Marigold
here
@Ms. Billie M. Spaight Why do you come here to ruin Connections for us?
@Andrzej Have At It. — I thought the same thing at first.
@Mishlev I was reading the comments about the Thursday puzzle roughly 24 hours ago. It occurred to me that the people with the fastest solving times would be making comments sooner than those who struggle more. Also, those who are more serious about solving the puzzles are likely to start the puzzle earlier. Two hypotheses which, if correct, would cause there to be fewer complaints about the puzzle being too easy as it gets later in the day. I didn't get a chance to check this out but it should be easy to get an idea of the trend using a simple visual method. I'd be inclined to simply make a list of the attitudes of the commentors over time. Something like EENENNDENN, where E is a mention of the puzzle being Easy, D a mention of Difficult, and N indicates the comment was Neutral or made No mention of difficulty. Regardless, people who comment close together in time are likely to be more alike in ability and opinion of a puzzle than those making comments further apart. Another thought about the comments was about those who compared recent puzzles to ones published several years ago. There are a few reasons the old puzzles may seem harder including changes in how words are used and commonly known trivia, as well as a learning curve for those who have been solving for a number of years. But there are also good reasons why the Times may be trying to make the puzzle accessible to more people as they rely on puzzles to help maintain profitability. Just some thoughts.
I had UP for some and DOWN for others. So, once I figured out it should be HAZE/PRIZE instead of HACE/PRICE, not knowing what HACE meant, my solution was accepted. I need to go back and reread the revealers - would make the puzzle more fun. Great puzzle, as was yesterday's but I'm here to vote for Zhou on her first solo.
@Patrick @Francis @Ben The slope of the curve is defined to be the slope of the tangent line at that point. A small segment of the tangent line through the point approximates the curve in the sense that as the length of the segment shrinks the segment itself gets closer to the curve at that point. So, technically, it's the small pieces of the line that approximate the curve. This is actually analytic geometry which is commonly taught with calculus. So, any technical calculus book (one used for teaching math, science, engineering students) would be a good reference. Sorry, any specific book I can name is likely to be out of date.
Although I finished the puzzle in good time, I, too, didn't understand why "SPOONERISM" until I read Wordplay. Which means emphasizes what I said yesterday -- that I need to practice paying closer attention to the clues. I've known about spoonerisms since HS and enjoy playing around with them. Not really a joke, just a short story: I am also somewhat inclined to accidentally speak in spoonerisms. When I was a senior in HS, my sister was planning her wedding. This was in the days before Bach parties and before gift registries weren't like letters to Santa Claus. In those days, the only things people usually registered were their selected patterns for sets such as fine china, crystal, or sterling silverware that were too expensive for one present. But it did make it more likely that a couple would get different presents that had the same function. In my sister's case, it seemed that someone suggested that everyone send her a set of salt and pepper shakers -- actually, she may have received a half dozen or so sets. For some reason, I was unable to get the phrase "salt and pepper shaker" to come out right and if I didn't concentrate, it would come out as "salt and shepper paker." Still sounds better to me!
@David Hancock Parade rest is the way to stand when not moving forward in a parade.
@Jane Wheelaghan The original Dial Soap was the first antibiotic soap. They advertised heavily about the disinfectant, hexachlorophene, that the product contained. Hexachlorophene was found to cause problems with the nervous system and was banned from consumer products in the early 70s.
There are two sides to every story and I thought maybe the other side needed to state theirs on this thread. Unfortunately, I'm not really inclined to write a lot. But I have a story to add that demonstrates the other side of several of the posts with specific examples given. When I was 11 or 12, I was given an assignment to write an essay. I believe this was the first time I was assigned to write, rather than a story or a report, nonfiction based on beliefs or experiences. A few days after submitting my essay about how to build a snowman, the teacher read it to the class as an example of how one shouldn't write. I was humiliated. Perhaps I was motivated to learn to write better. I definitely found it extremely difficult to write after that experience. Unless I feel strongly about my subject, I can rarely bother to put my thoughts in words. This made it difficult to get through college. It makes writing a comment such as this require more time than I usually feel is worth it. ⛄
@jf Didn't make sense to me so I looked it up. Appeared to specifically refer to a bachelorette party. I'm not even sure that the word "bachelorette" was used when I was that age.
I enjoyed the puzzle, especially the theme. The theme wasn't too hard to figure out and it was cute. I did think the puzzle was a little heavy on the movie/tv trivia. That's just not one of my strongest areas and I kept opening and closing IMDB. Adrianne, I do look forward to seeing what you have in store for us.
I like the puzzle better from the other side. I can appreciate the cleverness of much of the clueing that I missed while working it. And @Barry Ancona explained a couple of clues that I still have a little trouble with but can accept (e.g., Tahoe runners, legs akimbo). I thought some of the clues were very good (e.g., What "it's not"). ** Possible Spoiler ** But there is one clue/answer combination that I still have trouble with. Maybe Barry can set me straight. The answer whose clue says "height or width, e.g." refers to a method or standard for finding the two values, not the values themselves. Height and width are m**ments which would be found or expressed using the same [10D answer] for length or distance.
@Barry Ancona I believe “a standard of measurement” refers to a method of measuring something. This would be how one finds the length and width, along with the units of measurement used (e.g. metric system, imperial system) but not the values obtained for length and width themselves. So, a measurement is a number with units and a metric is a method for obtaining the number. But maybe this is too technical. I’m having trouble finding a place it is explained without getting too mathematical. I’ll keep looking.
@Paul R I liked the puzzle but I did wonder about the ear clip, too. Seems to me it's one use of blue-tooth but not an aid to blue tooth. Blue tooth can be used with other wireless peripherals, such as wireless mice or keyboards.
@Andrzej I tried to take your advice. When I opened the archive, it was on March 2018. I figured that what you suggest would apply just as well to a puzzle from 4 years before your suggestion. I arbitrarily chose to work the one that was published on Friday, March 16. From my perspective, this Friday puzzle from 2018 was of very similar difficulty to today's. I may have happened to pick one that was easy for then. When I tried to check the comments from that puzzle, I only managed to get another copy of today's. I guess it could go either way.
@Paul I don't think of a trend line as being defined as strictly as a tangent line. It probably depends on what area of study the people using the term are in. I think the term is commonly used in finance but I think there the definition is not strict. In this case, 2 people could have slightly different trend lines. I have also seen the term used for what I would call a regression line. In both cases, I don't think people are starting with a curve and trying to approximate it. I think they start with a bunch of separate points and are try trying to approximate them.
@NYC Traveler Breyer's makes both.
I'm really late for this puzzle but I can't help but wonder if anyone else has trouble with the clue for ENTROPY. I thought ENTROPY was a process or a measure of degree. Maybe it's just too late at night.
@Blue Perhaps it was open on a college campus?
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