tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post8096529994506640708..comments2024-03-29T04:46:57.646-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Queen pop music nickname / SUN 6-26-16 / OutKast chart-topper / Supercontinent of 200 million years ago / Subj for radio astronomer / Food feelings after big meals / River tributary of Thames / Tree with catkins / Seal of Solomon othersRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger91125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-86264014765568243372016-07-07T16:52:09.619-04:002016-07-07T16:52:09.619-04:00Rex, must you Whine, Whine, Whine? Enjoyed the bas...Rex, must you Whine, Whine, Whine? Enjoyed the baseball theme and most of the fill (especially adobe/abode).Thanks Priscilla and Jeff.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02002004528146804969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-43011342147525818672016-07-04T20:46:00.621-04:002016-07-04T20:46:00.621-04:00So, @Rex, if I understand your commentary correctl...So, @Rex, if I understand your commentary correctly, you did not like this puzzle because it reminds you of interleague play, which you detest. Okaaaay... I'm hoping that you can appreciate that those of us for whom this is not a hot-button issue might have a very different take on this puzzle. <br /><br />I enjoyed seeing the Mariners battle the Pirates last week, and I enjoyed this puzzle, too. I thought it was a well-above-average NYT debut by Priscilla Clark, and also benefited from Jeff Chen's expertise in crafting delightfully twisted clues. I found it to be easier than many Sunday puzzles, but also more entertaining than most!Sailorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05185068601066087185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-62785034679222478062016-07-03T22:09:10.967-04:002016-07-03T22:09:10.967-04:00To Rex:
OHBOOHOO. I thought the theme was great a...To Rex:<br /><br />OHBOOHOO. I thought the theme was great and well-executed. Inter-league baseball is not a problem but an advance. It makes both leagues' teams show from time to time that they can adjust to each other's rules and still play competitively and well.<br /><br />This was medium-challenging and lots of fun, especially when three(!) of us (spouse and a good friend of ours) come together, get FOCUSED, go to BATTLE, and finally win in the NW, with SAMSA, ABRAM, and KOSS, we're all happy we stuck with it.<br /><br />Thanks, Priscilla and Jeff, and Will, too.<br /><br /><br />leftcoastTAMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-14226478767413184872016-07-03T17:19:11.604-04:002016-07-03T17:19:11.604-04:00LOX! (Nova, of course) BIALY! Cats and kittens! ...LOX! (Nova, of course) BIALY! Cats and kittens! What's not to love?<br /><br />Just 'cause I haven't watched a baseball game since the Phillies played at Connie Mack Stadium doesn't mean all these teams were out of my ballpark. I mean, I listen to NPR and a local radio channel (sports comes on). I read the paper (we have a section called "Sports.") <br /><br />Knowing Garfield's middle name or the term for Chinese symbols - that's crossword obscurity. Baseball teams? Not so much. They are ubiquitous pop culture. <br /><br />So it was a fun Sunday battle for me. Loved those impish CUBS. <br /><br />Now, must go out and play. Toodles!<br /><br />Diana, Lady-in-Waiting for Nova with a schmear Diana,LIWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67546187246053436402016-07-03T16:48:57.819-04:002016-07-03T16:48:57.819-04:00Anybody notice that it is Baseball Season right no...Anybody notice that it is Baseball Season right now? Not hockey nor basketball nor football. I liked this puzzle just fine. Enjoyed the themers. Glad they stayed with teams that have been around for a while, and not Diamond Backs or some of the newer teams. Nice debut!Jentapshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06454427112814312006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-19791405445845302092016-07-03T14:47:11.925-04:002016-07-03T14:47:11.925-04:00@Rex - go suck a SOFTBOILed egg. I continue to be...@Rex - go suck a SOFTBOILed egg. I continue to be unable to understand why Rex goes all curmudgeon on a crossword puzzle, often with the denigrating "from the supposed world's best crossword". Perseverate much?<br /><br />I also fail to see the rationality of trying to actually make "sense" of wacky headlines. So, MARINERS and PIRATES are, well, mariners. So? Only those seeking meaning in a crossword puzzle, and there are too many of those, can justify their negativity. I look for entertainment in a puzzle, and this one delivered for me. My attention was FOCUSED, maybe even rapt, while solving. And solve it I did, while devouring some ODDMENTS of a nutritious muffin.<br /><br />Certainly not a slog, some really nice entries (both clues and answers), and nothing in the fill to get upset about. rain forestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-30535879743746426572016-07-03T12:42:06.512-04:002016-07-03T12:42:06.512-04:00Yeah they're not the EXPOS anymore, just harke...Yeah they're not the EXPOS anymore, just harken back.RONdonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-65164653857243753472016-07-03T12:25:08.637-04:002016-07-03T12:25:08.637-04:00A hundred times better than a rebus and no need fo...A hundred times better than a rebus and no need for question marks. Thought it might be about more than baseball, but glad it wasn’t.<br /><br />Country sangin’ yeah baby LEANN Rimes makes another frequent appearance. Seems like she’s been around for an EON, but she’s still in her early 30s and unafraid to appear in HOTPANTS. Also trying to work in a (baseball-related) Twins joke here.<br /><br /><br />Used to have KOSS headphones when they were top-shelf. Have gone other directions since.<br /><br />LOX for @D,LIW. Still haven’t seen the Nova descriptor (maybe not scouting hard enough), but there has always been a lot of smoked salmon out there.<br /><br />While filling in TALISMANS I was thinking that was probably the only way that MANS fits into a puz, but then the possessive MANS came around. I guess this was a TALISMANS MANS puz. And another with RON in it.<br /><br />More cycling today, trying a new trail. (@teedMN I may try to report)<br /><br />Doublemint gum vs. Coors beer – TWINS EXPOS ROCKIES’ BREWERS<br />rondonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-72157968938278028922016-07-03T11:42:30.144-04:002016-07-03T11:42:30.144-04:00WWNAU (Words We Never Actually Use): ODDMENT (why ...WWNAU (Words We Never Actually Use): ODDMENT (why not, over @93-down, "ENDMENTS?"), DYAD, DEETS. Other problems: "Rapt" is definitely NOT "FOCUSED." In fact, you could say it means the EXACT opposite. One who is rapt is blind to all else, so surely not FOCUSED on reality. Then, how is a CRUET an "Italian vessel?" Don't tell me it's because that's the typical container for...wait for it...Italian dressing?? If that's it, then IMO this clue bent so far over backwards to obfuscate as to incur a penalty stroke.<br /><br />All this is evidence that Sunday is aspiring to become the new Saturday--and at 21x21, on steroids. HAVEPITY!<br /><br />On the up side, I did enjoy most of the fill, such as TOKE next to SITIN--activities that often occurred simultaneously as I recall. When the you-know-whats weren't looking. And the last word recalls an iconic moment in "Raiders of the Lost Ark," when John Rhys-Davies saves our hero from a poisonous death by catching one of the BADDATES. As a baseball fan, I liked the theme OK, except that my team--the Phillies--wasn't included, but the hated YANKEES were--and as victors! However, no added stroke there; penalties do not recognize personal preferences. Momentarily shifting sports for today, I'll say they didn't knock this one out of the park, but beat out an infield hit.spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-68647244548788950042016-07-03T10:46:35.940-04:002016-07-03T10:46:35.940-04:00HOTPANTS INTEL
HAVEPITY on the MAN’S manners,
th...HOTPANTS INTEL<br /><br />HAVEPITY on the MAN’S manners, <br />the CON gives BADDATES GEMs.<br />Thus, each BELLE he ENAMORS, <br />the MOOR the OLDMASTER baits them.<br /><br />--- ALECK COURIC<br />Burma Shavenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10440541462718899492016-07-01T17:03:01.533-04:002016-07-01T17:03:01.533-04:00Busta would have been a better answer than Leann f...Busta would have been a better answer than Leann for RImes with rhymes (although his last name is rhymes)<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-91437279224553463132016-06-28T10:55:37.972-04:002016-06-28T10:55:37.972-04:00Liked it, but couldn't figure out how to fit W...Liked it, but couldn't figure out how to fit WINGEDMONKEYS into 4 squares.cwfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02139294102199197879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-55554762469364177642016-06-27T19:37:32.492-04:002016-06-27T19:37:32.492-04:00I got totally stuck in the NE for the longest time...I got totally stuck in the NE for the longest time because I had AnODE at 80A ("the negatively charged electrode of a device supplying current") and the corresponding Anion at 15A ("a negatively charged ion"). I think that fits the "building material" clue pretty nicely!<br /><br />It didn't help that I really wanted MARINERS BATTLE maRlinS, which is a funnier answer IMO.<br /><br />But overall, I did better than average for a Sunday, probably thanks to the fact that I know my baseball teams and am good at long, puntastic theme answers. Too bad there was no shoutout for the Baltimore Orioles, a crossword friendly name if ever there was one.Jennifer Hnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-30199886549281040312016-06-27T19:32:06.178-04:002016-06-27T19:32:06.178-04:00Mike Reese - I would think that the Mariners could...Mike Reese - I would think that the Mariners could have shelled the Pirates, maybe.Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06581264930569305915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-85006013980587029642016-06-27T16:34:48.432-04:002016-06-27T16:34:48.432-04:00rex is right. this was real bad.rex is right. this was real bad.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14147111711286284616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-82084668945300733662016-06-27T14:36:35.963-04:002016-06-27T14:36:35.963-04:00I belatedly finished Sunday's puzzle, having f...I belatedly finished Sunday's puzzle, having found it hard in places and having been really distracted. I'm wondering why NOR is a logician's word. I had LOM instead of GEM at 49D, so I had TILERS at 47A and couldn't see that answer for the longest time. Mostly I liked the puzzle. Monday's puzzle is in my locker at the tennis courts in Central Park and I haven't looked at it yet. I'm back home waiting for the RCN repairman to arrive and chewing my nails.Nancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16737377749030219974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-11610329399943677352016-06-27T13:27:08.641-04:002016-06-27T13:27:08.641-04:00Hmm. I liked it better than Rex did, but that isn&...Hmm. I liked it better than Rex did, but that isn't unusual. I thought the themers were fun (especially the Tigers and the Cubs). I also thought that "pitched poorly" was a nice misdirect. I didn't breeze through this puzzle, but the only section that really gave me difficulties was the DYAD/DEICE/SETI section. I didn't know SETI, but I should have figured out the others more easily. <br />So, for me a good puzzle. I didn't have to google anything, but I did have to think and use crosses to figure out the answers pretty regularly. And it's funny - HOVERCAR/GEM/TOTO wasn't particularly difficult. But then, I also know what toile (and many other fabrics) is/are. And I <i>never</i> know the rap songs. Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06581264930569305915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-19921106714940164082016-06-27T09:47:34.824-04:002016-06-27T09:47:34.824-04:00Complaining about interleague play? Don't som...Complaining about interleague play? Don't some people call that the World Series? It's not only a thing, it's the main thing. The culmination of 150(!)+ regular season games.<br /><br />So, I stopped being a baseball freak soon after high school, when it became even more blatant of a business rather than the bucolic pastime I imagined it to be. Rolled my eyes when I saw the title, but I fact, I did think it really clever. A "why didn't I think of that?" kind of theme.<br /><br />Sure, some of Rex's criticisms are valid, but for me, a nice summer Sunday solve.<br /><br />Thanks, PC/JC.<br /><br />Titahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368251255494687496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-74772619427947801152016-06-27T07:17:57.607-04:002016-06-27T07:17:57.607-04:00let's hope ms Priscilla doesn't see fit to...let's hope ms Priscilla doesn't see fit to get fitted for a suit ! but merely enjoys a well deserved food coma after her bialy and lox --Amyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15111963725751328787noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-1800439677580164422016-06-26T22:20:44.116-04:002016-06-26T22:20:44.116-04:00Oh Rex! I can't live without you, but you are...Oh Rex! I can't live without you, but you are such a naysayer. Never a Sunday you didn't like. Simone Boutethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10249866130260897176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61780604842011552082016-06-26T22:16:33.983-04:002016-06-26T22:16:33.983-04:00I checked out that website, and the most recent en...I checked out that website, and the most recent entry is from 2009?!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-7608271272441129432016-06-26T21:46:18.203-04:002016-06-26T21:46:18.203-04:00Still catching up on things from traveling. No tim... Still catching up on things from traveling. No time for analyzing this week. I did have clean grids on the last four puzzles. Today's was unusually easy as it went down in about half the usual time. <br /> I had no time to comment yesterday at all. SOCLE was new because it's only appeared in Sunday puzzles previously and I used to skip those. A Sunday NYT in addition to our local Sunday paper was too much. Knowing SEKO made SOCLE easy to guess. TORTE was the last entry. Somehow I've never learned that the cakes always have an E at the end. Tort is strictly a legal term. Just another example of my blindness to the obvious. What's worse is that I was confusing tort with tart. That made the extra E seem even more incorrect.<br /> Today's odd word for me was AMBIT. This marks the fifth time I've made a note of it in my Webster's. Maybe it'll sink in this time.<br /><br /><br /><br />puzzle hoardernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-19740752535565888542016-06-26T20:43:23.598-04:002016-06-26T20:43:23.598-04:00a slog and unfun and if that is redundant so be it...a slog and unfun and if that is redundant so be it: a slog and unfun Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-27558924545653502872016-06-26T20:04:02.722-04:002016-06-26T20:04:02.722-04:00It would have been nice to have the entire clue an...It would have been nice to have the entire clue answer be teams, but not easy. What was easy was this puzzle. George Popovhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04127370665253947841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-86153018949016967852016-06-26T19:49:43.278-04:002016-06-26T19:49:43.278-04:00I don't always agree with OFL but, I have to a...I don't always agree with OFL but, I have to affirm that this was a unenjoyable and uninteresting little voyage. The baseball puns were predictable and had a distinct lack of 'groaniness'. Add that to a lot of dull clues and answers and you come up with a less than acceptable puzzle. One of the worst Sundays in a while; I know Mr. Chen is a popular blogger and puzzle constructor but I find many of his efforts lacking. As always, there is no arguing with taste.<br /><br />Andrew Heinegghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18101651673327984167noreply@blogger.com