A++ for "Paris's friend," Jaymc -- actually took me a while, with excellent payoff
― nabisco, Wednesday, 2 January 2008 19:09 (5 years ago) Permalink
Total pro-level theme on that one, too!
Ha, I sort of wrote that one with you in mind, N!
― jaymc, Wednesday, 2 January 2008 19:10 (5 years ago) Permalink
The "Paris's friend" clue, I mean.
I had to look that one up after I got the answer, I don't watch that show.
― Jordan, Wednesday, 2 January 2008 19:13 (5 years ago) Permalink
At first I thought it was going to be some Trojan warrior. But I saw the show out of the corner of my eye enough when my wife was watching it to figure it out.
― James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 2 January 2008 19:15 (5 years ago) Permalink
I alread e-mailed this to jaymc:
Haha, on your crossword, I initially had CLASH OF THE TITS (crossing with CUTS DOWN)! I know it's CLASH OF THE TANS and GUNS DOWN now. It works with the theme, though!
― Jordan, Wednesday, 2 January 2008 19:17 (5 years ago) Permalink
Derived from CLASH OF THE TITITS?
― nabisco, Wednesday, 2 January 2008 19:19 (5 years ago) Permalink
Suddenly I feel like Jordan knows some way of spelling "titties" that I don't
Ha. Well, that was the first theme answer I got and I thought the theme was maybe just removing two letters.
― Jordan, Wednesday, 2 January 2008 19:23 (5 years ago) Permalink
Yeah, it does kind of work both ways! If only there were an old book about fashion trends and female body shapes, entitled CLASH OF THE "IT" TITS
― nabisco, Wednesday, 2 January 2008 19:26 (5 years ago) Permalink
Just finished this week's Ink Well puzzle. Jordan, let me know when you've done it, because I want to complain. :)
― jaymc, Thursday, 3 January 2008 05:57 (5 years ago) Permalink
Do you guys do the Harper's crossword puzzle too? Cause I always look at that thing in wonder.
― Mordechai Shinefield, Thursday, 3 January 2008 06:04 (5 years ago) Permalink
That's on the other thread The official bored-at-work cryptic crossword pass it on thread.
― James Redd and the Blecchs, Thursday, 3 January 2008 14:02 (5 years ago) Permalink
Also just found this in the archives Favorite Oldschool NY TImes Crossword Clues
― James Redd and the Blecchs, Thursday, 3 January 2008 14:55 (5 years ago) Permalink
Was I drunk that day? How did I miss that thread. Gah.
― Casuistry, Thursday, 3 January 2008 19:29 (5 years ago) Permalink
Maleska thought he was making the world a better place by getting people familiar with variant spellings of AERIE. If he didn't preserve such knowledge, who would?
― Casuistry, Thursday, 3 January 2008 19:30 (5 years ago) Permalink
eagles
― nabisco, Thursday, 3 January 2008 19:33 (5 years ago) Permalink
Don Henle y
Yesterday's NYT theme was gay.
― Jordan, Thursday, 3 January 2008 19:36 (5 years ago) Permalink
I did a new puzzle and put it in Across Lite (.puz) format. I think it's pretty tight. I can e-mail it to anyone who's interested. Download Across Lite here first, if you don't already have it.
― jaymc, Monday, 7 January 2008 18:20 (5 years ago) Permalink
Or I can put it up on Flickr, too -- just give me a day or two.
― jaymc, Monday, 7 January 2008 20:44 (5 years ago) Permalink
E-mail it to me! My first name, then my last name, then @gmail.com. Or whatever address you have for me.
― Casuistry, Monday, 7 January 2008 23:12 (5 years ago) Permalink
Generally assume you can/should e-mail them to me.
Sent.
― jaymc, Monday, 7 January 2008 23:35 (5 years ago) Permalink
All I can recall from my crosswording era is that any clue regarding sea eagles has the answer: erne.
― Aimless, Tuesday, 8 January 2008 01:48 (5 years ago) Permalink
Aimless, see the link about a dozen posts up.
― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 8 January 2008 02:07 (5 years ago) Permalink
The local syndicated easy one has the classic "fruity drinks" clue every other day.
― Abbott, Tuesday, 8 January 2008 02:09 (5 years ago) Permalink
I spent the last few days of being sick solving a book of dumbed-down xwords that the man got for me from the dollar store. Perfect way to pass the time without really having to think.
― Abbott, Tuesday, 8 January 2008 02:10 (5 years ago) Permalink
Dude but now looking at the other thread it had hell of ASTA and ESAU solutions. And some four-letter word for a water pitcher that started with EW but never bothered to look at the finished word once I'd filled in all the other clues. Another frequent one: tipple = SOT.
― Abbott, Tuesday, 8 January 2008 02:13 (5 years ago) Permalink
EWER.
― Casuistry, Tuesday, 8 January 2008 02:15 (5 years ago) Permalink
A lot of the crosswords I'm like, "I couldn't do 1/7 of these clues had I not known the bible so well as a youth." Then they throw some "Desperate Housewives" clue at me and fuck if I don't feel like an old, old, old person.
― Abbott, Tuesday, 8 January 2008 02:18 (5 years ago) Permalink
I feel totally lame, jaymc, for having a hard time making my own Jumble puzzles after reading yr breezy description of how you throw together a themed crossword.
― Abbott, Tuesday, 8 January 2008 02:21 (5 years ago) Permalink
We forgot "case=E---" on the other thread.
― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 8 January 2008 03:16 (5 years ago) Permalink
Is that ETUI?
― Casuistry, Tuesday, 8 January 2008 03:41 (5 years ago) Permalink
I tried to play that in Scrabble recently, except I think I thought it was EPUI.
I can't find EPUI in an English or French dictionary, but you do get quite a few google hits for it.
― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 8 January 2008 03:50 (5 years ago) Permalink
OK, newest one now on Flickr. Have been v. busy with playing music in the last week, but I've got a good theme idea I'd like to work with soon.
― jaymc, Monday, 14 January 2008 23:58 (5 years ago) Permalink
Sorry, it's late, that perhaps wasn't clear. The link goes to the puzzle I made a week ago and already sent to Casuistry and robotsinlove in Across Lite format. (I've also revised some clues based on their suggestions.) I wasn't able to make a new one this weekend but hopefully soon.
― jaymc, Tuesday, 15 January 2008 00:00 (5 years ago) Permalink
I kinda dislike the structure of American xword puzzles, because of the way they so often seem more like sets of mini-crosswords that have a single words linking them to one another. I do enjoy doing them from time to time though. Norwegian ones tend to be a lot more interlinked, which I suppose makes them a bit easier once you get going. That's not a rip on your crossword btw, jaymc, just a general petty gripe.
Incidentally, is the Harper's one ridiculously difficult, or am I dumb? I only recently started subscribing to the mag, and I couldn't write a single word in the December xword!? Then I got the solution, and uh, yeah, that was surprisingly unhelpful to me for figuring out how to solve one.
In case anyone is curious, here's what a typical Norwegian crossword looks like:
― Øystein, Tuesday, 15 January 2008 10:01 (5 years ago) Permalink
Norwegian crosswords are some crazy shit!
Cute theme fill from the local free weekly: WWIREMOTES (instead of Wii remotes, all the theme answers had one letter changed).
― Jordan, Wednesday, 16 January 2008 16:53 (5 years ago) Permalink
Jaymc, I will print out your new one for my flight on Fri.
― Jordan, Wednesday, 16 January 2008 16:54 (5 years ago) Permalink
Yeah, lots of European X-words have those arrows. Øystein, re: The Harper's puzzle, you will have to practice to get those cryptic clues. If you want to post a few clues you couldn't understand, I can explain them to you. Or you can post them on the cryptic threads, and the Brits can help you too.
Also, I was going to try to do the puzzle you posted, as one of my many abandoned projects was to learn Norwegian, but I couldn't read it.
― James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 16 January 2008 17:19 (5 years ago) Permalink
Games magazine used to run puzzles with arrows, although nothing quite as complex looking as that. It was fun enough, but having clues that fit in the boxes was a bit stifling.
But yes, cryptic puzzles like Harper's are entirely different and play by their own rules. I rarely get very far into the Harper's one.
― Casuistry, Wednesday, 16 January 2008 17:26 (5 years ago) Permalink
i don't know what a "cryptic crossword" is.
― Jordan, Wednesday, 16 January 2008 22:58 (5 years ago) Permalink
Cryptic clues have two parts: one part gives the meaning and the other part gives the wordplay required to construct the letters of the defined word (sometimes this is just another definition of the word). Up to solver to figure out where break between two parts is. Classic example is a clue like
City stylish in the past (7)
Chicago = CHIC + AGO
― James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 16 January 2008 23:05 (5 years ago) Permalink
interesting!
― Jordan, Wednesday, 16 January 2008 23:07 (5 years ago) Permalink
Here's another type of clue, called a container I think:
Foot gets bandage for side (5)
Facet = F(ACE)T
― James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 16 January 2008 23:19 (5 years ago) Permalink
There's totally a mistake in this week's Tausig puzzle.
― jaymc, Thursday, 17 January 2008 01:24 (5 years ago) Permalink
I'll bet Mel Taub wouldn't have made a mistake.
― James Redd and the Blecchs, Thursday, 17 January 2008 03:23 (5 years ago) Permalink
It's an interesting topic, fer sure.
― Retreat from the Sunship (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 10 May 2013 15:31 (1 week ago) Permalink
Neither Matt Gaffney nor Tyler Hinman solved the MMMM this week.
― Retreat from the Sunship (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 13 May 2013 10:26 (6 days ago) Permalink
neither did donna rouge
― Salt Mama Celeste (donna rouge), Monday, 13 May 2013 17:04 (6 days ago) Permalink
oh...i see the answer now. brb, dunking my own head in the toilet
― Salt Mama Celeste (donna rouge), Monday, 13 May 2013 17:08 (6 days ago) Permalink
Oh yeah, I see you on the leader board now.
― Retreat from the Sunship (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 13 May 2013 18:09 (6 days ago) Permalink