Althouse: " I would've ragequit right there if I didn't have this thingie to write."

February 17, 2019

" I would've ragequit right there if I didn't have this thingie to write."

Rex Parker does not like the Sunday crossword today.

16 comments:

Wince said...: As soon as that song started I thought of "Shoop" by Salt n Peppa. Turns out...

Ike Turner also got a writing credit on the song because it samples the Ikettes hit he wrote, "I'm Blue (The Gong Gong Song)."

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4vaN01VLYSQ; 2/17/19, 9:40 AM
Carol said...: Oh my I'd forgotten all about that one. Love it!; 2/17/19, 9:47 AM
Ann Althouse said...: It's kind of obscure but [spoiler alert] it was in the puzzle.; 2/17/19, 9:49 AM
Fernandinande said...: This song is a lot better than the Gaga lady songs some people mentioned.; 2/17/19, 10:14 AM
gilbar said...: Fernandistein said... This song is a lot better than the Gaga lady songs some people mentioned.

List of songs that AREN'T a lot better that the Gaga lady songs:; 2/17/19, 10:22 AM
jaydub said...: It was not a very good puzzle. Seemed very disjointed and the theme didn't work for me.; 2/17/19, 10:24 AM
Ann Althouse said...: Sunday puzzles are the worst of the weeks. They're big, so that means the print is smaller. At least I can see better now....

But so much work filling and filling and it's always some theme but not enough reward for figuring out the theme, just usually, oh, okay, that's the theme, how many damned examples of *that* must I slog through.

I like the puzzles in this order: Friday, Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday.

That is, my preference is for the difficult *themeless* puzzles. I want to see interesting words. Not themes accomplished through a lot of boring crosses — abbreviations and the same things over an over (like Ott, Orr, and Alou, just to focus on the athletes). Sunday is the ultimate in what I don't like.

Often I just go back into the archive and do old Fridays and Saturdays.; 2/17/19, 10:36 AM
gilbar said...: Glad your eyes are workin' better Professor Althouse!; 2/17/19, 10:42 AM
John henry said...: I've had a crush on Tina turner for the past 55 years.

I've not seen a recent picture but even at 70 I still thought she ws smoking hot

John Henry; 2/17/19, 10:48 AM
Roger Sweeny said...: I'll bet the Ikette on the left was considered "black". Which shows how silly the "one drop" rule is.; 2/17/19, 10:50 AM
tcrosse said...: Here in the provinces we get the NYT crossword a week or two later. The damn Thursday puzzle usually has a gimmick (which I hate) but the local paper doesn't print the puzzle title, which gives a hint to the gimmick. So figuring out what the gimmick is adds to the fun.; 2/17/19, 11:41 AM
jaydub said...: "Often I just go back into the archive and do old Fridays and Saturdays."

I do the same for Mon - Wed, but usually work the Thur - Sunday. My favorite is the Sat puzzle, but the Friday is sometimes more challenging for me. Not sure what it says about my memory, but I have yet to find a puzzle in the archives from before 2006 that I have remembered working before, and I've done them all since the late 80's.

@tcross: you can get a puzzle subscription separate from the NYT paper itself for about $19/year as I recall. I get my wife to subscribe and use her password so I don't feel guilty about actually contributing to the NYT myself. :); 2/17/19, 12:37 PM
Clark said...: What I found annoying was the way the cross references were done. Clue x would refer me to clue y, but clue y would refer me to the answer to clue y which turned clue y into a different clue, and by that time I forgot where clue x was on the grid.

@tcrosse - the Thursday gimmicks are my favorite thing. The NYT does not print puzzle titles on weekdays, so we all get the fun of figuring out the gimmick. I'm in the provinces too, but the digital subscription to the NYT crossword puzzle is cheap and worth it. I stopped reading the news in the NYT years ago when they stopped printing it.; 2/17/19, 12:37 PM
tcrosse said...: The NYT puzzles come with my local paper, so why pay more? I do pay money for the cryptic puzzles in the Telegraph, and those in the Financial Times and the Guardian are free.; 2/17/19, 12:57 PM
Diamondhead said...: I saw your headline before I worked the puzzle. Trying to figure out what upset him about it was more fun than the puzzle itself. I was sure he was upset about “Enola” crossing “on rice”.; 2/17/19, 3:41 PM
Past Tense said...: NYT Sunday puzzle just could not resist: "Orangeman" for Syracuse player. This after the usual SNL embarrassment: Alec as Orangeman bad.; 2/18/19, 3:26 AM