tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post8623969053530930805..comments2024-03-29T08:06:57.251-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Grp in 1955 labor merger / TUE 4-10-18 / 1948 Triple Crown winner / Puppy Love hitmaker, 1960Rex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger115125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-71330553947366129932018-05-15T19:50:33.482-04:002018-05-15T19:50:33.482-04:00Jackie - If only he'd listened he wouldn't...Jackie - If only he'd listened he wouldn't have been in trouble. btw - I agree that contractions in puzzles are a bit of a drag, like having to get up in the morning for the mother in the Stones' song. No puzzle can be bad though with a Stones' clue in it. <br /><br />Maybe the theme could be " all themers contain a long i sound ? Then 59, 68 across and 27,54 down could all be part of the theme. It makes the puzzle more "inclusive", to use a current buzz word. <br /><br />Thank you Mr. Arbesfeld for giving us the Stones. And if all themers contain a long i sound please include 'Moonlight Mile" next time. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31898639965543070242018-05-15T17:10:50.807-04:002018-05-15T17:10:50.807-04:00I guess sighs matter today. Did nobody mention *se...I guess sighs matter today. Did nobody mention *seismometer”? To measure the size of the seisms. I think it could even fit the grid.<br /><br />SELA was circled. Twice, with an exclamation point! You know why.<br /><br />Better than most Tuesdays. SAYONARA.<br />rondonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-28649551497847675312018-05-15T15:37:12.680-04:002018-05-15T15:37:12.680-04:00Good thing I don't have much of a "thing&...Good thing I don't have much of a "thing" for Sela W. Mr. W., on the other hand, was a handful this morning. A real poopy story.<br /><br />This puzzle wasn't poopy. But 'twas pretty easy, IMO. Or SIMple? Should write an OPED. <br /><br />A weekend of playing MYST cured me of all computer games. Yes - we won(ish). <br /><br />Diana, Lady-in-Waiting for all kinds of stuffDiana,LIWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-42501104287375812122018-05-15T15:18:42.435-04:002018-05-15T15:18:42.435-04:00@Spacey - I have a "thing" for SELA WARD...@Spacey - I have a "thing" for SELA WARD too.<br /><br />Easy puzzle, got the theme at CITATION which enabled me to get PSYCHED OUT off the C. I think Mr. Arbesfeld was playing with us putting SYNOD, CIRCE and SIM CITY in there. Speaking of the latter, when I worked in a middle school, the parents of a socially-challenged girl who was obsessed with the game, told me that they encouraged her to play it to allay her anxieties. I told them that I thought they had it backwards. "Interesting" discussion ensued.<br /><br />Huh. I always thought OPED was short for Opinion/Editorial, but in the end we know what we're talking about.<br /><br />Two good early-week puzzles in a row.rainforestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-74294205006328788752018-05-15T14:29:59.669-04:002018-05-15T14:29:59.669-04:00Ended thinking, is there no revealer here? Rex mad...Ended thinking, is there no revealer here? Rex made one up, but why not just say there isn't one, and let it go at that? [Sigh] Themers do well enough on their own, thank you.<br /><br />NE's TAZO was my outlier of the day.<br /><br />Puzzle was not A DRAG.<br /><br /><br />leftcoastTAMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-25086495158365794812018-05-15T12:40:37.063-04:002018-05-15T12:40:37.063-04:00ANGST STAIN
‘Twas a SILENTHIGHT out in CYBERSPACE...ANGST STAIN<br /><br />‘Twas a SILENTHIGHT out in CYBERSPACE where<br />they said, “SAYONARA” to SIMCITY and PlayStation.<br />And not AONE would GOITALONE at the SCIENCEFAIR – <br />too PSYCHEDOUT they’d get ZILCH as CITATION. <br /><br />--- KARL KIROV<br />Burma Shavenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-8014617363954903912018-05-15T11:43:26.962-04:002018-05-15T11:43:26.962-04:00I didn't notice all the {SI} sounds until fill...I didn't notice all the {SI} sounds until filling in the very last themer. A no-revealer theme on a Tuesday: a bit progressive. Much more so: TAZO? ATRI?? This is shaping up as a week full of WOEs. What does the end of the week have in store? I doubt if ICAN GOITALONE.<br /><br />There's a lot of cool fill here, but also a lot of junk. Lately we seem to be overworking ONEA--and that's junk even once. It's also easy to get tired of ADIN, and the RTOD (random time of day).<br /><br />I was bothered by which spelling of RIATA to use, but somehow SIMCITY, another WOE, seemed more reasonable than SeMCITY. More bothering was the clue for OPEDS (ugh). The OP = "opinion," which appears in the clue. Isn't that a no-no?<br /><br />In any case, I refuse to downgrade a puzzle with the all-time DOD, more like Damsel of the Decade than of the Day: the owner of my heart, SELA Ward. So, birdie.<br /><br />spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-65027146053893411322018-05-15T08:09:23.372-04:002018-05-15T08:09:23.372-04:00*sigh*
This was a decent enough puzzle, especially...*sigh*<br />This was a decent enough puzzle, especially for a Tuesday, but I wish there was a reveal for the CY-SI-SAY-CI-SCI-PSY pattern.<br /><br />How about: ____ matters, or a hint to the start of 17,26,33,46,52 and 62-Across? (SIZE)thefogmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01870509029973778266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-34630798134924084572018-04-11T05:51:19.289-04:002018-04-11T05:51:19.289-04:00@Joe DiPinto - Hand up for not getting the theme a...@Joe DiPinto - Hand up for not getting the theme and taking a technical DNF because of it (see my comment from 21 hours ago). I’ve noticed that it seems like some people read neither Rex nor the comments. <br /><br />@Susie Q - Yep. And I get to subtly (or not so subtly) jab at my “language changes” trope/point/theme/motif. Now, unlike @Muse it seems, it’s back to sleep for me. Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-88899745280645397712018-04-11T00:18:02.587-04:002018-04-11T00:18:02.587-04:00This one actually started out fine, but the fill j...This one actually started out fine, but the fill just got worse and worse as I kept solving. There are some inelegant three-letter answers like ERN and HED, but that's actually OK. But oh boy the longer answers are actually way worse: AONE ATRI SDAK TISH ADRAG AERIE RIATA... That's on top of all the ancient proper nouns. Woof.<br /><br />Cool theme for a Tuesday. Cool long entries with URBANMYTH and SIMCITY and TREETOP. But the rest is very sloppy -or maybe sloppiness is in the eye of the beholder.<br /><br /><b>GRADE:</b> C+, 2.95 stars. semioticus (shelbyl)https://www.blogger.com/profile/16204028248874222567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-85880876968494057422018-04-11T00:02:30.105-04:002018-04-11T00:02:30.105-04:00@Loren - Holy cow girl! When do you sleep? My ol...@Loren - Holy cow girl! When do you sleep? My oldest sister slept 2 hours a night and when folks would ask her how she could stand being awake all that time she'd ask how they could waste all that time in bed?Mohair Samhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16502840715719161565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56176387604774410502018-04-10T23:55:00.601-04:002018-04-10T23:55:00.601-04:00@Amelia - you're just winding us up, right? ...@Amelia - you're just winding us up, right? There's no way you can be serious.Loren Muse Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05308030011870397977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-76402397251464629072018-04-10T23:51:58.460-04:002018-04-10T23:51:58.460-04:00@Amelia -- I got the "theme" because I G...@Amelia -- I got the "theme" because I GOT THE THEME WHILE I WAS SOLVING THE PUZZLE. And so did just about everyone else here. Unless they weren't particularly caring about the theme, which is sometimes the case. And, I guarantee you, some people read the comments without reading Rex at all.Joe Dipintohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07922691457886440325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-52298109405740419052018-04-10T23:25:51.845-04:002018-04-10T23:25:51.845-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Ameliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03983199184835619743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50792677834624921672018-04-10T22:38:58.022-04:002018-04-10T22:38:58.022-04:00As promised @Z, you did some research before getti...As promised @Z, you did some research before getting on your soapbox.<br />Me, I usually just spout off with whatever comes to mind. :)Suzie Qnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-59860607924313879382018-04-10T22:33:17.960-04:002018-04-10T22:33:17.960-04:00Regarding OP-EDS, I found the most informative dis...Regarding OP-EDS, I found the most informative discussion at the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Op-ed" rel="nofollow">Wikipedia Talk Page.</a> Personally, I tend to think of it as “the op-ed pages,” encompassing both the original “editorial page” and “opposite of the editorial page.” I just pulled out today’s NYT and page A24 has as a header “Opinion” with one “Editorial,” six “Letters,” and an opinion column by Paul Krugman. Page A25 has no header and four more opinion columns. In short, the Krugman column puts an OP-ED column on the <i>Editorial</i> page. I’d argue (hi @SusieQ) that even if OP-ED originally meant “opposite of the editorial page” in today’s usage it means “opinion pages.” Today’s NYT is exhibit 1. Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-5784459581538090652018-04-10T22:06:18.070-04:002018-04-10T22:06:18.070-04:00Yesterday easy peasy. Today hard. Go figure. Yesterday easy peasy. Today hard. Go figure. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-73142209877640312022018-04-10T21:38:32.972-04:002018-04-10T21:38:32.972-04:00Bass adds some BOTTOM, no joke.Bass adds some BOTTOM, no joke.Larry Gilstraphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15493069947477383208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-62354619838673396452018-04-10T20:01:21.551-04:002018-04-10T20:01:21.551-04:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Uncle Alvareznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44429062766173601962018-04-10T19:44:59.086-04:002018-04-10T19:44:59.086-04:00Nice puzzle, for a Tuesday. Never saw the theme, u...Nice puzzle, for a Tuesday. Never saw the theme, until I came here. Apparently, many ways to spell out that initial sound. So much for phonics. <br /><br />Anyone else hear the colloquial phrase: "If only HE'D a listened."? Definitely the way my mom would have phrased it. <br /><br />Living in the desert, meteors are a common sight shooting across a portion of the sky. I can't honestly say that their path is an ARC, at least of my perception. <br /><br />Welcome back AERIE; where have you been hiding lately?<br /><br />Beck's GO IT ALONE is a drum and base classic full of attitude, soon to appear at a juke box near me. Larry Gilstraphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15493069947477383208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-73212890120042893322018-04-10T19:33:06.550-04:002018-04-10T19:33:06.550-04:00OK, long winded explanation on themes. If you don&...OK, long winded explanation on themes. If you don't care, or find me annoying(;-)) feel free to skip.<br /><br />@Fs4569 4:33<br />In the NYT (other publications may vary), normally (7 or 8 out of 10) the longest across answers are the theme. That excludes Friday and Saturday. Occasionally, there are also Down themers, either with some Across ones, or all Downs, and again, are the longest answers in puz. Now, sometimes there are long Downs which aren't part of the theme. A lot of times, there is a Revealer clue that ties the longest answers together. Sometimes, like today, there isn't one. It's like @David in CA said, some of the fun is trying to guess, or "suss out" the theme. Themes also vary, todays was sounds. Sometimes it's initias, could be first words meaning similar, last words tying together, there's a bunch out there. Keep doing puzs and you'll get the hang of it! <br /><br />I didn't get todays theme either, BTW, but that's why we come here and read Rex!<br /><br />Rebel RooRooMonsterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14103892151115549684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80864696484075093022018-04-10T18:47:07.109-04:002018-04-10T18:47:07.109-04:00@Robert A. Simon -- the PIPs certainly *do* matter...@Robert A. Simon -- the PIPs certainly *do* matter. Without them how would we be able to sing along to "A supah-star, but he didn't get far" and "Woo-woo" in <i>Midnight Train To Georgia</i>? Joe Dipintohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07922691457886440325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-22952503970019069292018-04-10T18:33:18.675-04:002018-04-10T18:33:18.675-04:00@Amelia : I, at least, prefer themes I have to &qu...@Amelia : I, at least, prefer themes I have to "suss out". It is part of the fun of the early week puzzles. You say "But this wasn't a theme anyone would know, unless you knew something in advance", but don't you see from reading all the comments, not to mention Rex's writeup, that lots of people got it just fine. I'm usually slow on this, but this one I guessed from the 1st 2 themers and confirmed with #3.<br /><br />But - I don't understand the lack of comments on the fact that Rex seems to have been abducted by aliens and replaced by a nice person, or else is regressing to his former self from 10 years ago. e.g.:<br /><br />"...pretty objectively "old" (note: I didn't say "bad")." - Hello? How many puzzles has he ripped to shreds for being too "old"?<br />"because, well, puzzles have gotten better." ...???!!! This is coming from the prime eviscerator himself? Somebody send this in to Will!David in CAnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-28430801508641167822018-04-10T17:50:59.788-04:002018-04-10T17:50:59.788-04:00@Robert A. Simon said, "I've been holding...@Robert A. Simon said, "I've been holding onto this one: there is a fine line between 'skewing too old' and 'stuff you need to know if you claim to have any cultural literacy whatsoever.'"<br /><br />Amen brother.Stanley Hudsonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-76402951908690261222018-04-10T17:50:40.077-04:002018-04-10T17:50:40.077-04:00@fs4569 - the main blog by Rex Parker always does ...@fs4569 - the main blog by Rex Parker always does a good job of identifying the theme and listing the theme answers right at the top, including today. If you got to these comments, you probably went right by the theme listings.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com