BASTARDS!
― Austin S (Austin, Still), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 01:35 (nineteen years ago) link
the new york times crossword is NOT "cryptic" in the way that UK ones are, it's a synonym puzzle, and it's very strictly constructed, essentially each clue could replace its answer in a sentence and still be grammatically correct
one could draw inferences about cultural differences represented by these respective x-word hegemonies and possibly parlay it into a tiresome article for the nyt magazine, or an actually interesting one for the guardian
the nation used to run a cryptic crossword on its back page, i suspect it still does.
we could also talk about what kind of person the nytimes crossword imagines its solvers to be, and complain about that, which would delight me
― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 02:13 (nineteen years ago) link
― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 02:17 (nineteen years ago) link
― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 02:20 (nineteen years ago) link
― Austin Swinburn (Austin, Still), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 02:22 (nineteen years ago) link
― Ken L (Ken L), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 02:24 (nineteen years ago) link
I've never gotten even half of a Saturday puzzle.
Is it also true that the puzzles increase in difficulty as the month progresses?
― mte22 (mte22), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 03:35 (nineteen years ago) link
― Gravel Puzzleworth (Gregory Henry), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 03:44 (nineteen years ago) link
― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 04:28 (nineteen years ago) link
― jaymc (jaymc), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 04:31 (nineteen years ago) link
The Atlantic Monthly (right? not Harper's?) runs cryptics by Ravathon and Cox, who are hands-down the best cruciverbalists in this country.
I've never heard anyone talk about them getting harder as a month progresses, though. What do you do when the end of a month is on a Tuesday? Seems like madness.
I can do Saturdays about 33% of the time but it takes a few hours and usually a breather in between solving attempts. I am bringing some for my x-country train trip tomorrow.
― Casuistry (Chris P), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 07:34 (nineteen years ago) link
Did they want the correct letter Ø in the answer?
― OleM (OleM), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 09:12 (nineteen years ago) link
― Ken L (Ken L), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 11:20 (nineteen years ago) link
― Ken L (Ken L), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 11:24 (nineteen years ago) link
― Casuistry (Chris P), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 12:01 (nineteen years ago) link
― Curious George Finds the Ether Bottle (Rock Hardy), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 12:24 (nineteen years ago) link
― mte22 (mte22), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 14:05 (nineteen years ago) link
You know, last I checked the NY Sun had a really good puzzle. Lots of well-known constructors. I've bought some of the collections.
OK, here's something.
― Ken L (Ken L), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 14:50 (nineteen years ago) link
― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 15:55 (nineteen years ago) link
― Ken L (Ken L), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 15:58 (nineteen years ago) link
WAAAAAAH!
― Austin S (Austin, Still), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 17:07 (nineteen years ago) link
Tracer: I'll complain that the Sundays are surprisingly boring and tedious considering their fame.
― Casuistry (Chris P), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 18:50 (nineteen years ago) link
― Casuistry (Chris P), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 18:51 (nineteen years ago) link
― Ken L (Ken L), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 18:52 (nineteen years ago) link
Saturday's NYT puzzle is really the hardest for me, because the answers are longer words. I can do it maybe 50% of the time. Monday-Thursday I can almost always solve, Friday about 70%. Sunday takes longer, but I can usually do it easier than Saturday's.
― edd s hurt (ddduncan), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 20:10 (nineteen years ago) link
― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 30 March 2005 06:25 (nineteen years ago) link
― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 30 March 2005 06:26 (nineteen years ago) link
― mookieproof (mookieproof), Wednesday, 30 March 2005 07:16 (nineteen years ago) link
My complaints for this week are: "dais" twice in a row, with practically the same clue, what's next, "microphone's environs"?
― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Monday, 2 May 2005 05:26 (eighteen years ago) link
― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Monday, 2 May 2005 05:28 (eighteen years ago) link
― Casuistry (Chris P), Monday, 2 May 2005 05:33 (eighteen years ago) link
― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Monday, 2 May 2005 05:49 (eighteen years ago) link
― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Monday, 2 May 2005 06:01 (eighteen years ago) link
― n/a (Nick A.), Monday, 2 May 2005 14:00 (eighteen years ago) link
― Casuistry (Chris P), Monday, 2 May 2005 18:00 (eighteen years ago) link
― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Friday, 17 March 2006 15:12 (eighteen years ago) link
I catch this thread a year after the fact, and wowee: I totally remember this one! I really enjoyed it! One of those dramatic Thursdays where figuring out the theme opens up a whole new world. It's like the moment in action movies where the hero's getting his ass kicked by an unstoppable creature and then suddenly the geek calls in and says "it's fire, he's only vulnerable to fire," and then the hero turns around all refreshed and lays his smack down.
― nabisco (nabisco), Friday, 17 March 2006 16:04 (eighteen years ago) link
― The Yellow Kid, Friday, 17 March 2006 18:26 (eighteen years ago) link
― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Friday, 17 March 2006 18:37 (eighteen years ago) link
plus did the circled spaces actually spell anything? i feel like there was something i was missing
― Tracey Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 17 May 2006 12:54 (seventeen years ago) link
the circles were "crossings", as in down-clue crossing the across-clue (or vice versa, I forget).
― patita (patita), Wednesday, 17 May 2006 16:55 (seventeen years ago) link
― jergins (jergins), Wednesday, 17 May 2006 17:30 (seventeen years ago) link
"columbus" was the first of those that i got, and i was all like "aha! columbus circle!" but no. i liked that. but then the circles proved to mean 0. i even took the circled letters and tried to anagramatize them, but they make nothing.
i obv thought "tee" at first, but then that makes the clue that goes through it "Big Eest" .. "Big East", surely?
― Tracey Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 17 May 2006 17:46 (seventeen years ago) link
WTF, Shortz?
― nabisco (nabisco), Wednesday, 26 July 2006 16:14 (seventeen years ago) link
Am I the only one who's a bit skeptical about this?
― nabisco (nabisco), Wednesday, 26 July 2006 16:17 (seventeen years ago) link
― jim wentworth (wench), Thursday, 27 July 2006 00:04 (seventeen years ago) link
― Tracey Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 27 July 2006 00:14 (seventeen years ago) link
― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Thursday, 27 July 2006 00:15 (seventeen years ago) link
wtf
― mookieproof, Thursday, 7 March 2024 16:29 (one month ago) link
that is bewildering
― symsymsym, Thursday, 7 March 2024 16:40 (one month ago) link
Sucks
― The SoyBoy West Coast (Whiney G. Weingarten), Thursday, 7 March 2024 16:48 (one month ago) link
I still don’t think that makes it “modern.” The puzzle column seems to imply its “colloquial” but those words don’t mean the same thing to me
― The SoyBoy West Coast (Whiney G. Weingarten), Thursday, 7 March 2024 16:54 (one month ago) link
It’s not worse than that twee “story” but it is very lame
― cozen itt (wins), Thursday, 7 March 2024 17:42 (one month ago) link
Okay today has some major mindfuckery.
I filled everything in fine and was like, "huh?" Then "oh HELL no." Then "whoa."
― alpaca lips now (Ye Mad Puffin), Sunday, 17 March 2024 10:28 (one month ago) link
Yeah v elegant
― cozen itt (wins), Sunday, 17 March 2024 12:12 (one month ago) link
it's like a sfw version of the freud nyer one
― 龜, Sunday, 17 March 2024 15:37 (one month ago) link
what a great puzzle. probably shouldn't have started in the middle
― symsymsym, Tuesday, 19 March 2024 05:37 (one month ago) link
ffs lads
Synonym found after deleting half the letters of EXHILARATE
Pulitzer-winning author whose name is found in nonconsecutive letters of “page turner”
― mookieproof, Thursday, 28 March 2024 12:40 (four weeks ago) link
i mean i’m sorry that james AGEE is inevitable fill several times a month but try harder
― mookieproof, Thursday, 28 March 2024 12:45 (four weeks ago) link
for all of the grid embellishments, that puzzle was kind of dull in general.
― jaymc, Thursday, 28 March 2024 13:01 (four weeks ago) link
57A was brutal clue and answer.
― Astarion Is Born (Leee), Thursday, 28 March 2024 17:20 (four weeks ago) link
not really a complaint, but it’s weird to go six years without ARHAT then get it on back-to-back days
― mookieproof, Friday, 29 March 2024 03:50 (three weeks ago) link
I learned it from the NYT Spelling Bee!
― Andrew Farrell, Friday, 29 March 2024 10:41 (three weeks ago) link