username wrote:It was crossword puzzles which first gave me a sense of my own mortality, when I realized I couldn't read the clues any longer and very reluctantly bought my first pair of 1.25 reading glasses. Am now up to 2.50, and the light has to be REALLY bright. 2.75 is looming on the horizon. Damn you, Will Weng.
NYT puzzles are OK, but I prefer the Boston Sunday Globe ones, probably available online, which aren't quite as challenging (they say the Sun. NYT ones are only about Thursday-level, not that difficult, just longer), but considerably punnier, which I like--giggle while you solve.
And the Brattle Bookstore, America's oldest antiquarian bookstore and a wonderful place to browse thru if you come to Boston, recently came up with a treasure, a giant book of 500 Saturday NYT puzzles for just $5.00. Whoever bought it originally tried two or three (only in pencil, four or five words if that in each) and gave up and sold it to the Brattle. Figure this'll keep me going for a couple years at least.
Huffs with envy. Well, good for you....
Giggles.
So, let us know how it goes - some of us are deprived.
I agree that it's a wavelength thing. I haven't done a during the week NYT crossword in a while -- no time. So I doubt that I'd be able to finish a Thurs. or Fri. right now. I do Saturdays and often have blanks. Sundays are easier, not just because of the level but, once you get the theme, that helps it along considerably. Saturdays don't seem to be thematic so that's a hindrance.
I save them for a couple of months before I fly somewhere... they're a great way to pass the time on the airplane.
Question: Do any of you check your blanks against the next week's solved puzzle?
I rarely do.
Honestly, mention NYT's Crosswords to A2K members and some of my favorite people run away with the thread.
Has anyone else noticed how many puzzle constructors are people with lots and lots of consonents in their last names?
Can't agree more about the hopelessness of puzzles by a constructor of alien mindset. Manny Nonxxxxxxxxxwicz is not from my solar system.
Crosswords and cataracts are a very unfortunate combination.
Once upon a time in the late fifties I met Estes Kefauver, coonskin hat and all.
Every so often I wax nostalgic on a Sunday morning, thinking of puzzle solvers all over the world tackling the Sunday crossword.
I have known people--usually male--who regard crosswords as a competitive sport and who play against each other (off line) for the shortest solving time with the fewest blank squares.
These people are also alien....
