NYT 2:29 ... LAT 1:35 ... CS 1:36 ... ND 1:47 ... "BEQ" 2:32
Finished the NYT about 15 seconds faster but had a typo. Very nice April Fool's offering for a Wednesday - I guess next year we can look forward to a real twist...
Monday, 3/30/09
NYT 1:52 ... LAT 1:43 ... CS 1:59 ... ND 1:37 ... JON 3:03 ... BEQ 2:49
Thanks to Alex's Across Lite-ification tool, I'm adding the Sunday LAT Sylvia Burzstyn puzzle ("LATB") and the daily Newsday to my routine...
Thanks to Alex's Across Lite-ification tool, I'm adding the Sunday LAT Sylvia Burzstyn puzzle ("LATB") and the daily Newsday to my routine...
Sunday, 3/29/09
NYT 5:17 ... LAT 5:06 ... BG 5:47 ... MR 4:47 ... ND 4:04 ... LATB 4:19 ... CS 3:06 ... Acrostic 8:20
I discovered the theme (from the first long entry, then jumping down to EIFFEL TOWER) and rebus (from [ET]AGERES, when SPHERES wasn't working) very quickly in Liz Gorski's NYT. It escaped me that ET stands for Eiffel Tower, but I did catch the FRENCH CONNECTION.
Elsewhere, I love Rich Norris, and there are even more great entries than usual in his CS crossword, but CHACHKAS? No.
I discovered the theme (from the first long entry, then jumping down to EIFFEL TOWER) and rebus (from [ET]AGERES, when SPHERES wasn't working) very quickly in Liz Gorski's NYT. It escaped me that ET stands for Eiffel Tower, but I did catch the FRENCH CONNECTION.
Elsewhere, I love Rich Norris, and there are even more great entries than usual in his CS crossword, but CHACHKAS? No.
Saturday, 3/28/09
NYT 4:54 ... LAT 2:36 ... CS 1:52 ... ND 8:21
Had an unusual amount of trouble with Doug Peterson's Stumper. The top right in particular, and whole top half, have some really rough clues. Should have remembered much earlier that "All Quiet on the Western Front" is not by ZANE GREY. Right idea, wrong Scrabbly letter! (Er, wrong continent?) My other excuse was that solving in Across Lite felt wrong somehow...
Oh, and Joe Krozel's NYT ties for second place all-time with 19 black squares. Sweet!
In other news, Games Magazine Presents Variety Crossword Puzzles, Volume One is now in my hot little hands. About half of the 50 puzzles are crosswords with a twist or post-solve puzzle. There are a few diagramlesses and cryptics, and one each of all the GAMESy variety grids like Pencil Pointers, Spiral, Petal, Marching Bands, etc., including a couple I've never seen. The only drawback is that not ALL of the puzzles are by Berry, Payne, Hook, Shenk, Shortz, Reagle, Ross... just most of them. I don't think there's a Volume 2, but OMG there's a GAMES compilation of World's Most Ornery Crosswords?!? *click*
Had an unusual amount of trouble with Doug Peterson's Stumper. The top right in particular, and whole top half, have some really rough clues. Should have remembered much earlier that "All Quiet on the Western Front" is not by ZANE GREY. Right idea, wrong Scrabbly letter! (Er, wrong continent?) My other excuse was that solving in Across Lite felt wrong somehow...
Oh, and Joe Krozel's NYT ties for second place all-time with 19 black squares. Sweet!
In other news, Games Magazine Presents Variety Crossword Puzzles, Volume One is now in my hot little hands. About half of the 50 puzzles are crosswords with a twist or post-solve puzzle. There are a few diagramlesses and cryptics, and one each of all the GAMESy variety grids like Pencil Pointers, Spiral, Petal, Marching Bands, etc., including a couple I've never seen. The only drawback is that not ALL of the puzzles are by Berry, Payne, Hook, Shenk, Shortz, Reagle, Ross... just most of them. I don't think there's a Volume 2, but OMG there's a GAMES compilation of World's Most Ornery Crosswords?!? *click*
Friday, 3/27/09
NYT 6:30 ... LAT 2:29 ... CS 1:53 ... CHE 3:09 ... WSJ 4:29 ... BEQ 3:03 ... MGWC 6:10
Almost half my NYT solving time was in the SW quadrant. BAGUETTES, ICECAVES, STEPCUT totally unknown. I should have seen through the CALMEST clue quicker, though. As for the marquee answer? Hated it.
update... Glad to see I'm not the only one who didn't know and/or didn't like BIMBO ERUPTION...
My puzzle books have all arrived except for the old GAMES compilation. As I suspected, Mind-Challenge Puzzle Book is useless... I already own Take Flight and Twisted Crosswords, and have no interest in Pixel Puzzles or Lateral Thinking. But the UltraHard Omnibus is better than expected (many crosswords by Trip Payne) and the Henry Hook Trivia Challenge is just as awesome as Ellen promised...
update again... Matt Gaffney's contest this week is very cool... in a way, he's one-upped BEQ's outside-the-box gimmicks. I figured out the metapuzzle very quickly this time, but it's not as hard as last week's (which I didn't get at all).
Almost half my NYT solving time was in the SW quadrant. BAGUETTES, ICECAVES, STEPCUT totally unknown. I should have seen through the CALMEST clue quicker, though. As for the marquee answer? Hated it.
update... Glad to see I'm not the only one who didn't know and/or didn't like BIMBO ERUPTION...
My puzzle books have all arrived except for the old GAMES compilation. As I suspected, Mind-Challenge Puzzle Book is useless... I already own Take Flight and Twisted Crosswords, and have no interest in Pixel Puzzles or Lateral Thinking. But the UltraHard Omnibus is better than expected (many crosswords by Trip Payne) and the Henry Hook Trivia Challenge is just as awesome as Ellen promised...
update again... Matt Gaffney's contest this week is very cool... in a way, he's one-upped BEQ's outside-the-box gimmicks. I figured out the metapuzzle very quickly this time, but it's not as hard as last week's (which I didn't get at all).
Thursday, 3/26/09
NYT about 4:00* ... LAT 2:40 ... CS 1:52
Whoa... weird deja vu with the NYT puzzle! I opened the applet and worked out the NW corner. The first theme answer had ALITT filled in, so I glanced at the clue, filled in A LITTLE MADNESS - and stopped cold. How did I know that? I don't know any poetry. Have I solved this puzzle before? How would that be possible? As I filled in the rest of the verse, which looked so pretty all by itself in the grid, I realized what it was.
No, not the previous NYT puzzle with the exact same quote (thanks Tuning Spork for the find). Two days ago, I solved yet another puzzle with that same Dickinson poem, which breaks down so nicely for a 15x15 theme: Simon & Schuster Mega Crossword Book #2, puzzle #25 by Georgia Ellis. Two days ago! I ended up finishing the puzzle in the applet, in a relatively leisurely fashion, and not submitting because of the "advantage" I had. It occurs to me now that plenty of other solvers probably knew the quote already...
Whoa... weird deja vu with the NYT puzzle! I opened the applet and worked out the NW corner. The first theme answer had ALITT filled in, so I glanced at the clue, filled in A LITTLE MADNESS - and stopped cold. How did I know that? I don't know any poetry. Have I solved this puzzle before? How would that be possible? As I filled in the rest of the verse, which looked so pretty all by itself in the grid, I realized what it was.
No, not the previous NYT puzzle with the exact same quote (thanks Tuning Spork for the find). Two days ago, I solved yet another puzzle with that same Dickinson poem, which breaks down so nicely for a 15x15 theme: Simon & Schuster Mega Crossword Book #2, puzzle #25 by Georgia Ellis. Two days ago! I ended up finishing the puzzle in the applet, in a relatively leisurely fashion, and not submitting because of the "advantage" I had. It occurs to me now that plenty of other solvers probably knew the quote already...
Sunday, 3/22/09
NYT (p) 7:29 ... LAT (p) 5:48 ... BG (p) 5:46 BG 6:05 ... MR (p) 7:50* ... CS (p) 2:42 ... Split Decisions 5:15
Joon, you didn't tell me you had a Sunday NYT too! I didn't have huge problems solving any of the weird fill (OK maybe LEE AAKER), but it does add up. Personally I'd rather have this high "freshness" than more common words, and I trust Shortz to draw the line.
Made an incorrect guess on Merl Reagle's puzzle, at the CATENA/FANON intersection. CATERA/FARON looked good enough, but N was my next guess. Here's how obscure CATENA is: its only database hit is a Bob Klahn Saturday puzzle from 2000. Paula Gamache's Sunday Challenge has great fill, as always, and too-easy clues, as always.
Oops - the wrong BG puzzle was posted and I failed to notice that I'd already solved it six weeks ago!
Joon, you didn't tell me you had a Sunday NYT too! I didn't have huge problems solving any of the weird fill (OK maybe LEE AAKER), but it does add up. Personally I'd rather have this high "freshness" than more common words, and I trust Shortz to draw the line.
Made an incorrect guess on Merl Reagle's puzzle, at the CATENA/FANON intersection. CATERA/FARON looked good enough, but N was my next guess. Here's how obscure CATENA is: its only database hit is a Bob Klahn Saturday puzzle from 2000. Paula Gamache's Sunday Challenge has great fill, as always, and too-easy clues, as always.
Oops - the wrong BG puzzle was posted and I failed to notice that I'd already solved it six weeks ago!
Saturday, 3/21/09
NYT 4:08 ... LAT 2:33 ... CS 2:08 ... ND 3:10
Going to write a little tonight because I'm gone all day tomorrow... Pretend these are comments on other blogs. Was it me, or was that one of the easiest Saturday Stumpers in the last couple years? Ray Hamel's puzzles are way more pop-culture-y than most Stumpers, which helps.
Great LAT from Doug Peterson, though not too challenging... mmm, ELISHA Cuthbert... whatever happened to her? Anyway, when TYPERS is the weakest entry, that's a rock-solid grid.
In the NYT, I liked the almost-mini-theme of "Forget it!" expressions; too bad Mr. Wolfe couldn't get one in the SE stack! Hardest area was the SE, where I couldn't get any of the nine-letter acrosses off the first few letters and had to peck around to finish. RANDALL Cunningham was my fantasy football quarterback for many years, and my favorite non-49ers player. Good to see him! Interesting that Shortz clued HAIM as Corey today, and Newman went with the Hebrew word that's usually spelled CHAIM.
Not to leave out El Blindito, whose genius CS theme I didn't figure out until after solving. I should have just taken the 10 or 15 seconds, after I had two themers filled in, to work it out so I could try puzzling out the other ones. Nobody cares if I break 2 minutes... gotta enjoy the crosswords too.
Going to write a little tonight because I'm gone all day tomorrow... Pretend these are comments on other blogs. Was it me, or was that one of the easiest Saturday Stumpers in the last couple years? Ray Hamel's puzzles are way more pop-culture-y than most Stumpers, which helps.
Great LAT from Doug Peterson, though not too challenging... mmm, ELISHA Cuthbert... whatever happened to her? Anyway, when TYPERS is the weakest entry, that's a rock-solid grid.
In the NYT, I liked the almost-mini-theme of "Forget it!" expressions; too bad Mr. Wolfe couldn't get one in the SE stack! Hardest area was the SE, where I couldn't get any of the nine-letter acrosses off the first few letters and had to peck around to finish. RANDALL Cunningham was my fantasy football quarterback for many years, and my favorite non-49ers player. Good to see him! Interesting that Shortz clued HAIM as Corey today, and Newman went with the Hebrew word that's usually spelled CHAIM.
Not to leave out El Blindito, whose genius CS theme I didn't figure out until after solving. I should have just taken the 10 or 15 seconds, after I had two themers filled in, to work it out so I could try puzzling out the other ones. Nobody cares if I break 2 minutes... gotta enjoy the crosswords too.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)