tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post8607374406342596499..comments2024-03-29T04:46:57.646-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Original host of Breakfast at Wimbledon —SATURDAY, Sep. 5 2009— Housemother to Tootie / Company that provided equipment for reality show The ContenderRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger83125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9827294291859615952010-02-27T18:35:16.164-05:002010-02-27T18:35:16.164-05:00Well, I think this is funny, because having read a...Well, I think this is funny, because having read all of the previous comments, it turns out that ENBERG and SEAMONKEY were the very first items filled in for me!<br /><br />You DON't want to know my time (it wasn't good!).<br /><br />TBFThe BOBSfannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-41128788778068504282009-10-12T11:31:13.874-04:002009-10-12T11:31:13.874-04:00@ Alamogordo Dan
There are 10 states that are ent...@ Alamogordo Dan<br /><br />There are 10 states that are entirely in the Central Time Zone. 5 additional states are partly in Central and partly in Mountain and 5 more are partly in Central and partly in Eastern.<br /><br />I am surprised no one commented on PSSTS as 'secret words'. PSST isn't a word, it's a sound effect.Singernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-40291783045988794772009-10-10T10:18:08.374-04:002009-10-10T10:18:08.374-04:00Last time I counted (5 minutes ago) there were 17 ...Last time I counted (5 minutes ago) there were 17 states in the Central Time Zone, not 10. Would somebody please explain that clue to me?Alamogordo Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11533873521421493124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-55302219292221132662009-09-07T23:53:05.729-04:002009-09-07T23:53:05.729-04:00Hello everyone.
Well, I'm a couple days late ...Hello everyone.<br /><br />Well, I'm a couple days late (sorry...very long day out of town on Saturday), but I wanted to drop in and say thanks for all of the kind words.<br /><br />Rex's recap of our on-stage chat is right on the money: MAJOR AXIS to start, PAPELBON as serendipitous fill, etc.<br /><br />I went on at length on Ryan and Brian's blog about this, but watching the finalists solve my puzzle on stage was pretty darn amazing. Watching Will Shortz solve it in the back row of the audience was no less amazing.<br /><br />Until next time --<br />MNMike Nothnagelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-41171048147237967732009-09-07T14:57:06.933-04:002009-09-07T14:57:06.933-04:00It might have helped if I had gotten "It'...<i>It might have helped if I had gotten "It's war". Since when has that been a battle cry?</i><br /><br />When children play the card game? I don't recall saying CHARGE! or BANZAI!<br /><br />My initial guess for the "10 state region" was CSA. Wrong (11 states), but hahaha that got me COPTO and SPAHN!<br /><br />Fortunately I have never heard of either EDBERG or ENBERG, so it was impossible for me to fool myself.william e embanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-29596801441688402632009-09-06T02:48:17.161-04:002009-09-06T02:48:17.161-04:00foodie, thanks for digging that up. She's suc...foodie, thanks for digging that up. She's such an entertaining writer.fergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-48666856098387498392009-09-06T01:09:52.622-04:002009-09-06T01:09:52.622-04:00@ pink, Get out of here and don't use this sit...@ pink, Get out of here and don't use this site for crap like that. Thx but no thx.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8458721907935904242009-09-06T00:08:13.435-04:002009-09-06T00:08:13.435-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.edith bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12048817959846956992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10441784386417490922009-09-06T00:08:08.525-04:002009-09-06T00:08:08.525-04:00I've mentioned here before that, as a young te...I've mentioned here before that, as a young teen, I was the unofficial host of my father's regular Wednesday Night Poker game and a lot of sports information I know to this day came from the lively discussion among the guys who attended those games. I remember the saying "SPAHN and Sain and pray for rain" as being something that was in the language among those gents in the late 50s - early 60s and prompted me to begin looking at the sports page on pretty much a regular basis in those days because of the colorful nature of the language itself. I develped an interest in baseball that held me in good stead when my husband had access to his company's tickets to baseball games beginning in the 80s and I went with him to the games.<br /><br />I enjoyed those games as much from my memories of those Poker games my father had than from anything else.edith bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12048817959846956992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-58607632285701607472009-09-05T23:47:06.691-04:002009-09-05T23:47:06.691-04:00@Fergus et al
Here's the post from Green Mant...@Fergus et al<br /><br />Here's the post from Green Mantis about SEA MONKEY, from June 25, 2008. Very her : )<br /><br />HERE GOES: <br /><br />Who is this Rex person you all keep referring to?<br /><br />So speaking of mail order pets (weren't we?), I just ran across an ad for sea monkeys, and they are described in the fabulous cartoony order form as a "bowlfull of happiness." Sic. I don't know about you, but that sounds like something I need.<br /><br />The sea monkeys are depicted as Seussian-type characters who, among other qualities, are "eager to please" and can be trained to obey commands.<br /><br />I'm not completely clear on what commands a brine shrimp could obey, unless it's "Be." Or maybe, "Drift aimlessly until I grow tired of you."foodiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13052189131129098616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-7074132438755138682009-09-05T23:18:07.433-04:002009-09-05T23:18:07.433-04:00@fkink -- I could not have been the one explaining...@fkink -- I could not have been the one explaining METONYM to anybody. I figured it out, but it did not feel crossword familiar to me.<br /><br />@pednsg -- I had MEET ASAP also. It’s true that it didn’t feel quite right, but the crossings seemed solid (since I had absolutely no fricking clue who ENBERG was).<br /><br />Not knowing any baseball folks (except a handful that does not include SPAWN or PALELBON) made the SW really hard. But once I tried THE STAND and ONE TON, COP TO, SPAHN and TEPEE fell into place. Friday and Saturday without googles. Yipee! (Even if I had a couple mistakes. That's enough to make me happy.)<br /><br />@andrea whatever, @Elaine, et whoever -- I tried Banzai! and then I even tried Ishtar! All I know about that sequence of six letters is that a friend of mine had a part in a movie that went by that name and it totally bombed. OK, I see that Ishtar was goddess of war to the Assyrians so that isn’t totally and completely ridiculous.Clarknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-69331374461676529192009-09-05T22:58:15.748-04:002009-09-05T22:58:15.748-04:00Let's say I have a dozen close friends, or may...Let's say I have a dozen close friends, or maybe even twenty, but not a single one of them does Crossword puzzles. <br /><br />It's been said before, but thank you Rex, on behalf of our associates who don't want to hear the minutiae, since the odd solver considered it all with meta-friends online already.fergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-54348017866597129122009-09-05T22:31:53.357-04:002009-09-05T22:31:53.357-04:00@Elaine
I to had "Charge!" then "Ba...@Elaine<br />I to had "Charge!" then "Banzai!"<br />(altho come to think of it, I may have spelt it "Bansai!"...maybe that's a battle cry against the Japanese lumber industry...if there is one)<br /><br />Hey, when scouring for a middle name, I just noticed ONE ton and tied ONE on in the grid...and "Mrs. Lovett...for ONE" in the clues. <br />Hmmmm, that may be ONE too many.<br /><br />I can't wait to tear apart my own puzzle Monday!andrea whatever michaelsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-432781240654002082009-09-05T22:03:42.451-04:002009-09-05T22:03:42.451-04:00@VandergraffK
If it helps, I myself had CHARGE as...@VandergraffK<br /><br />If it helps, I myself had CHARGE as Battle cry. I think that was much superior to "It's war." <br /><br />Maybe if it had been, "This means war!" ...but no. We're right--<br />that was LAME! (Somehow, though, I do not think anyone cares.) <br /><br />Obviously, enough of The Right People got it...<br />and at the end, I had "ExerLast" for 6D. Who knew which IVAN was Tsar of ALL the Russias? (or cares?)<br /><br />A murrain seize Ye Nothnagel!<br /><br />Turn Off Computer......Elainehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13195458656221202202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46001094851881427962009-09-05T21:28:55.582-04:002009-09-05T21:28:55.582-04:00@Barry: I can tell you without hesitation that Ry...@Barry: I can tell you without hesitation that Ryan and Brian have no problem inviting women to contribute to Lolla, constructionwise. In fact, they were kind enough to ask me to contribute, but because my deadline load is a bit heavy right now, I was thrilled to be able to take part as a judge instead. Less work, better snacks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-29672323796307955372009-09-05T21:12:41.007-04:002009-09-05T21:12:41.007-04:00Did this one at the beach today, and came here wit...Did this one at the beach today, and came here with one mistake in the finished grid: TARTAN for TURBAN. Of course that was only possible because I overlooked the New England school at 48 A, and PAPELTON seemed perfectly valid, since the clue might as well have been "Uzbeck Minister of Culture, 1934". (I was thinking of a kilt being a wrap sort of thing; probably completely wrong on that, too.)<br /><br />One write-over worth mentioning: Early on, looking for just anything to put on paper, I threw in THETOWER, only to change later to THESTAND for the Stephen King work.Bob Kerfufflehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02615811802419025933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-79103097917993167622009-09-05T20:54:07.595-04:002009-09-05T20:54:07.595-04:00Having a hard time getting back into the groove af...Having a hard time getting back into the groove after being away. Started late. Finished 90 percent. Took a loooong time. A good day for me! (It's all in your perspective.)Annenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-34992442022401698552009-09-05T20:19:45.084-04:002009-09-05T20:19:45.084-04:00It's been a rough week but I got around to sol...It's been a rough week but I got around to solving this puzzle. I really liked it although the baseball crossing was a definite Natick for me.<br /><br />I was totally confused for a bit about the "runner up" clue for SLOWER. I kept thinking about beauty pageants runner ups and wondered whether they really ever cared about intelligence. Then realized it's my own intelligence I need to worry about. <br /><br /> I can read the future not by using TEA LEAVES, but by looking at the patterns in Turkish coffee demi-tasses turned upside down. The fine grounds that settle to the bottom are swirled and make the coolest patterns on the wall and sides-- better that Rorschach ever created. <br /><br />@sanfranman59: I guess I'm not totally brain dead because I predicted, before coming here that there would be a discrepancy today due to some people who had already done the puzzle, which would result in unduly fast top 100 scores. Made me happy to see it : )foodiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13052189131129098616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-37825881732209884532009-09-05T19:29:06.057-04:002009-09-05T19:29:06.057-04:00A KMD reference! Thank you.A KMD reference! Thank you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61224839559104924522009-09-05T18:50:38.047-04:002009-09-05T18:50:38.047-04:00@KvanderGraaf: every clue starts with a capitalize...@KvanderGraaf: every clue starts with a capitalized word.machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-65481110941721947622009-09-05T18:41:41.612-04:002009-09-05T18:41:41.612-04:00Like others, I had trouble with the NE. Sea monke...Like others, I had trouble with the NE. Sea monkey was beyond me, as well as the Dick Enberg clue. It might have helped if I had gotten "It's war". Since when has that been a battle cry? To me, that evokes the chicanery that accompanied the Spanish American war, as well as the Gulf of Tonkin. Remember the Maine? Yes, those were headlines used to rally/bamboozle a public into war. Battle cry? Maybe. I would have placed a question mark after battle cry since this is misleading. <br /><br />I loved the Spahn/Papelbon corner, but since I'm no fan of Stephen King, I had no idea about The Stand. Why should I even care about this? As a fluent German speaker, I was annoyed at the capitalization of Lieben. Capitalized, lieben is NEVER an infinitive! The only instance I can think of using Lieben is in the phrase "Lieben Genossen" Dear colleagues. Since I was a Why Me chooser, I was baffled to a certain extent till "No matter" came to me. Whatever!<br /><br />For Everlast, I would have used the clue "rock/rap composer of title music to Saving Grace" or something along those lines. Who cares who supplied equipment for the Contender? Who cares about boxing even if I'm too punch drunk to tie one down? Eccck!<br /><br />Bad apple? I had bad title for too long! Oh well! <br /><br />In the event, how on earth does anybody complete this puzzle in 7 minutes. That's awesome!VANDERGRAAFKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06104588584508817167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8494703580538994532009-09-05T18:24:55.741-04:002009-09-05T18:24:55.741-04:00I'm the previous "anonymous."I'm the previous "anonymous."Michaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46148420201377700502009-09-05T18:24:15.222-04:002009-09-05T18:24:15.222-04:00I had some problems with setting for 10 U.S. state...I had some problems with setting for 10 U.S. states, abbr -- CST. I got the answer quickly, but thought that surely there are more than ten states in the central time zone. After doing some web-checking, I concluded that are only ten states entirely in the central time zone. But there are a number of other states partly in the central time zone so I still don't like this clue much.<br /><br /> An easy Saturday for me (baseball and math clues) and I got it all right without google, but my time was still five and half times slower than Dan Feyer's.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-11044268082447404712009-09-05T18:09:37.499-04:002009-09-05T18:09:37.499-04:00This 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 6:16, 6:55, 0.91, 26%, Easy-Medium<br />Tue 8:15, 8:30, 0.97, 47%, Medium<br />Wed 10:25, 12:18, 0.85, 16%, Easy<br />Thu 22:25, 18:41, 1.20, 93%, Challenging (6th most challenging puzzle to date relative to the day of the week)<br />Fri 24:32, 25:58, 0.94, 37%, Easy-Medium<br />Sat 31:23, 28:12, 1.11, 79%, Medium-Challenging (on the cusp)<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:19, 3:40, 0.90, 24%, Easy-Medium<br />Tue 4:14, 4:22, 0.97, 49%, Medium<br />Wed 5:24, 6:01, 0.90, 22%, Easy-Medium<br />Thu 11:46, 9:08, 1.29, 96%, Challenging (4th most challenging)<br />Fri 11:32, 12:08, 0.95, 42%, Medium<br />Sat 15:52, 15:50, 1.00, 54%, Medium<br /><br />This is by far the biggest percentile disparity between all solvers and the top 100 in the 13 weeks I've been tracking solve times. I wonder how many of the top 100 were at Lollapuzzoola?sanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67999099497261422752009-09-05T18:01:03.961-04:002009-09-05T18:01:03.961-04:00Confirmed that rig and pickup truck are quite diss...Confirmed that rig and pickup truck are quite dissimilar. My little truck is an amusing possession, since people are are always wanting borrow it, and offer lavish compensation for the exchange, which I would have offered freely. <br /><br />Saw a bumper sticker on another pickup the other day that said,<br /><br />"No, I Won't Help You Move"fergushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17056002311944010536noreply@blogger.com