tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869983234842507044.post8482231690459246176..comments2024-03-27T07:17:39.554-04:00Comments on Horace and Frances discuss the New York Times Crossword Puzzle: Thursday, July 18, 2013, Todd Gross and David SteinbergHorace Fawleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04676932991883111336noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869983234842507044.post-73990435475594619152013-08-25T20:06:36.554-04:002013-08-25T20:06:36.554-04:00Not the greatest puzzle, but I will still look for...Not the greatest puzzle, but I will still look forward to seeing Mr. Steinberg's byline appear on a future puzzle.<br /><br />Agreed about the apostrophe. Gimmicky.Horace Fawleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04676932991883111336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869983234842507044.post-489996882331621572013-08-23T12:25:32.509-04:002013-08-23T12:25:32.509-04:00OK, let's start with the only really noteworth...OK, let's start with the only really noteworthy aspect of this puzzle: I do not at all like the apostrophe. I know Steinberg is one of those young constructors who are trying to push the boundaries, but crosswords with letters in every square have been around and have been successful for a long, long time. As a 44-year solver, I am not longing for puzzles with something other than letters in the answers. Yes, I enjoy the Thursday rebuses as much as the next guy, but they appear as part of a theme. This apostrophe was random. Unless it's part of the theme, I don't want symbols in my crossword puzzle. If you want to freshen things up, keep cluing FLO as "____ Rida . . .," not as "Mel's Diner employee" or "'Kiss my grits' utterer." One other compliment: I loved the inclusion of MINSK and BEIRUT. Difficult capitals with straight-forward, factual cluing. Perfect challenges for a Thursday. Lastly, I agree with Frannie's accusation of inelegance.englishteacher59https://www.blogger.com/profile/16790678319090827125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869983234842507044.post-54824775632768205952013-07-19T08:04:07.766-04:002013-07-19T08:04:07.766-04:0037 mins
I, too, originally put an exclamation poin...37 mins<br />I, too, originally put an exclamation point at the end of the circles, but, having listened to SNERD on the Sirius old-time radio channel many times, realized that was a mistake rather quickly. I enjoyed REEKED (Frannie probably didn't) and, like Frannie, knew KIKIDEE right away. One of the advantages of filling this in on paper is being able to put in the appropriate symbol quite easily. I don't know why the electronic versions don't allow that sort of thing. And I meant to lament the other day on the cent sign not being above the "6" as on the old typewriters, though I do find the ^ more useful as a math symbol, so I'm not too torn on this. One would think that there would at least be one (a cent sign) available in MS Word's "Symbols", but I couldn't find one.Huygenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14539030936919012404noreply@blogger.com