tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post8415731167785333266..comments2024-03-28T04:40:27.172-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Champagne Tony of golf / TUE 2-23-10 / Camera openings / Salsa singer Cruz / Sainted 11th-century popeRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger116125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-17713568038333656702010-03-30T16:25:56.672-04:002010-03-30T16:25:56.672-04:00My paper had grey squares instead of circles. It l...My paper had grey squares instead of circles. It looked much nicer. Very enjoyable.Alejandro Morenohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01919561706249913721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-54727163417773851162010-03-30T15:04:32.813-04:002010-03-30T15:04:32.813-04:00Been a while since I've read the blog and comm...Been a while since I've read the blog and comments. Came mostly to see if there'd be a youtube embedded for Aloutte. Of course, sang it as a child but took me a while to recognize that I'd been singing the word "gentille". Most interesting column and comments. I loved the comments by the constructor and those who responded back. Saw the landforms almost immediately, starting with valley. And then forgot to apply it for plateau, which would have helped me. Otherwise, about the same reactions. I enjoyed.paul in swnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31905043738073854862010-03-30T13:14:57.072-04:002010-03-30T13:14:57.072-04:00From SynCity:
Wow, great debut @Joanne Sullivan. M...From SynCity:<br />Wow, great debut @Joanne Sullivan. Many of your clues were more inventive than their replacements by WS - I think the original version of this puzzle would have merited a Saturday. Tony LEMA was a gimme for a golfer of my generation. And thanks for the timely shoutout (probably unintentional) to our 2009 Grey Cup (Canadian Football League) champions, the Montreal ALOUETTES.Waxy in Montrealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04395751487137805245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-85219145954390162522010-03-08T03:07:24.960-05:002010-03-08T03:07:24.960-05:00I have read this post and i think that there is ra...I have read this post and i think that there is rally good to solve Puzzle every day through that way i like to know more about words and new things. Thanks for this post!tony lama bootshttp://www.sterlingleather.com/tonylama.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-52262157842631858032010-02-24T19:59:20.234-05:002010-02-24T19:59:20.234-05:00@Joanne Sullivan
The construction was just wonder...@Joanne Sullivan<br /><br />The construction was just wonderful, I was just commenting that with all the slants, it would have limited the puzzle's appeal. as it came out it was just delightful for me and not too easy for the geeks.<br /><br />I look forward to many more puzzles from you.xyzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08287781952915413013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-49364774850182976862010-02-24T14:19:19.141-05:002010-02-24T14:19:19.141-05:00@Joanne
Thank you so much for letting us see your...@Joanne<br /><br />Thank you so much for letting us see your original clues. I agree that Mr. Shortz improved some of them, but by all means not all of them. Keep up the great work!Van55https://www.blogger.com/profile/15904942044695917615noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-52055355341327458982010-02-23T22:17:07.772-05:002010-02-23T22:17:07.772-05:00This week's relative difficulty ratings. See m...This week's relative difficulty ratings. See my <a href="https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=35115061&postID=3588389571383499624&isPopup=true" rel="nofollow">7/30/2009 post</a> for an explanation. 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 6:36, 6:54, 0.96, 40%, Medium<br />Tue 11:04, 8:46, 1.26, 94%, Challenging<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:18, 3:39, 0.90, 23%, Easy-Medium<br />Tue 5:24, 4:28, 1.21, 90%, Challenging<br /><br />Today's median solve times are the highest for all solvers and second highest for the top 100 of the 37 Tuesday puzzles I've tracked. It seems that Joanne had a better feel for the difficulty of this puzzle than Will. It probably would have been more appropriate for a Wednesday.sanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-48287305821790399492010-02-23T22:04:37.614-05:002010-02-23T22:04:37.614-05:00@Stephen, I hate to break the three posts and you&...@Stephen, I hate to break the three posts and you're out rule, but since you asked, in an earlier post, I mentioned that my clue for UPDRAFTS was "Thermals, e.g." That clue would have been too hard for a Tuesday. I doubt that the big guy was referring to birds with the "They lift kites" clue. That seems a little convoluted for a Tuesday.<br /><br />@the redanman, no offense taken. I know that I'm no match for WS.Joanne Sullivannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-63287140223046490802010-02-23T21:41:12.638-05:002010-02-23T21:41:12.638-05:00@Joanne
I don't think I would have liked the ...@Joanne<br /><br />I don't think I would have liked the puzzle as much, sorry, many clues too obtuse except for uber-puzzle geeks.<br /><br />...sorry folks, call me a puzzle-puzzy if you want, I want to have fun and today I did.xyzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08287781952915413013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-59936610801700484562010-02-23T21:21:28.004-05:002010-02-23T21:21:28.004-05:00SethG: I'll CEDE the point.
Clues that I woul...SethG: I'll CEDE the point.<br /><br />Clues that I would have been entirely happy with, are "They lift gliders" or "soar points".<br /><br />But wait a mo... Two Ponies actually read the "kite" clue as a bird?! Maybe I should not be doing crossword puzzles, if that's where I have to be. Did others see this as merely a deliberate misdirection? If so, I'm out of my league. <br /><br />JS?? Can you tip your hand here? Were you thinking of the bird? or messing up on the aerodynamics of flying toys?Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16911901473993027184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-60371766017213027582010-02-23T21:08:49.104-05:002010-02-23T21:08:49.104-05:00@SethG,
I did not look at your link but if it conc...@SethG,<br />I did not look at your link but if it concerns the bird then thanks because that was exactly how I interpreted the clue. It was a clever misdirection that I failed to mention earlier.Two Ponieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06896743444873087885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26359014175686651442010-02-23T20:47:47.800-05:002010-02-23T20:47:47.800-05:00@mac, Yes, I live in NY. What gave me away, the sc...@mac, Yes, I live in NY. What gave me away, the schnoz in my clue for Yenta? I guess I don't even have to open my mouth to betray my roots. I hope to make it to Lollapuzzola this year. Please introduce yourself to me if you come.<br /><br />@andrea, Thanks for chiming back in. I couldn't have rested until I was sure that you knew I wasn't responsible for the Maria clue.<br /><br />No, I don't think I'll ever be a speed solver. I'm in the middle of the pack. The only words that we exchanged were "thank you" as you collected my puzzles. I hope that I have the pleasure of sharing a few more words with you at the next ACPT.<br /><br />I didn't know about the breakfast, and even if I had, I wouldn't have qualified for it until today.<br /><br />Thanks for your congratulations. I doubt that my next puzzle will be this original so I hope that I don't disappoint you all. Well, it was nice to start with a bang. I think that I'll treasure your comments for a long time.Joanne Sullivannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-42348333225036959692010-02-23T20:31:33.051-05:002010-02-23T20:31:33.051-05:00Stephen, what if it's this kite?
</Martin i...Stephen, what if it's this <a href="http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/29/_/White-tailed_Kite.aspx" rel="nofollow">kite</a>?<br /></Martin impersonation>SethGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13753036404140901368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-29159407414550025242010-02-23T20:17:16.771-05:002010-02-23T20:17:16.771-05:00@Joanne
Wow! Super informative...I KNEW you didn&...@Joanne<br />Wow! Super informative...I KNEW you didn't write that clue about Maria! I just wanted to point that out, but rally meant to stress more how cool the puzzle itself was!!!<br /><br />Wow, so you are a speed solver too? <br />Did we meet? I wanted to just rove around meeting folks, passing out papers and collecting, so Will let me be a "Good Will Ambassador" rather than a kitchen slave laborer this year! :) A better fit!<br /><br />Wish you had joined us at the breakfast! My hope is that it gets so big and run of the mill to have women construct that it becomes a total non-issue, suddenly I feel heartened and that we're on the way...<br />I'm not really as us/them as I sometimes sound, it's just another angle to think about!<br /><br />Anyway, congrats congrats! Await the next...<br /><br />@shamik<br />Thank you and how cool was that to celebrate your tenth at the tournament???!<br /><br />@dk<br />You have to ask? Yes!andrea valentine michaelsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-25335182317574564692010-02-23T20:02:26.643-05:002010-02-23T20:02:26.643-05:00Great puzzle, but it felt more like a Thursday for...Great puzzle, but it felt more like a Thursday for me. Well constructed and well clued and a fun theme that worked for me.<br /><br />I will kvetch about one clue though... kites are almost never lifted by updrafts. They are designed to fly in horizontal wind, and if you needed updrafts for them they would be terribly difficult and boring to play with. Of course it's possible someone could go looking for a cliff and fly it from down below, but that makes the clue as abstruse as "they are lifted by 8-year olds".Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16911901473993027184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-816942298012226392010-02-23T19:29:26.308-05:002010-02-23T19:29:26.308-05:00@ Ms. Sullivan, Thank you so much for providing yo...@ Ms. Sullivan, Thank you so much for providing your list. Very insightful indeed. Some of your clues were more to my liking but some of Will's were better. Together you made a great team for a smashing puzzle. <br />Today might be setting a new standard for Tuesday fun and the number of comments.<br />@ Rex, When can we vote for the 2009 Onyx award? My favorite was Ashish's.<br />I'm sure we all remember that one.<br /><br />One final note @In Memory of Daniel Myers, You make me choke with laughter while I heard Mr. Bill in my head screaming "Ooooh Nooo!"Two Ponieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06896743444873087885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-25923797289971191542010-02-23T19:08:52.325-05:002010-02-23T19:08:52.325-05:00That's CELIA Cruz who has the mausoleum.
@Ms....That's CELIA Cruz who has the mausoleum.<br /><br />@Ms. Sullivan - I would not have got some of your clues - they're too young.Sfingihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06903616949048940858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44927460373144222412010-02-23T19:04:47.981-05:002010-02-23T19:04:47.981-05:00@Joanne Sullivan: wonderful to read your original ...@Joanne Sullivan: wonderful to read your original clues. I bet you live in NY or close to it!<br />Hope to see you at the Lollapuzzoola.machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-21324185486350425282010-02-23T19:04:40.658-05:002010-02-23T19:04:40.658-05:00@DickSwart (like the pudding?)- My paper had gray ...@DickSwart (like the pudding?)- My paper had gray squares rather than circles. I didn't pay any attention to them til I was done. I should have been using them to help speed solving.<br /><br />@Ruth@Sandy - Alouette - I never knew what the 2nd word was. Or what the first word means. Oh, someone says it means the bird, lark.<br /><br />I must be the only person who loved the movie Yentl with (and directed by) Barbara Streisand, maybe because I'm a feminist, or I think Amy Irving is beautiful. Even Isaac Singer didn't like it. <br /><br />@Tara - Greetings! Googling isn't cheating, as long as you're honest about it. <br /><br />@RetiredChemist - use pastel ink. There are several brands, but only a Flair can be used if you're lying down.<br /><br />My mother belongs to a group called the Daughters of Founders and Patriots, which I can't belong to because it has to be on a woman's male line, and my dad's German. As you might guess, the keeps getting smaller and meeting in smaller rooms. What were they thinking when they founded it?<br /><br />@GeorgeNYC - I think the ONLY group my mother (New England WASP)had prejudice against were the Irish. I figured it was because they were the group that followed close behind. Also, there was a real fear of the Pope.<br /><br />@CoolPapaD - cute original joke!<br /><br />Had "Euro" before AVIS, "lotus" before ASANA. The lotus is a padma-ASANA.<br />Did not know ROSS and LEMA.<br /><br />"Weak coffee is suitable only for working on LEMmAs, not theorems." (mathematician Paul Turan)<br /><br />"Salsa Queen" Celia Cruz is marvelous. Catch her on YouTube. She's Cuban and is buried (2003) at Woodlawn, the Bronx, where my German g'pa Fritz is and has one of those marvelous mausoleums. She won 3 Grammys and 4 Latin Grammys.<br /><br />Jack Valenti (Sicilian) was president of the MPAA for 38 years until his death. He was President Johnson's closest confidant.Sfingihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06903616949048940858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10320660029356052542010-02-23T19:01:22.350-05:002010-02-23T19:01:22.350-05:00@steve j
That's 3 and out, right?
just askin...@steve j<br /><br />That's 3 and out, right?<br /><br />just askin'In Memory of Daniel Myersnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-4896027089468089432010-02-23T18:51:18.728-05:002010-02-23T18:51:18.728-05:00@Van55, I hesitate to show you my original clues b...@Van55, I hesitate to show you my original clues because Will Shortz's editing probably made me look more clever than I actually am. You've all been so kind to me today, and I don't know when if ever I'll get this attention again so I'll share some with you. Many clue changes were minor or didn't change the difficulty level much, but here are some of my clues that differ significantly from the published ones:<br /><br />APERTURES: Photography magazines<br />SABOT: It's carved from a single block of wood<br />ILLATEASE: Unsettled<br />ALFIE: Title role for Jude<br />SPAM: Brand on a can since 1937<br />UPDRAFTS: Thermals, e.g.<br />VASE: Bud ___<br />MESSCALLS: They come between reveille and taps<br />YENTA: She sticks her schnoz in other people's business<br />NOT: "___ Ready to Make Nice" (Dixie Chicks' song)<br />GNU: African prey<br />AMPLE: Rich<br />LIONESSES: African hunters<br />AVIS: Destination for some shuttles<br />ALLAN: Poe's foster father<br />TEES: ___ off<br />TEPEE: One-room dwelling<br />ASANA: Downward Facing Dog, for one<br />MARIA: Flibbertigibbet, according to an eponymous song<br />OOPS: Interjection that may precede an undo command<br />TALL: It's smaller than Grande at Starbucks<br />DEF: Three on 3Joanne Sullivannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-15567953312823840912010-02-23T18:05:47.228-05:002010-02-23T18:05:47.228-05:00@Joanne Sullivan: Thanks for the background info. ...@Joanne Sullivan: Thanks for the background info. Knowing that it was originally geared to be a Thursday-ish puzzle explains why it felt odd to me. And my objection to "lackaday" in particular was more related to the appropriateness of the clue for a Tuesday. I guess I'll blame Will for that one. :)<br /><br />(Warning: In the following, I'm seeing Clark's earlier geek alert and raising it by ten.)<br /><br />@Clark: You're right; I'm not arguing the right clue. I somehow blocked the "having" out of my head. Which does change things. We've gone from an adjective ("ample") to a gerund ("having plenty to spare"). Which means, essentially, an adjective is standing in for a noun. Even allowing for the variances of word order, I'm having a hard time thinking of a workable sentence that allows for a straight switch. In Martin's example, the phrase "having plenty to spare" is in fact modifying garden, not room, so it's not a straight substitution. It's easier to see when dropping "for a garden" (which, as a prepositional phrase, is extraneous to the core grammar of the sentence). "There is room, having plenty to spare" makes no sense, while "There is ample room" does. The fact that the sentence can't work without the prepositional phrase points to "having plenty to spare" serving an entirely different grammatical function.<br /><br />It's the "having" in the clue that messed things up. I think you're correct that there is indeed an OOPS here. I wondering if in changing of the original clues, an editing mistake was made that left the "having" in there when it shouldn't be. "Plenty to spare" would have worked as a straight adjective-to-adjective substitution, but there's no way for a gerund to do that. At least not that I can think of.Steve Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15185067739452052656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9343278204404231602010-02-23T17:39:45.136-05:002010-02-23T17:39:45.136-05:00I had AMPLE time to finish the puzzle, have a thir...I had AMPLE time to finish the puzzle, have a third cup of coffee and still be early for the bus.<br /><br />p.g.Beaten Dead Horsenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-57881573740089632942010-02-23T17:35:06.992-05:002010-02-23T17:35:06.992-05:00Just checked back in and was delighted to see that...Just checked back in and was delighted to see that our (charming) constructor chimed in. <br /><br />@Joanne Sullivan: Congratulations on your debut; we'll be watching for more!<br /><br />I for one was more than pleased with the breadth of vocabulary and topics that supplied so much interest in this puzzle. (Sometimes the puzzles seem to use the same pedestrian words--and definitions--over and over. It's not engaging, aside from the fact that it does nothing to broaden the solver's own vocabulary.) ASANA was new to me, along with MPAA; hence my personal Natick. But now they're on file, I hope. <br /><br />@Dick Swart<br />Hand up (eyes cast down) for starting a little list of circled letters at the top of my page. After CLILATEAF I bagged it, hoping that there was no scrambled-word puzzle in the near future.<br />When I darkened the letters in the (faint) circles, the nickel dropped. I never noticed LANDFORMS in the grid because I had solved that section right to left with the Downs. <br /><br />@Sandy<br />One more try: think of the Civil War and western-themed movies when the order "Charge!" is given...or when the cavalry arrives in the nick of time...you hear the bugle call, and I'm betting (still) you can remember what it sounds like...<br />Of course, I'm not betting a lot now.<br /><br />@mac<br />I think the Shirley Temple cherries are just 'maraschino' cherries--preserved but soft. Real glaceed fruit has had multiple bouts of cooking in increasingly saturated sugar syrups before the drying phase. Much stickier. Can one of the chefs comment?<br /><br />Despite still having snow in the yard, today I saw three narcissus in bloom, one forsythia opening buds, and three cedar waxwings. Spring is going to come after all! <br /><br />Three and out.Elainehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13195458656221202202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31851148929218928542010-02-23T17:16:49.197-05:002010-02-23T17:16:49.197-05:00@Joanne -- congratulations on a wonderful debut!
...@Joanne -- congratulations on a wonderful debut!<br /><br />I think most of us would be fascinated to see your original cluies for the puzzle and to contrast them with the edited ones. Would you mind letting us have your clues to the extent they differ from the published ones?Van55https://www.blogger.com/profile/15904942044695917615noreply@blogger.com