AGFA is an age-related thing; this was nea...Perhaps AGFA is an age-related thing; this was nearly a gimme, as the drug store always had Kodak, Agfa, and Fuji film for sale. One cross was enough to determine which foreign firm went there.<br /><br />I held my breath, hoping for a 5-based answer, anticipating GRANT SO at some point. Only a minor disappointment; clearing the power-of-10 board (even without Wilson) was good enough.<br /><br />I also had to get ISR from crosses, despite having a potential sister-in-law who is Baha'i.<br /><br />Nit-pick: "first steps" are canonically around 11 months. "Often" misled me for a while. Ask a parent when their toddle took her first steps, and you'll get an answer in months, not rounded off.<br /><br />JEAN AUEL is always a gimme for me; I know her daughter and granddaughter, although I met them a few years after I finished the series for its own sake.Prunehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00224476641730508311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67737341023741495832013-07-25T16:44:52.728-04:002013-07-25T16:44:52.728-04:00@DMGrandma & spacecraft: Thanks.
You guys are...@DMGrandma & spacecraft: Thanks.<br /><br />You guys are the best.NM Robinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14920756034993068695noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-82288629136109933622013-07-24T20:15:27.689-04:002013-07-24T20:15:27.689-04:00@NM Robin: Only thing I can figure for ISR is Isra...@NM Robin: Only thing I can figure for ISR is Israel, for which ISR is the common three-letter designation in, for example, the Olympic Games. Just Binged it. Wikipedia says it's a city in Northern Israel, the "holiest city of the Baha'i faith." Now I know.spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-2565744203416492012013-07-24T20:12:15.632-04:002013-07-24T20:12:15.632-04:00@Spacecraft and NM Robin. Acre is a city in ISReal...@Spacecraft and NM Robin. Acre is a city in ISReal. No idea how it should be pronounced. I say it the same as the land measurement, but I'm sure at can't be right.DMGrandmanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-13434780985292013782013-07-24T19:49:32.766-04:002013-07-24T19:49:32.766-04:00I liked this puzzle once I figured out the multipl...I liked this puzzle once I figured out the multiple Os. I finished it, so I considered it as easy.<br /><br />A lot of this was crosswordese. Things that I have only seen in the puzzles, such as ISERE APLUS.. etc. <br /><br />@Spacecraft: I have no idea what ISR is in reference to 2D. I got that completely from crosses. I also didn't know AGFA. It came from crosses also.<br /><br />Good puzzle Mr. Mausser.NM Robinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14920756034993068695noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-74919875564946647442013-07-24T15:12:22.127-04:002013-07-24T15:12:22.127-04:00I liked this puzzle. It took awhile to figure out ...I liked this puzzle. It took awhile to figure out why so many answers ended in multiple OOO's. Worst problem was remembering AUEr for AUEL even though I've enjoyed her works. At any rate, it gave me a problem in working out CLEVELAND, which also crossed the only semi-familiar SEVE. Unfortunately no g-note here for reference! <br /><br />I prefer "one year old" to AGEONE. And, i agree with those who note that when babies are babies a month is a long time, and sees many changes. Compare a new born who is really quite helpless with the 11 month old who is just discovering walking and where it will take him. Besides, if someone is less than a year would you say "this little one is 0 years old? <br /><br />Captcha: Ltdamen - short prayer response?DMGrandmanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-52974863759703477082013-07-24T14:22:15.408-04:002013-07-24T14:22:15.408-04:00The theme of this puzzle went totally over my head...The theme of this puzzle went totally over my head even after I filled a few with the crosses. Just couldn't see it. Also agree with @Spacecraft that going from one foreign language to another was a stretch for me. Not a great outing for me at all.CaliTinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-3247296906237888412013-07-24T13:49:56.561-04:002013-07-24T13:49:56.561-04:00In a hurry this morning cause I'm off to watch...In a hurry this morning cause I'm off to watch the Mariners hopefully make it 9 in a row, so I only read the Syn city comments.<br /><br />@Rain Forest made me go read Acme's and ed's posts. Yes, they are BOTH complex characters, and they need each other.<br /><br />Really liked the puzzle. A clever theme that I had to work around to finally realize was about US currency. Snapped on CLEVELAND1000. <br /><br />I give Mr. Mausser an APLUS.<br /><br />capcha: howntbo. After seeing the movie "10," how into Bo was I?<br />Solving in Seattlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04249420848844874936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-13309659128000441682013-07-24T13:38:07.800-04:002013-07-24T13:38:07.800-04:00Another Canuck here who has absorbed enough US his...Another Canuck here who has absorbed enough US history to make the theme answers quite straight-forward. Must say though I'd like to have a few of the $10K banknotes in hand, of course simply to verify that Secretary Chase does indeed appear on them...<br /><br />Only error was the ISORE/JOANAUEL goof that a few people also reported 5 weeks ago. Guess I should be familiar with "Earth's Children" but am not. NEMEA was also a big, fat unknown but readily available from its crosses.<br /><br />Overall, certainly rates an APLUS as Wednesday puzzles go. <br /><br /> Waxy in Montrealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04395751487137805245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-19379431615479978762013-07-24T13:01:42.151-04:002013-07-24T13:01:42.151-04:00Just as there are courses for horses, there are cr...Just as there are courses for horses, there are crosswords for solvers, I guess. I found this medium, and I'm Canadian. However, I have absorbed enough of American "culture" through the NYT puzzle, and I took first-year German 50 years ago, some of which lingers. I, too, thought Virginia's Luray --- was some person until CAVERNS revealed itself. <br /><br />When did I start walking? At AGEONE. Seems in the language to me. <br /><br />The theme is a new one, and there was enough in this puzzle to keep the interest level up, so I liked it. <br /><br />Evil Doug is a complex character.<br /><br />Acme can stop mentioning her book.<br /><br />I continue to enjoy this blog.rain forestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-86326260406675883102013-07-24T11:58:06.487-04:002013-07-24T11:58:06.487-04:00Like @John in Philly, I was naticked in the NW--in...Like @John in Philly, I was naticked in the NW--in fact, doubly so. Had absolutely NO idea what 1d is. And what is "Acre?" Not the word acre, I don't think. Maybe it's a city, pronounced "ah-cray" or something. Either way, I never heard of it, but looking at I_R and __ERE, I tried to draw on my most meager knowledge (?) of European rivers, which includes, unfortunately, YSER, old xword favorite. I supposed that the French might colloquially add a final E to that, so went with ySERE. Thus, DNF. On a Wedensday. And you guys LIKED this?<br /><br />The theme is OK, but two of these bills are extant only in museums (probably only ONE museum, at that!), so how are the rest of us supposed to know whose face belongs on them? Sure, CLEVELAND came on crosses, but I had another bad time in the SW, not knowing EROSE (not a word, BTW, in my Scrabble dictionary), but inferring the S of CHASE. Yet another natick barely avoided.<br /><br />Then we have to translate one foreign language into another--never mind English--and then find an antonym. And you call this easy.<br /><br />To top it all off, I'm a definite NON-fan of "XED." I dunno, I can't understand all the love. Me? I just don't see it.<br /><br />YRS (ugh!) truly, MRMAGOOspacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-77989755306317309732013-06-19T23:58:38.214-04:002013-06-19T23:58:38.214-04:00This 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 6:07, 6:12, 0.99, 43%, Medium<br />Tue 8:12, 8:16, 0.99, 48%, Medium<br />Wed 8:43, 9:44, 0.90, 28%, Easy-Medium<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:42, 3:49, 0.97, 28%, Easy-Medium<br />Tue 4:59, 4:55, 1.02, 55%, Medium<br />Wed 5:37, 5:38, 1.00, 48%, Mediumsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-33130529820320160012013-06-19T20:11:36.424-04:002013-06-19T20:11:36.424-04:00Didn't delete my own comment, so I'll say ...Didn't delete my own comment, so I'll say it again: Evil is a disgrace to the USAF and a grade-A turdburger.<br /><br />sorry for feeding the troll!Oscarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67859341571738338662013-06-19T18:57:32.631-04:002013-06-19T18:57:32.631-04:00Yo! Will and Amy continue to chat at Amy. Go there...Yo! Will and Amy continue to chat at Amy. Go there. John Vhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10557037910799243636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-70784351133904975692013-06-19T17:30:00.938-04:002013-06-19T17:30:00.938-04:00@Delaware..I think we all check the posts all day ...@Delaware..I think we all check the posts all day long, I know I do. Have fun in St. thomaschefbeahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15195945085405126511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-84932285297230675452013-06-19T17:16:11.746-04:002013-06-19T17:16:11.746-04:00late again...is anyone left after I post? Oh well,...late again...is anyone left after I post? Oh well, leaving tomorrow for St. Thomas for 5 days vacation so I doubt anyone will miss me. Thought this was easy once I got the theme, but at first looking at ones and zeros had me really freaked. Didn't know Chase - I thought it would be all Presidents. Also never heard of AGFA and it looked really weird to me. Very up to date with IRS and Occupy. Otherwise, nothing too excitingDelawarenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-75400721285043369882013-06-19T16:59:55.189-04:002013-06-19T16:59:55.189-04:00About average for a Wed. Caught on to the theme ea...About average for a Wed. Caught on to the theme early so that helped. When I caught on at FRANKLIN, I didn't think I'd enjoy it, but by the end I was a believer.<br /><br />Overall I thought the fill was good. Didn't like AGE ONE though. Struck me as one of those things people could say but not a phrase unto itself. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09567874862630285191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44269953113288574792013-06-19T16:34:12.383-04:002013-06-19T16:34:12.383-04:00Midday 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 and my 10/15/2012 post for an explanation of a tweak to my method):<br /><br />All solvers (median solve time, average for day of week, ratio, percentile, rating)<br /><br />Wed 8:43, 9:44, 0.90, 28%, Easy-Medium<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Wed 5:54, 5:40, 1.04, 62%, Medium-Challengingsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10719897486574565262013-06-19T13:55:49.573-04:002013-06-19T13:55:49.573-04:00Very good puzzle with a great theme. NW a little s...Very good puzzle with a great theme. NW a little slow as I wasn’t sure about 14A and didn’t know 3D (coulda been JOAN, but I didn’t think ISORE was right) and 2D had a tricky clue. Didn’t care too much for ALS and XED, but I liked OLIVE OYL and MR. MAGOO.<br /><br />Write-overs include . . .<br />ALL at 19A<br />TEST at 33A<br />GRAM at 58A<br />DINER at 68A<br /><br />Happy Humpday!Birdnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-81148380321854459292013-06-19T13:48:32.293-04:002013-06-19T13:48:32.293-04:00Late to the party but I got the theme early so thi...Late to the party but I got the theme early so this was over in a flash.<br />I've never heard of those caverns and nothing in the clue was a hint to me.<br />@ ED, I'd read your book!Two Ponieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03279414989390373057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-85126476378056481732013-06-19T13:30:38.605-04:002013-06-19T13:30:38.605-04:00The puzzle theme clues, after getting the first on...The puzzle theme clues, after getting the first one, HAMILTON on the $10 bill, made this Wednesday edition much easier for me --less than 1/2 hour and no Googling other than to check on the portraits and corresponding denominations. Feeling good about this one<br />Also, I am constructing one of my own and am getting a true sense of how frustrating it can be. I have my draft down to the cross of 2 five- letter words and it is taking forever to figure out how to make the SW corner work. Very much fun and challenging nonetheless.LaneBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-83067741465460212772013-06-19T13:22:20.504-04:002013-06-19T13:22:20.504-04:00@Evan: Looks like Amy's blog was down on some ...@Evan: Looks like Amy's blog was down on some really neat weejects: ADZ and LAH. Thought they were some of the pick of the sizable litter (of 26). Altho, honorable mention to the IRS/ISR near-SIRmmetric pairing.<br /><br />I'd say the Shortzmeister made a pretty darn good call, running this puz, as is. I'd certainly be proud to have it published under my name, if I had one.<br /><br />fave fillins: MRMAGOO on POT.<br /><br />fave word to re-clue: FOYER. M&A's fearless suggestion... "Mo ___ money".<br /><br />thUmbsUp to a kUle debUt. Especially liked the 1's and 0's.<br /><br />And thUmbsUp to Amy and Will, for the interesting discussion on a topic, I suspect, without end.Masked and Anonymo4Usnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-65302607393387289282013-06-19T12:39:29.039-04:002013-06-19T12:39:29.039-04:00For those interested, Will Shortz chimes in on Amy...For those interested, Will Shortz chimes in on Amy's blog in response to her complaints about some of the more crosswordese answers in today's puzzle (<a href="http://www.crosswordfiend.com/blog/2013/06/18/wednesday-june-19-2013/#comment-223861" rel="nofollow">here</a> and <a href="http://www.crosswordfiend.com/blog/2013/06/18/wednesday-june-19-2013/#comment-223925" rel="nofollow">here</a>). It's interesting to see how editors look at different short fill and decide whether it's interesting enough to warrant inclusion in a puzzle.Evanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15440942981870183719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-21384853959389598602013-06-19T12:35:07.337-04:002013-06-19T12:35:07.337-04:00Thought the theme was creative, liked finding out ...Thought the theme was creative, liked finding out about CLEVELAND and CHASE as well as OLIVE OYL's shoe size.<br /><br />I'd like to AMASS a few 52As.<br /><br />Oh, man - "Clan of the Cave Bear" - housework and all other responsibilities flew out the window.<br /><br />@loren - I didn't have a chanceyesterday to post the results of my research into the history of the state abbreviation for Ohio. In brief: "O." was the official abbreviation in 1931.<br /><br />@Steve J - Thanks for the information about the Wilson note. With just the "W" in WASHINGTON in place, I wondered if it was going to be Wilson with some fabulous value.<br /><br />@acme et. al. - I know what you all mean about "22 months," etc. And yet I'm keeping track of my new(ish) granddaughter practically day by day. Eight weeks today :)<br /><br />@Gill I.P - On "POSSUM" - I think it's because the clue has "critter," calling for something similarly "dialect-ly."Carolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15971759975067250908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-75163197374905200202013-06-19T12:28:48.839-04:002013-06-19T12:28:48.839-04:00CBS News: Gorilla twins born in ARNHEM.CBS News: Gorilla twins born in ARNHEM.machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.com