tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post8948379870579250029..comments2024-03-28T08:55:37.290-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Viracocha worshiper / SUN 9-9-12 / Rescuer of Mowgli in Jungle Book / 1972 Jack Lemmon comedy / Mount Narodnaya's locale / Pinocchio keepsake / Potsdam attendee / Cheap cigar in slang / Mythical figure in Vermeer's Art of Painting / Co-explorer of 1804 / Decorative Valentine's Day gift / Oenophile's specification / Pride Lands queenRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger95125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-12705395025699379342014-04-28T12:27:52.898-04:002014-04-28T12:27:52.898-04:00It is April 28, 2014! and I just finished this pu...It is April 28, 2014! and I just finished this puzzle. Figured out the theme years before I figured out the answers. <br />I don't look up answers until I'm done, and then only because they aren't familiar. Lots of those today. Also agree that it was not an "aha" puzzle, but an "oh, brother" puzzle.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-70483459678139502092012-09-27T13:18:57.425-04:002012-09-27T13:18:57.425-04:00I put this away, only to find it still impossible ...I put this away, only to find it still impossible weeks later. Had to read Rex's solve just to finish it -- and now I realize it was just as aggravating after I found out all the answers.ruthiebooknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-32519837301563779502012-09-22T13:04:11.559-04:002012-09-22T13:04:11.559-04:00I was delighted to see Kaa from the Jungle Book be...I was delighted to see Kaa from the Jungle Book because in the wretched movie he is reimagined as a villain.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-83103960604805908112012-09-19T15:59:53.716-04:002012-09-19T15:59:53.716-04:00So glad it wasn't just me...
Sunday puzzles ar...So glad it wasn't just me...<br />Sunday puzzles are supposed to be <br />fun, this one just made me was not<br />on any level.Melodynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-90961091822791892362012-09-19T10:49:21.458-04:002012-09-19T10:49:21.458-04:00If you use Google, you have crossed the line. The...If you use Google, you have crossed the line. The puzzle wins if you have to Google anything.<br /><br />Googling a puzzle answer is surrender.<br /><br />Might as well just stop working it at that point.<br /><br />I stopped on this puzzle about 90 per cent through. Just felt fatigue looking at it.<br /><br />Bad clues, odd answers, no fun, no reward. El Ropo? Maybe I should have spent my formative years smoking tobacco.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-72832004696970583752012-09-18T05:54:48.061-04:002012-09-18T05:54:48.061-04:00To summarize ... this totally sucked. Glad to see ...To summarize ... this totally sucked. Glad to see I'm not the only one who thought so. I would have rated it f***ing impossible. I'm just amazed I finished with only three wrong squares - all in the first entry! So, apparently, we're not just expected to know "hits" that really weren't, now we're supposed to know the B sides of 60 year old records? When the majority of the population doesn't even know what a "record" is (unless you're talking criminal)?<br />Will "viracocha" replace "Natick" now? <br />@Z 10:31 AM - My favorite beer is Lik Sun - not because it's so good (although it is pretty decent), but because I'm a strong believer in truth in advertising. (Because if you pronounce it correctly, it's not "like sun," it's "leak soon.")<br />@Lewis 3:54 PM - guess if I was a total cheater, I might have liked it too. Do you also like shooting fish in a barrel? <br />@Eleveniss 4:40 PM - Thank you for saving me the trouble of Googling WTF "Pride Lands" is. Had no idea what that referred to. Thought maybe it was a gay pride reference.<br />@mitchs 5:28 PM - Who are you? Don't recall any previous post by you. "Toughly clued?" As previously pointed out, a lot of these clues were B.S.<br />@JFC 10:25 PM - Thanks for telling it like it is.anonyratnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-28053356964630767432012-09-17T16:59:09.166-04:002012-09-17T16:59:09.166-04:00Wow, glad I'm not the only one who thought thi...Wow, glad I'm not the only one who thought this was rough. SAGETEA and ODORED were bad enough, but RBIMAN made me want to rip up the paper in tiny pieces.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-40410587984334281072012-09-17T15:30:41.489-04:002012-09-17T15:30:41.489-04:00It's been a long time since I had to sleep on ...It's been a long time since I had to sleep on a Sunday puzzle before getting it done but this beauty from Kevin G. (is there another one?) Der put an end to that streak! I was glad to come here and read Rex's write-up and learn that the cluing was as hard as it seemed to me. I put it down last night with the SW corner in a shambles and the two theme answers down there still to be discovered. A fresh look today gave me the insight I needed to replace nova with IDOL as the Superstar, and that gave me OLDCASES as the Settled matters and the rest fell into place from the crosses. It took a very long time to accept RBIMAN but, alas, it could be nothing else so in it went. My completed grid ain't pretty but it's right with no googling, and I feel pretty good about that. <br /><br />My Labs just laugh at me when I tell them to STAY. Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-89413754161942231302012-09-16T20:32:55.392-04:002012-09-16T20:32:55.392-04:00I was a library page in college, in the rare books...I was a library page in college, in the rare books and manuscripts library. Half the time I increased circulation and the other I took staples out of collections that had yet to be cataloged. <br /><br />The main thing I learned from this puzzle was that I need/want to reread some Kipling.Nanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08093742217209436112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-9661768168846692872012-09-16T14:04:19.591-04:002012-09-16T14:04:19.591-04:00No love here: "odored"?, "bobfly&qu...No love here: "odored"?, "bobfly"? "pah"? and others. I challenge anyone to admit they have used the term "neon lamp". On the other hand, despite some of the difficult cluing on the fill, the theme (clues and answers were great). Each answer had two clues for it, and so the result was I had to get all the theme answers in order to get the rest of the fill, unusual for a Sunday. Finished, admired it, but didn't love it.rain forestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-74441346820699201952012-09-16T10:45:27.970-04:002012-09-16T10:45:27.970-04:00DN--by a long shot--F. Tons of stuff completely fo...DN--by a long shot--F. Tons of stuff completely foreign to me:<br /><br />Virachoa worshipper<br />Vermeer's mythical figure<br />Shinto temple entrance<br />Pride Lands queen<br />Mount N-[whatever]'s locale<br />"Dance at B-[whatever]" painter<br />on and on.<br /><br />BOBFLY (or is it BOB FLY?) I Googled both: NOTHING! There is NOT ONE ENTRY in Google for this! One says "We found Bob Flies--" but that's some guy named Bob Flies. Now folks, I realize my education is not the best, and there may appear in puzzles things of which I've never heard; I accept that. But if GOOGLE never heard of it, then buddy, you should not use it in your grid. I had BOB___ from the top 3 lines (about as far down as I got!), so I figured, BOBber, maybe. But the across clues clearly pointed to FLOE and GULAG...BOBFLE? BOBFLY? But my search turned up nothing, so I figured I had to be wrong, somewhere. Add to that the 26 square, a pure natick for me, and I resigned.<br /><br />Since I started doing these, This has to be the toughest one ever. How anybody can modify "challenging" with "medium-" is beyond me. Try "extremely."Spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56808239379017266842012-09-16T05:14:51.376-04:002012-09-16T05:14:51.376-04:00OK, I only returned to the puzzle a week late, lar...OK, I only returned to the puzzle a week late, largely because of the frustrations Rex and others had. <br /><br />But LIBRAY PAGE was easy, because decades ago I was one, at the Hoover Institute for War and Peace at Stanford. Reason as described by jberg, and paid something like Anonymous @8:32. <br /><br />But, RAB, I definitely did not improve circulation, as quite often, when either re-shelving or finding a book, I'd be distracted by intriguing volumes from the World War II archives . . . and only hours later would remember that I had a job to do . . . <br /><br />BTW, per joho, did @DK and @Jeremy Mercer ever connect in Marseille, et qu'est-ce que la bonne adresse pour la bouillabasse ?Oscarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-7826370659986998602012-09-15T17:50:42.959-04:002012-09-15T17:50:42.959-04:00Admittedly I'd never heard of Library Page unt...Admittedly I'd never heard of Library Page until my daughter recently got hired as one. She shelves, shelves, and shelves some more, but hey, she loves the library and gets paid, what's not to love?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-49789351641220857762012-09-11T11:13:13.639-04:002012-09-11T11:13:13.639-04:00Glad to see so many other folks had a hard/unpleas...Glad to see so many other folks had a hard/unpleasant time with this puzzle. Sunday morning was definitely clouded with a fierce hangover, but that's normal and still allows me to finish most puzzles in 90 minutes.<br /><br />I finally gave in and used Google way too many times this morning to count this as completed. Bah humbug!!!Glen Merrittnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-14388685998644526722012-09-11T07:41:23.647-04:002012-09-11T07:41:23.647-04:00Good Grief! So many haters!
I enjoyed doing the ...Good Grief! So many haters! <br /><br />I enjoyed doing the puzzle - it lasted all day,so it made my Monday!<br /><br />I knew it would be challenging because Crossword Kathy said so on Facebook and I couldn't avoid reading her status because it came up in my newsfeed. (One week, she even gave away an answer before my puzzle, and by that I mean my Sunday NYT, even arrived!) I hate THAT! <br /><br />So, warned of a challenge, I rose to it and, happily, finally finished it without googling, which is something I seldom need to do any more. Thanks, Kevin!<br /><br />(Living in the boondocks, our NYT comes bundled with the Monday Globe and Mail, since the Globe doesn't publish on Sundays. I LIVE for Monday mornings and often meet the newspaper carrier in my driveway after rejoicing upon seeing her little car round the bend on our street - and by that I mean "Crescent".)nurturinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02035395856164817422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-46115316237496028372012-09-10T15:37:54.070-04:002012-09-10T15:37:54.070-04:00Leave it to Disney to turn it around.
Thanks!Leave it to Disney to turn it around.<br /><br />Thanks!Clueless in Texasnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24067226005032390922012-09-10T14:30:06.917-04:002012-09-10T14:30:06.917-04:00My thought exactly, which is why I gave up on this...My thought exactly, which is why I gave up on this puzzle.Liz Slaterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01891933207570738477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-33079264149597509382012-09-10T09:34:36.581-04:002012-09-10T09:34:36.581-04:00@JC66 Thanks for that - I would never have associa...@JC66 Thanks for that - I would never have associated Gee and Haw with field horses - only idita<br />rod dogs - but you're right - thanks!Smittyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04939710008630124836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-80540864623992263122012-09-10T02:30:44.488-04:002012-09-10T02:30:44.488-04:00Put me in the "enjoyed the puzzle" camp....Put me in the "enjoyed the puzzle" camp. I thought the theme was fun and clever, and I found the puzzle to hit the sweet spot of difficulty for me — it was a challenge, but I still finished with a solid time.<br /><br />Looking at Rex's write-ups for yesterday and today, I am reminded of how much of a personal thing the difficulty level really is. Yesterday's puzzle completely mopped the floor with me (I had to Google several answers), and the entries that Rex just popped out I struggled with for far too long. On the flip side, some of his WTFs for today were ones that I just popped out.Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15336260911834780345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-87635258079455636452012-09-10T00:50:18.738-04:002012-09-10T00:50:18.738-04:00Bah, humbug. An uninteresting slog.Bah, humbug. An uninteresting slog.Rubehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04773241241484881566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-30563661194063600662012-09-10T00:27:49.185-04:002012-09-10T00:27:49.185-04:00Dear Clueless in Texas @11:47, in the original Rud...Dear Clueless in Texas @11:47, in the original Rudyard Kipling book, Kaa is not Mowgli's antagonist. He saves him. Disney movie(s) gave Kaa a nastier role..."trust in me...." who can forget those hypnotizing spirals emanating from Kaa's eyes?Westcoastnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-4003445593782897602012-09-09T23:52:35.221-04:002012-09-09T23:52:35.221-04:00Just one more unhappy solver. I did finish it, bu...Just one more unhappy solver. I did finish it, but was not amused. Bobfly? KAA? Liked last across clue and not much else. As others have added, "Pah." (no reflection on the inventiveness of the constructor, however, just not my cup of cha. (what I wrote instead of "Nan" at first, because I thought it was spelled "naan")OISKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16808675378318214461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-40770190814037774132012-09-09T23:47:28.706-04:002012-09-09T23:47:28.706-04:00Someone please explain to me how KAA is the rescue...Someone please explain to me how KAA is the rescuer? Doesn't he try to smother Mowgli, but Baloo saves him? Clueless in Texasnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-86057593581489979612012-09-09T23:45:07.032-04:002012-09-09T23:45:07.032-04:00A rare week in which I though Sunday's puzzle ...A rare week in which I though Sunday's puzzle was harder than Saturday.s. I solved Saturday but did not finish this one because of the library page area.michaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-29013452963679872462012-09-09T22:25:54.805-04:002012-09-09T22:25:54.805-04:00I do not agree agree with Rex. He was too kind. ...I do not agree agree with Rex. He was too kind. This is the worst fucking puzzle I ever encountered. But not as bad as his captchas.<br /><br />JFCJFCnoreply@blogger.com