tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post8296252185973704869..comments2024-03-29T05:08:37.783-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Old Renault / MON 11-18-19 / Jerry's gal pal on Seinfeld / Comment made when itching to leave a dull party / Nearest target for bowler / Clucked in disapproval / Santa Monica landmarkRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger115125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-64963395642379662462019-12-23T17:49:12.413-05:002019-12-23T17:49:12.413-05:00What, no PUPPYLOVE?? Aw, c'mon! I've heard...What, no PUPPYLOVE?? Aw, c'mon! I've heard all three versions of "diagonally across the street:" CATTY, kitty and cater CORNER. This was a nice little Monday piece of fluff, or...fur. DOD is ELAINE, played fetchingly by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Super-easy, but just cute enough for a birdie.spacecrafthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09125304293611865503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-77442092116866171522019-12-23T17:36:11.717-05:002019-12-23T17:36:11.717-05:00Try to finish quickly without reading the clues an...Try to finish quickly without reading the clues and you'll get a PIGGYBAcK. And a kiTTYCORNER if you don't check crosses. Either of the DINAHs will do. Don't recall the puz from 20 years ago, OK by me if on the up and up.rondonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-37475728614145800242019-12-23T15:15:38.390-05:002019-12-23T15:15:38.390-05:00I liked the puzzle and I thought it was easy. Imp...I liked the puzzle and I thought it was easy. Impressive, though, in that only 4 3-letter words were used.<br /><br />If Mr. Arbesfeld was aware of the Gorski puzzle, that is definitely a no-no even if probably no solver would have noticed. If he wasn't aware, well, stuff happens.<br /><br />Around here we say KITTY CORNER, but I have heard the "catty-" version.<br /><br />Without the plagiarism controversy, the puzzle was a good Monday effort in my opinion. I had no problem with the fill, and it was tightly constructed with a cutish theme.rainforestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-12072923291003279922019-12-23T14:23:37.522-05:002019-12-23T14:23:37.522-05:00The BULLY might not get along well with the other ...The BULLY might not get along well with the other cutesy animals. And a stray DOGma, some BOAS and an ASPerse, an ERNo and TERN, and a lone alBEE could be problems. But, hey, no big deal.<br />leftcoasternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-57734372821515402652019-12-23T12:30:28.011-05:002019-12-23T12:30:28.011-05:00Kitty, kitty, kitty, Did you know why "j&quo...Kitty, kitty, kitty, Did you know why "j" walking is illegal? Did you know it was originally a putdown? (put that j walk down! bad kitty)<br /><br />I can see my mind is drifting...<br /><br />Well, I almost got my name in the grid, and definitely got my middle name! So an ok Monday by me.<br /><br />Diana (Elaine), Lady-in-Waiting for CrosswordsDiana, LIWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-4272727384962961952019-12-23T12:03:01.624-05:002019-12-23T12:03:01.624-05:00CATTY OMEGA CHARADE
DINAH’s EGO ENAMORS,
and LES...CATTY OMEGA CHARADE<br /><br />DINAH’s EGO ENAMORS, <br />and LESLEY-ANN is fun,<br />but in TERN she ANSWERED, <br />so ELAINE’s the LASTONE.<br /><br />--- ARNIE PEARY<br />Burma Shavenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-82345513097348829202019-11-24T00:15:14.598-05:002019-11-24T00:15:14.598-05:00cATER-CORNER has an etymology deriv8ng from the Fr...cATER-CORNER has an etymology deriv8ng from the French QUATREAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9597070088599387452019-11-19T16:41:01.521-05:002019-11-19T16:41:01.521-05:00Fun fact: Many intersections near the Santa Monica...Fun fact: Many intersections near the Santa Monica Pier have recently added cattycorner crosswalks in an effort to ease pedestrian-vehicle congestion. As a west coast kid, no one ever used any phrase for cattycorner or kittycorner or whatnot. The only person i knew who had a word for diagonal crosses was my New York grandmother, who said cattycorner. Interesting how so many other regions have their own variation on the word. If SoCal had one, i was unaware.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-57062149205789475382019-11-19T09:34:38.871-05:002019-11-19T09:34:38.871-05:00Can someone tell me how to check if your themers h...Can someone tell me how to check if your themers have been used before? I checked the links that Rex included today but I can't find anything to check themers. Thanks for your help.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01017714129037682215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-16385054170365337072019-11-18T22:58:17.320-05:002019-11-18T22:58:17.320-05:00What on earth is wrong with Le Car? I even had the...What on earth is wrong with Le Car? I even had the Matchbox toy model of it as a kid. Le Car is LeGit.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02684952824668134974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-79306257192235040702019-11-18T22:23:23.094-05:002019-11-18T22:23:23.094-05:00@Nancy 6.07pm. If your comments are idle why make ...@Nancy 6.07pm. If your comments are idle why make them? Denise Pugetnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-33592733824494989142019-11-18T21:16:50.070-05:002019-11-18T21:16:50.070-05:00@Z
Michael Palin was the Cardinal who bursts in an...@Z<br />Michael Palin was the Cardinal who bursts in and says, "No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!" <br /><br />I was going to find and post a link, but I got lazy. 😀<br /><br />Rebel RooRooMonsterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14103892151115549684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-29706404796557603222019-11-18T20:52:35.522-05:002019-11-18T20:52:35.522-05:00@anon9:34a.m. - Good luck with that.
@Joe Dipin...@anon9:34a.m. - Good luck with that. <br /><br />@Joe Dipinto - What constructors are paid is not a matter of speculation. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/puzzles/submissions/crossword" rel="nofollow">The current rates can be found here.</a> Rates have increased during Shortz tenure, and the tiered system is relatively new. Constructors still get nothing for reprints. So that Arbesfeld got paid more for his puzzle than Gorski got for hers is simply a fact. You are relatively new here, so I’m guessing you have missed previous RexRants™️ about constructor pay. Some of his finer Rant Work IMHO. If I’m remembering correctly, it’s the NYT’s keeping all the residual profits that bugs Rex the most. The suggestion that the tiered pay system reinforces the systemic sexism at NYTX is a new plaint. <br /><br />@jberg and @anoabob - I assumed the clue just meant that the most likely place for me to see a TERN was at a shore. Technically the answer would have to be plover or sandpiper, but I wouldn’t have given a side-eye to seagull as an answer. <br /><br />BTW - KITTYCORNER. Everyone else is a heretic doomed to burn for all eternity in the deepest pits of hell.*<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />*Said in the same voice as John Cleese saying “no one ever expects the Spanish Inquisition.”Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8294803111571015582019-11-18T20:25:29.186-05:002019-11-18T20:25:29.186-05:00@Roo, sorry! I think it was clearer in the source...@Roo, sorry! I think it was clearer in the source I copied from. I just thought it was interesting that the original "cater" got transformed into a "kitty" as it moved west. Growing up, I never questioned what a kitty might have to do with a diagonal - nothing, it turns out!Carolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15971759975067250908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-33690531915970639832019-11-18T19:01:50.719-05:002019-11-18T19:01:50.719-05:00Not a pleasant start to the week: tough for a Mond...Not a pleasant start to the week: tough for a Monday (felt more like a Weds to me). <br /><br />Without getting into the NITTYGRITTY (as Rex already sufficiently enumerated how much schlock is packed in), I wouldn't want to suggest this to newbies looking to break into solving. Like asking a middle-school physics students to explain a BUCKYBALL.<br /><br />And kudos to Rex for showing how much was PIGGYBACKed, to put it mildly. As I solved, it did feel fishy that no one had come up with this theme before. <br /><br />Bonkers that this was published--enough to send me to the LOONYBIN.<br /><br />gillyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09083956249980477008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-2982174277406744922019-11-18T18:17:48.024-05:002019-11-18T18:17:48.024-05:00@Jyqm 12:08pm - "Are there commenters here wh...@Jyqm 12:08pm - "Are there commenters here who aren't familiar with XWord Info?". Yer darn tootin' there are. Not sure why you'd expect anything different. Have now had a look and it's dueucedly interesting.kitshefhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10014225555838850414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-86888587241358195252019-11-18T18:09:31.476-05:002019-11-18T18:09:31.476-05:00PuppyLove BunnyEars BillyLiar FroggyWentACourtinPuppyLove BunnyEars BillyLiar FroggyWentACourtinAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-57966943522399593442019-11-18T18:07:18.983-05:002019-11-18T18:07:18.983-05:00You're right, @GILL (5:06). You shouldn't...You're right, @GILL (5:06). You shouldn't imagine me yelling because I don't yell. Well. maybe at kamikaze bikers bearing down on me on the sidewalk. Or bikers going the wrong way on a one-way-street. Or bikers running red lights. Bikers make me yell in real life, but no one else. (My preferred shout btw is "Jail's too good for you!")<br /><br />I came to the internet very late -- December 2008, when I bought my first computer. I'm not on any social media. So I think I missed the memo linking the use of FULL CAPS with shouting. With rudeness. I just don't think of punctuation -- <i>any punctuation</i> that way. It seems absolutely bizarre to me that, with the world going to hell in a handbasket, anyone would be triggered by the use of FULL CAPS in an idle comment on a blog. There have to be much, MUCH more important things to be exercised about.<br /><br />But in any event, @GILL, rest assured that I would never yell at you in real life. I would respect those extra 7 inches you bring to the table like crazy :)<br /><br />But rest assured, @GILL, that I won't be shouting at you any time soon. Nancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16737377749030219974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-89645231130117492472019-11-18T17:35:09.556-05:002019-11-18T17:35:09.556-05:00I don't blame authors for this kind of copying...I don't blame authors for this kind of copying. The author probably long ago totally forgot that he had already seen these answers in another puzzle. This happens all the time without being deliberate copying. If the author were deliberately copying, he probably would have reused the basic concept but picked new phrases - those aren't the only 4 animal-based phrases in existence.<br /><br />There is more reason to feel that maybe the editorial staff should have checked out how many of the theme answers had been used before, and where.<br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-909831199372697042019-11-18T17:06:21.669-05:002019-11-18T17:06:21.669-05:00@Rachel 10:53. YES...it was a Matt Gaffney/Mike S...@Rachel 10:53. YES...it was a Matt Gaffney/Mike Shenk kerfuffle ...I now remember even though it was several years ago. I don't think the database available now was even in existence then - but I could be wrong. What I do remember was the word "plagiarism" was bandied about. (By the way, @Rex never used the word today, it was first used by @km3t at 12:11 and took off on its own - @Rex's complaint was the identical use of the cluing and answers that could've been avoided by a quick check from WS and the constructor as well). Anyway, I remember Matt came back and explained how incredibly coincidental the two puzzles were. He was very gracious. In many ways, I felt really bad for him. Yes, we ALL can mistakenly recreate something that's been done in the past because it was good and it stuck in our minds. I think what @Rex and others are saying here, is that it's easy to check and it should've been checked....My dos centavos.<br />@Nancy...While we've yet to meet, I somehow can't visualize you yelling.... I think I probably have about 7 inches over you and the thought of you yelling at me actually makes me giggle...... (In a good way). ;-)GILL I.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05605766053820226324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61784445820315500072019-11-18T17:05:35.224-05:002019-11-18T17:05:35.224-05:00@mo -- What @Z said. I wasn't endorsing those...@mo -- What @Z said. I wasn't endorsing those counter-arguments; I very plainly was saying it was something I'd never do.Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09709142959535977331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-78489875016272948742019-11-18T15:26:57.570-05:002019-11-18T15:26:57.570-05:00Classy response, Drew.Classy response, Drew.Miss Mannersnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-2545087333730844602019-11-18T15:22:33.764-05:002019-11-18T15:22:33.764-05:00@Carola
Um, what?
That was way confusing.
Roo@Carola<br />Um, what?<br />That was way confusing.<br /><br />RooRooMonsterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14103892151115549684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-84545794060049234932019-11-18T14:52:16.823-05:002019-11-18T14:52:16.823-05:00Since YAKAT and YAPAT both fit the clue equally we...Since YAKAT and YAPAT both fit the clue equally welland I didn't know whether Robert was Mr. PEARY or KEARY, I DNFed on this one until I googled him. MJTnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-36137881169374286212019-11-18T13:57:25.351-05:002019-11-18T13:57:25.351-05:00No bruising @ Nancy in New York, just an aversion ...No bruising @ Nancy in New York, just an aversion to rudeness and shouty people. Thank you though for sharing your puzzles that I must have done earlier this year, hopefully there are more to come. Drew Hardynoreply@blogger.com