tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post966238997311191955..comments2024-01-25T10:14:06.567-08:00Comments on L.A. Crossword Confidential: SATURDAY, September 26, 2009—Barry SilkOrangehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12433254398377357737noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-15466087433085624452009-09-27T17:33:04.430-07:002009-09-27T17:33:04.430-07:00Jack Cheese: I'll answer here where your comme...Jack Cheese: I'll answer here where your comment is (though you're asking about the Sylvia Bursztyn puzzle): "wheel" is short for "big wheel," and Henry Luce was the big wheel/boss publisher of Fortune magazine.Orangehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12433254398377357737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-36061815935480088382009-09-27T17:29:11.795-07:002009-09-27T17:29:11.795-07:00Feeling a bit dense. I don't understand how t...Feeling a bit dense. I don't understand how the answer to "wheel of fortune" can be "luce."Pushing 70https://www.blogger.com/profile/08222994711464826093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-30298066079298171682009-09-27T15:40:09.408-07:002009-09-27T15:40:09.408-07:00i don't think i can really claim to know what ...i don't think i can really claim to know what the average solver wants, so i won't try. but i'm dissatisfied with the recent dumbing-down of the LAT as a (non-average) solver, and even more distressed as a constructor who specializes in tricky late-week puzzles. with the sun gone and the LAT now offering 0 challenging puzzles per week, the only place to submit difficult puzzles is the NYT.<br /><br />orange: i dig. the rhetorical term in saturday's NYT and the achebe/yeats connection happen to be in my wheelhouse, but i love learning new little facts from crossword puzzles, whether or not they stump me while solving. the beautiful thing about crosswords is that <i>you don't need to know everything to solve them</i>, because there are two ways of getting any given letter in the grid.Joonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07825085755390339668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-77880992990276415432009-09-27T08:18:29.323-07:002009-09-27T08:18:29.323-07:00Me, too, Rex. I couldn't blog about that rheto...Me, too, Rex. I couldn't blog about that rhetorical term in the Sat. NYT puzzle without reading about it on Wikipedia first. Blogging about crosswords forces me to fill in the gaps in my knowledge rather than cementing over the gaps with ignorance.<br /><br />You'll appreciate this, Rex: One of the best known IBO (or Igbo) people from Nigeria is novelist Chinua Achebe. His book <i>Things Fall Apart</i> takes its title from the Yeats' poem "The Second Coming." YEATS and IBO show up in crosswords from time to time and a little curious clicking around on Wikipedia gave me a link between them. Who knew?Orangehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12433254398377357737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-18147468869552009222009-09-27T08:08:50.592-07:002009-09-27T08:08:50.592-07:00Yeah, I "have to Google" all the time. I...Yeah, I "have to Google" all the time. It's just that I have to do so After I've finished, when there's a name / concept I don't know. Learneding!<br /><br />rpRex Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-29804786169667489752009-09-27T06:46:46.891-07:002009-09-27T06:46:46.891-07:00@JOHN: We can call it "cheating" without...@JOHN: We can call it "cheating" without meaning any disparagement of those who Google clues! You're absolutely right that it's learning. I would much rather see every solver take the time to look things up than leave things blank. Heck, checking the full answers the next day and studying what you missed is a great learning tool, and Google is worlds better than a crossword dictionary for learning. Let's say you find yourself at a Wikipedia page, reading up on a topic you hadn't known anything about. You can indulge your intellectual curiosity and learn new things, making you better equipped to tackle tougher crosswords.<br /><br />The folks who cry foul at "having to Google"—what, they are opposed to <i>learning</i>? Demanding a puzzle that never requires more knowledge than one already possesses is sad. I love crosswords that push me to pick up new knowledge.Orangehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12433254398377357737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-80730386546295888872009-09-27T06:26:20.107-07:002009-09-27T06:26:20.107-07:00IMHO! HA ha.IMHO! HA ha.Rex Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-6629915707392526982009-09-27T06:25:37.161-07:002009-09-27T06:25:37.161-07:00And what Parsan said. We ALL have to work, housemo...And what Parsan said. We ALL have to work, housemouse. You should be happy to get puzzles you like early in the week, and tolerate a tougher puzzle later in the week for those who enjoy it. With practice, you might enjoy it too. It's the incredibly selfish insistence of people that the puzzle should Always be easy that is so annoying. "Everything should be my way all the time or I'm going to write pitch a fit." Ugh.Rex Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-77092911074274942352009-09-27T06:20:04.569-07:002009-09-27T06:20:04.569-07:00"Really angers"?? Easy there, John. I ha..."Really angers"?? Easy there, John. I have said many times that I love "cheaters" and that people should solve however they like and there's no shame etc. I meant the term affectionately. Note that I said it applied to most of my audience. I tend to avoid yelling insults at the entirety of my audience. <br /><br />This whole town-hall-mtg-style "anger" thing that's going around ... really unpleasant and unnecessary.Rex Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-42320229168736911962009-09-27T05:34:32.546-07:002009-09-27T05:34:32.546-07:00@housemouse--With all due respect, we all have bus...@housemouse--With all due respect, we all have busy lives, but puzzles that are simply fill-in-the-blanks are vapid intellectually. Maybe that sounds pompous. I just mean they aren't fun and you don't learn anything from them. A clue that has a meaning other than what you are thinking can produce a delightful "aha" moment, and more thoughtful, cleverly constructed puzzles can lead us to words we don't know. So what, if we don't finish a puzzle on first try! Isn't the journey the point rather than just the destination?<br /><br />I agree with @Johns---- that it is not cheating to Google (read dictionary and encyclopedia in my case). I don't know who said "Everyone is ignorant about something" but certainly it's true. However, the clues in the puzzles this last week have been so easy that I didn't look up anything or "puzzle" over the answers, and for an average solver (as I am) it was unsatisifying.<br /><br />Our paper runs two puzzles, a baby one and the LAT, and their difficulty level is now about the same. Since puzzlers were happy with the graduated level of difficulty of the LAT, and allegedly, complaints have come in from solvers who no longer have the easier puzzle to do, it would be great if the LAT went back to two puzzles a day and make everyone happy. How much does adding another puzzle cost in the long run? More than they want to spend, apparently. Just wishful thinking!<br /><br />How nice to see passionate discourse about words. As a society, we are not dead yet!Parsannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-24821730535803538042009-09-26T22:36:02.051-07:002009-09-26T22:36:02.051-07:00I agree with Jerome and others who feel that it is...I agree with Jerome and others who feel that it is better that the puzzles have been less cryptic lately. IMO, a crossword puzzle should be mostly a test of vocabulary, not of the ability to locate obscure trivia in Google, or to read the author's mind when he/she creates extremely obscure clues for relatively simple words. One eiother is in tune with the author's style of humor or one is not. <br /><br />I have no problem with most of the words used, unless they are pretty obscure, but the muddled way the clues are often constructed seems bewildering to me at times. As for the difficulty of the puzzles, I may have some difficulty trying to make sense of some authors' strange sense of hunmor, but not when the puzzle centers on vocabulary.<br /><br />The editors should keep the puzzles pretty much as is M-F; I'm willing to concede Sat-Sun to those who love obscurity, but during the week, I just don't have time to stay joined at the hip to Google! I was ready to ask our local paper to get its crosswords from a different source until they moved to a clearer version at least M-Th. It would be nice to have all morning to dawdle over a puzzle, but Alas! I have to work, so it is nice to have a puzzle that is clearly written. Keep it up, I say. Please.housemousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13137171147080803261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-34565479769239496862009-09-26T21:42:17.371-07:002009-09-26T21:42:17.371-07:00@Rex
Your statement: "Orange and I are lightn...@Rex<br />Your statement: "Orange and I are lightning fast compared to most, but the avg reader is here bec. he / she cheated and googled a clue at some point."<br />This statement really angers me!<br />I consider myself average (I am not lightening fast), BUT I AM NOT CHEATING because occassionaly I resort to Google. Do you not know that making mistakes and researching stymies are part of the learning process? And that some people (unlike you) still need to learn. I consider working a crossword to be a mental exercise and to be an enjoyable mental recreation, and NOT a competitive sport. I never keep track of my completion times... to me it's not a marathon, it's a walk in the park.<br />I believe a crossword should always be entertaining... I love being challenged, but it's sure not tantamount to filling out an IRS 1040 form. IMHO<br />And, BTW, that is not why I'm here in this blog! I am here because reading the writeups and the comments are amusing and generally educational, not because I'm stumped.JOHNSNEVERHOMEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13447455788629988277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-67359705810434704272009-09-26T20:01:33.474-07:002009-09-26T20:01:33.474-07:00Rex, How do you know what the people at the Crossw...Rex, How do you know what the people at the Crossword Corner puzzle blog feel about the old TMS puzzle? Did you take a poll? Did you ask a representative sample? Did you e-mail every one who posts there (quite a few more than who post here, by the way)? Your comment is shallow and self-serving. We have a nice community there, and you and anyone else is more than welcome to come join in. The snob attitude on this blog is insufferable, IMHO!Crockett1947https://www.blogger.com/profile/06404431645533093707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-43727545494629709782009-09-26T18:55:02.526-07:002009-09-26T18:55:02.526-07:00thank you john farmer for explaining what's ha...thank you john farmer for explaining what's happening w LAT...trying to accommodate an expanding readership...interesting how the puzzle is a microcosm of the trouble w print media generally<br /><br />I had same fits and starts shrub5 had<br />TTOP?<br /><br />liked juxtaposition APPT/APTTO, OSSIA, APRIORI, ANEMOMETER, ANSELADAMS...clearly Barry Silk is capable of and is used to doing more challenging puzzles. As a baseball fan generally, am embarrassed did not know the MVP was (and won't recall him in the am)Charles Boglenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-35334178308144042762009-09-26T17:55:59.179-07:002009-09-26T17:55:59.179-07:00@Jerome, Corporate suits make willy-nilly, knee-je...@Jerome, Corporate suits make willy-nilly, knee-jerk decisions based on limited, shrill feedback All The Time. Clearly you don't know many suits. Plus, your "HEARD from" comment makes my point — dumbing down has been a response to a bunch of complaints, but there's no reason to believe complainers are in any way a majority. Papers are betting that making puzzle uniformly easy/dull will not result in angry letters / canceled subscriptions, and about that they may be right. But word is that even the novices who squawked at the switchover 'cause they (god knows how) loved their old TMS puzzle (I'm talking about people who frequent the Crossword Corner blog, for instance) are getting bored of the dumbed-down LAT. And there's really nowhere for LAT to go now but Toward increased difficulty. My guess is that Rich will slowly ramp it back up to the nicely graded, but easier-than-NYT, level it once was. But it may take a while.<br /><br />Lastly, you are simply wrong about avg reader of this blog. Orange and I are lightning fast compared to most, but the avg reader is here bec. he / she cheated and googled a clue at some point. That's how I built 90+% of my audience. Xword blog readers are, on avg, very mortal solvers.Rex Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-35973818084767610042009-09-26T16:31:28.381-07:002009-09-26T16:31:28.381-07:00@Anonymous 10:12. Nice personality. Keep that anon...@Anonymous 10:12. Nice personality. Keep that anonymous on your ugly, punch-me face.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Love and agreement to everyone else!Sfinginoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-35537253928502122972009-09-26T16:27:54.244-07:002009-09-26T16:27:54.244-07:00Orange- We all know that newspapers are struggling...Orange- We all know that newspapers are struggling to survive and if I'm a corporate suit I'm not going to make decisions willy-nilly or on a hunch. I think they've made their studies, took their polls, listened to public feedback, and made the call that the LAT puzzle is too difficult for the people they've HEARD from. What else explains it? I'm not arguing against the large, majority opinion expressed on this site today. But I am arguing for my opinion that the average solver is more content with the level of difficulty now than before. I'll say it again. The solvers here are light years from average and not the best judge of difficulty because of that.<br /><br />In the coming weeks and months we'll certainly find out which way the wind blew, and I'm betting the change in the LAT pretty much stays intactJeromehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06174332800591939009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-6673196121278098992009-09-26T14:26:18.131-07:002009-09-26T14:26:18.131-07:00@Jerome, here's the thing: The L.A. Times puzz...@Jerome, here's the thing: <i>The L.A. Times puzzle was not broken.</i> The people solving it in newspapers all across the country liked it just fine. It's the solvers who want the old TMS puzzle back who have been pitching fits and demanding an easier puzzle. Why are the long-satisfied L.A. Times crossword fans not given their due? We loved the puzzle we had but sadly, that is no longer the puzzle that's being provided.Orangehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12433254398377357737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-64310477358439723452009-09-26T14:22:29.146-07:002009-09-26T14:22:29.146-07:00Rex, I hope Rich sees/reads your apt message. I...Rex, I hope Rich sees/reads your apt message. I'm sure he dislikes the watered-down puzzles as well, but is responding to marching orders from the Trib. <br />So, I think the above suggestion about writing to our local papers to complain is probably our best way to apply some pressure to bring back the graduated level of difficulty. Perhaps, as has been proposed elsewhere, the Trib papers could signal the level of difficulty each day (c.f. Sudoku ratings) or at least alert readers to how the puzzles get harder thru the week? I commute daily in Chicago and fellow solvers seem to have no clue how the week's puzzles progress.<br /><br />No one becomes a better solver when each day is the same as the last. I like a challenge, and I suspect that most solvers appreciate a puzzle that takes longer than a few minutes to yawn through or grapple with.split infinitivenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-63744149738296836152009-09-26T13:47:58.760-07:002009-09-26T13:47:58.760-07:00I agree with Rex, if you coudn't solve todays ...I agree with Rex, if you coudn't solve todays puzzle you should give up crosswords (or buy a TV Guide).<br /><br />Leave Monday-Wednesday alone but Thursday-Saturday should be much harder than Monday level. I am bored to tears.<br /><br />I'm writting to my local papers editor today!Bohicanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-41744380143243366072009-09-26T13:29:52.052-07:002009-09-26T13:29:52.052-07:00@crazycatlady: The Sunday calendar puzzle HAS been...@crazycatlady: The Sunday calendar puzzle HAS been blogged here at LA Crossword Confidential by PuzzleGirl the past few weeks. It may be posted an hour or so later than the first puzzle, in my experience. Don't know if this is done regularly or just when her time permits.JBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-76356309015749600642009-09-26T12:51:05.873-07:002009-09-26T12:51:05.873-07:0090 seconds to completion equates to beaucoup simpl...90 seconds to completion equates to beaucoup simplicity for a fin de semana crossword.<br /><br />Let's hear the grassroots Jeremiahs to the Puzzle Masters.Ken Kellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08133632826722750602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-64281067955135847682009-09-26T12:48:37.476-07:002009-09-26T12:48:37.476-07:00I agree with Rex and all of you. To tell you the t...I agree with Rex and all of you. To tell you the truth, I only do the LAT puzzle because I want to support the blog, I like those three!<br /><br />Wouldn't it be interesting to have 2 sets of clues? I think it was "The Economist" that had both straight crossword and then cryptic clues on the Saturday (wasn't it a weekly, newspaper-shaped publication years ago?). Huge difference in difficulty, but you could even combine when you got stuck.<br /><br />I love Barry Silk puzzles, but this is a pretty Monday.machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-45136838078155024752009-09-26T12:45:37.751-07:002009-09-26T12:45:37.751-07:00With respect, Jerome, most regular solvers did not...With respect, Jerome, most regular solvers did not fail to solve today's puzzle. No way, no how. And again, as many have said today, no one is saying all puzzles should be blisteringly difficult. Should not be a horrible thing to have late-week puzzles harder than early-week. As John said, puzzles can still run easy compared to NYT. I know lots and lots of novice solvers (and, importantly, *former* novice solvers) who are happy, thrilled, to have challenging puzzles. They don't get angry and write letters when they fail to finish correctly. They persevere. They move forward. They get better. God bless novice solvers. The last thing I or anyone here wants is a puzzle that leaves them in the dust.<br /><br />rpRex Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-13966080750545799452009-09-26T12:43:23.234-07:002009-09-26T12:43:23.234-07:00Also agree with Rex. I have found that lately the...Also agree with Rex. I have found that lately the most challenging puzzle of the week in the LAT is the Sunday calendar puzzle by either Merle Reagle or Sylvia B. That's the one that actually is in the paper and no one blogs about it. I'm not sure why that is. This week I was able to do the NYT puzzle competently Monday through Wednesday, somewhat of a struggle on Thursday, but I enjoyed it. I'm going to try Friday's today. But I need to wait until later when the chores are done. So I think I am making progress towards being a better solver.CrazyCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00245025301434920905noreply@blogger.com