tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post8280286926610157597..comments2024-03-28T18:12:10.683-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Unusual diacritic used in Portuguese / SUN 10-26-14 / Lila Oscar winner for Zorba Greek / Yellow diner packet / Long-distance swimmer Nyad / Vice of Dorian Gray / English city where Magna Carta originated / Martial artist Jackie / March birthstone traditionallyRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger112125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9375376306384901612016-11-03T09:01:30.463-04:002016-11-03T09:01:30.463-04:00numpang lewat boss...numpang lewat boss...obat pembesar penishttp://hargaobatpembesarpenis.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-52599496551921556392014-11-05T21:09:13.482-05:002014-11-05T21:09:13.482-05:00@Sarah Snape - This and many other mysteries are s...@Sarah Snape - This and many other mysteries are solved on Rex's <a href="http://rexwordpuzzle.blogspot.com/p/frequently-asked-questions-i-get-lots.html" rel="nofollow">FAQ page</a>.Zed the Answer Mannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-64468702918283803312014-11-05T20:59:33.796-05:002014-11-05T20:59:33.796-05:00Why does each answer grid have one letter in red?Why does each answer grid have one letter in red?Sarah Snapehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10730516645689519163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46256866740580389832014-11-02T16:15:59.941-05:002014-11-02T16:15:59.941-05:00Good day to scroll by the comments. Good day to e...Good day to scroll by the comments. Good day to enjoy a very clever puzzle 2/3 of which was quite easy while the remaining 1/3 was taxing. I realized at the first circle that two letters were involved, but didn't know exactly what was going on until I had 6 of them, and could see CHAMPION and DEFEATED emerging, which actually helped me with the last two. Nicely done!<br /><br />There was talk of a "meta" puzzle (a term I detest), but as a syndie, I guess I'll have to wait 5 weeks to see what's going on.<br /><br />One of the better Sundays, for sure.<br /><br />179, or 8, Can it hold up?<br /><br />rain forestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-15528571245607070102014-11-02T15:33:37.759-05:002014-11-02T15:33:37.759-05:00I managed to finally complete the grid with OWS (K...I managed to finally complete the grid with OWS (KASPAnOV/nABAT seemed reasonable) after figuring out the double-letter circles early-on. I eventually solved the jumbled letters, too, but I missed the victor/vanquished significance altogether until I came here. All in all it was an enjoyable, if at times frustrating, way to spend a couple of hours on a snowy Sunday.<br /><br />1233 is as natural as it gets.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44806466007949307392014-11-02T14:28:08.977-05:002014-11-02T14:28:08.977-05:00Once again, the late hour of this post proves how ...Once again, the late hour of this post proves how tough it was. Some brutal cluing really bogged me down almost everywhere, but particularly in the eastern half.<br /><br />Never heard of ACIDJAZZ, or KEDROVA, or...aw, I don't feel like listing them all. "Reservation holder" = ARIZONA why? Because of all the Amerind communities down there? Pretty far-fetched as a clue...see what I mean? What's a "LAUNCHER?" You mean the guy there who pushes the button? Those guys aren't actually THERE, IN the silo, they're in a bunker at a safe distance. And there's never just one; they work in pairs. Or did he mean some sort of device? You fire up the rocket, that's how you launch. What is a "LAUNCHER?" Beats me.<br /><br />The theme is very clever in execution, and I don't share OFL's quibble with the inconclusiveness of the BATMAN/THEPENGUIN tilt. The bat-dude wins every time; Cobblepot just resurfaces in another medium.<br /><br />For the third day in a row I conquered a very tough puzzle, so won't give worse than a B, but this one has to have a minus with it. Junk Sunday fill is inevitable, but there is a dumpster-full of it today. I again won't bother with a list; you clunkers know who you are.<br /><br />The legible half of my captcha today is in the grid: DAVID.spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-19385980406951248642014-10-29T06:30:55.783-04:002014-10-29T06:30:55.783-04:00I found this puzzle to be really challenging. Off...I found this puzzle to be really challenging. Official DNF. I hung on for I don't know how many hours before resorting to google, and even that didn't get 'er done. I had to hit "check all" to find errors before I could finish up.<br /><br />I was able to get the pair idea with BATMAN/THEPENGUIN and ALI/FOREMAN, but I didn't necessarily figure out I needed to enter the rebus in winner-loser order until the "check all" didn't like some of my rebus squares. In the end I was able to see the meta CHAMPION-DEFEATED. Quite a work of art construction-wise.<br /><br />Googles: KEDROVA, SCHS (I misread the clue as wanting a specific PAC 12 school, and I couldn't come up with one with an abbreviation that started and ended with S - made me distrust SALSAS.)<br /><br />Errors: bONG, aTILDE, Ltd, cAiro, ELe<br /><br />Write-overs:<br />HeRo > HARE<br />COERCIalLY > COERCIVELY<br />iviES > VINES<br /><br />WOEs: SPRAT, DEEPBLUE<br />Favorite clues: PEZ, EPSILON<br />Hand up for disagreeing with SUDOKU = 3 x 3 x 3<br />Favorite words: INATREE, INROME, RATATAT<br /><br />A thing of beauty is a joy forever, and this one took me almost that long. Thanks CE / WS!LHS 888https://www.blogger.com/profile/15004450465176210237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44699067280382910732014-10-28T23:45:12.730-04:002014-10-28T23:45:12.730-04:00I thought the cluing was very good, with two excep...I thought the cluing was very good, with two exceptions, those for ETA and FINED. <br /> Fog delays the *actual* arrival, not the estimate of the time of arrival (it *changes* the ETA but doesn't *delay* the ETA).<br /> Similarly, "*getting* FINED" would be "Getting a slap on the wrist", but not just FINED by itself. If you can't substitute the clue for the answer in a sentence, in cases like this, then the clue is probably incorrectly worded, methinks.paulsfohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07721639286466422944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-14905112224701193072014-10-28T14:04:43.151-04:002014-10-28T14:04:43.151-04:00@Anonymous 4:38
Actually, better would be "i...@Anonymous 4:38<br /><br />Actually, better would be "if ... <i>had been</i> under my control".'mericans in Parisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45122621614252735772014-10-27T16:38:57.968-04:002014-10-27T16:38:57.968-04:00@Frenchie - "if ... was[sic] under my control...@Frenchie - "if ... was[sic] under my control"? Don't you mean "if .. <b>were</b> under my control"?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45487840130264565472014-10-27T10:54:30.458-04:002014-10-27T10:54:30.458-04:00Fun, but awfully easy. I'm surprised any of y...Fun, but awfully easy. I'm surprised any of you found it challenging, especially Rex of all people. Better disguised cluing for some of the gimmees would have made this an excellent puzzle. Too bad. Agree with Rex about Batman vs Penguin, same thing occurred to me that their war is ongoing and so there is no final defeat. (No villain in Gotham is ever defeated, because they are either easily pardoned or the prison or insane asylum is easily escaped.) But this slight inaccuracy didn't affect the solving of the puzzle in the least, so it isn't a major complaint, just an observation. BTW, St. Albans is a must-see, its downtown is like taking a step back to the middle ages, so atmospheric.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-6658832166901928512014-10-27T08:56:02.859-04:002014-10-27T08:56:02.859-04:00@Zeke, if a consultant can't decide on the rel...@Zeke, if a consultant can't decide on the relative applicability of 'defensive' vs 'reactive', he/she is guilty of mucky thinking.<br /><br />Show me a chain, and I'm happy to pull/yank it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-70396477005883443712014-10-27T03:28:17.751-04:002014-10-27T03:28:17.751-04:00@Z -- You get it.
@Zeke -- Of course if the repor...@Z -- You get it.<br /><br />@Zeke -- Of course if the report I was complaining about (the one with "defensive/reactive") was under my control I should have just fixed it and not complained about it. But it wasn't: I came across after it had already been published. My point was that nowadays one often has no idea what a writer means when he or she uses the slash. In this case, the ambiguity was crucial since the consultant's term was one used dozens of times in his report.'MiPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-81449821987089464212014-10-27T02:45:53.441-04:002014-10-27T02:45:53.441-04:00I'm surprised no one's brought up that HER...I'm surprised no one's brought up that HERCULES is Roman and HERACLES is Greek. I had HERACLES until I saw "LACNCHED." <br /><br />- JonathanJonathan Onoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-47854317503686522332014-10-26T23:08:05.796-04:002014-10-26T23:08:05.796-04:00@WA - a story that your comment brought to mind:
...@WA - a story that your comment brought to mind:<br /><br />From same visiting cousin...married to a Brit. When his mother first got television (sorry - telly), she watched her first football game. After sitting through the first half, she calmly suggested..."Why don't they just give <i>both</i> sides a ball?"Titahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368251255494687496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67607019915280338662014-10-26T23:02:35.658-04:002014-10-26T23:02:35.658-04:00I was as flummoxed as the rest of you by that Port...I was as flummoxed as the rest of you by that Portuguese diacritic...<br />Was able to guess at it, but thought it to be a green paint kinda clue.<br /><br />I suppose it is somewhat rare, though I wonder how dear Caleb determined that. Is there an official count of diacritic frequency in each language?<br /><br />A cousin is currently visiting from Portugal - I asked her, and like most native speakers, when asked a weird question about one's language, was stumped too.<br /><br />Anyhow, for all of you who are dying to know...<br />A very common word ending in Portuguese is "ão". It is a somewhat nasally n-ish sound - a distant cousin to the French "-on". My brother is João - our version of John.<br /><br />Well, turns out when you have more than one thing ending in ão, you have 3 chances to pluralize it wrong...<br />Dog - cão, cães<br />Brother: irmão, irmãos<br />Lion: leão, le<b>õ</b>es<br /><br />Of course, they all sound different. And there is no rhyme AND/OR reason.<br /><br />So there you have it.<br />You're welcome.<br /><br />Thanks Caleb - great fun on a very busy Sunday.Titahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368251255494687496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-6703800239137747032014-10-26T22:43:11.067-04:002014-10-26T22:43:11.067-04:00There are a lot of miserable human beings in the w...There are a lot of miserable human beings in the world. Lighten' up Francis!wreckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08797908615185213756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45359138582429935772014-10-26T22:02:11.503-04:002014-10-26T22:02:11.503-04:00@inatree 5:34: yes, the commenters on this blog a...@inatree 5:34: yes, the commenters on this blog are a clique-ish bunch. Leapfinger, alias z, whirred wacks, steve J. They make each other feel good. Likely do some K-I-S-S--I-N-G indeed. A self-reinforcing little circle, with no interest in anyone but themselves. Rex's little teacher's pets. orgy boysnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-54296891102520960492014-10-26T21:44:51.495-04:002014-10-26T21:44:51.495-04:00Hence the multiple references and links to the Yes...Hence the multiple references and links to the Yes song "tempus fugit." Worth a listen. Yes!noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-34552618531986906122014-10-26T20:52:02.407-04:002014-10-26T20:52:02.407-04:00One of the great delights of META week was reading...One of the great delights of META week was reading @Casco Kid's comments on Saturday. It was an interesting window into his thought processes (although it could have been any one of us in how we've approached other puzzles). Thanks for sharing!Whirred Whackshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05637591146611998012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-49599465578050141792014-10-26T20:48:45.091-04:002014-10-26T20:48:45.091-04:00@Z Thanks for the Chess video - I just did with t...@Z Thanks for the Chess video - I just did with the meta what Kasparov did with Deep Blue's glitch and assumed it was smarter than I am, though in my case, it's probably the truth. <br /><br />@Leapy, love the Harry Belafonte tie-in.Teedmnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12832353448839187816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61775923929606590032014-10-26T20:37:23.407-04:002014-10-26T20:37:23.407-04:00@Roo Monster..thanks for the explanation. I hope w...@Roo Monster..thanks for the explanation. I hope we never have one of these again...too much workchefbeahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15195945085405126511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24049803193647402322014-10-26T20:08:58.023-04:002014-10-26T20:08:58.023-04:00Horse shit tells a lot to a vet. Likewise, lazy wr...Horse shit tells a lot to a vet. Likewise, lazy writing can often tell a careful reader or editor quite a bit about a writer. I rather enjoyed 'MiP's initial rant, having not thought much about the misuse of "/" in punctuation. If professionals hand in professional writing that consistently needs editing for clarity it would irk me to the point of ranting, too. Hopefully, just once, though. Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-70387045904348572082014-10-26T20:05:42.166-04:002014-10-26T20:05:42.166-04:00@andy keate: Of COURSE your app isn't letting...@andy keate: Of COURSE your app isn't letting you solve the puzzle! Your app is, like all computer-related devices, a technosadist. It is fiercer than you, more singleminded than you, more devious than you. It has a plethora of ways to frustrate and defeat you. If a Martian came down to earth and saw the hapless human interacting with the stubborn, implacable computer, the Martian would be sure that computers ran the world. And the Martian would not be entirely wrong. Andy, buy the Times (no, I don't own shares), get a pen or pencil and you'll be able to solve smoothly, without any techno-glitches. Trust me!Nancynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46411020616495124072014-10-26T19:47:19.554-04:002014-10-26T19:47:19.554-04:00@M&A, I have an escape-from-a-paper-bag trick ...@M&A, I have an escape-from-a-paper-bag trick that is nothing short of harrowing. <br /><br />What's Latin for "Why is what I'm looking for always in the first place I look?"Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07107804787389636647noreply@blogger.com