google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Saturday, November 17, 2018, Derek Bowman

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Nov 17, 2018

Saturday, November 17, 2018, Derek Bowman

Themeless Saturday By Derek Bowman


Can't you just smell what day it is?  It Homemade Bread Day! The wonderful smell of homemade bread is one the wonders of the world. The assortment you see at the right is  lovely and the various seeds added to some of them sweeten the experience for me even if they wind up stuck in my teeth.

This holiday reminds me of a bakery called Bäckerei Tichelkamp we visited in Oberammergau, Germany. The visit was a delight for all the senses but the olfactory glands definitely got a workout. Since their famous Passion Play is only put on every 10 years, this is the memory I will always have of this quaint village unless I can get back there in 2020 to see their famous event.


We see breads in this venue quite often. This 8/28/18 puzzle by Mike Torch even 
had a punny bread theme.


Today's puzzle is by Derek Bowman who lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba. This article about him in the Winnipeg Free Press is a wonderful and witty look into Derek's methods that he has employed to be published around the world.

One nugget from the article relates that Derek loves the word OBAMA which has nothing to do with the former president's politics. It is because it has a vowel, consonant, vowel, consonant, vowel progression that is easier to fit into puzzles than many other names. 


That is the reason he has become a fan of highly ranked tennis player Elina Svitolina because if she becomes very popular, her first name will fit the same progression! 


Now let's venture on to see what else our Canadian friend has for us today in his pangrammatic puzzle that features a stacked set of three horizontal grid spanners and two symmetric vertical grid 
spanners. 32. "Geez Louise": ME OH MY!


Across:

1. Divided equally: IN HALF - Solomon's proposed, grotesque solution leapt to my mind


7. They're inseparable, briefly: BFFS - Do you have any H.S. Best Friends Forever that you still see?


11. Test subjects: IQ'S - When tests are discussed, the subject of IQ tests will certainly arise. Subjects who take said tests will obtain their IQ score. Any guesses on this IQ test question?  These used to drive me crazy. *Answer is at the bottom of this page.




14. Head scratcher?: NOOGIE - NOOGIES are not 24. Needles: TAUNTS, they're abuse, pure and simple




15. One may be on the house: LIEN - Sometimes filing one of these is the only way a contractor can get his money from the homeowner


16. McDonald's supply item: BUN - Two all beef patties............on a Sesame Seed BUN. Apropos today on bread day


17. Main floor, often: GROUND LEVEL  - In Europe we found elevators where GROUND LEVEL was *G and the first (1) floor was the first floor above the GROUND




19. One-named "Chandelier" singer: SIA - Okay


20. John/Rice musical: AIDA - A fascinating two minute preview of this wonderful play by Elton John and Tim Rice




21. Support for PBS' "The Joy of Painting"?: EASEL - Bob Ross in front of that "support". What a soothing voice he had!



22. Cherokee, for one: JEEP - This 1959 Chevrolet Apache can be yours for $39,000.




23. Hosp. staffers: RNS 


26. Frog foot feature: PAD - A nuptial pad (also known as thumb pad, or nuptial excrescence) is a secondary sex characteristic present on some mature male frogs and salamanders. You're welcome.



29. Disreputable sort: CAD - Some CADS of the 50's also had PADS 


30. Head lines?: EEGS - Electro EncephaloGrams 


31. Sex appeal: ANIMAL MAGNETISM


37. A lot: SOMETHING FIERCE - I need to [insert phrase] SOMETHING FIERCE

38. Therapy appointment, say: ONE-ON-ONE SESSION.


39. Sound: HALE - and hearty


40. Border: HEM - HEMline as a stock market indicator




41. Early Beatle Sutcliffe: STU - The original bassist left the group to pursue his painting career. STU ART?




42. Garlicky dish: SCAMPI 


45. Convened: MET - The first U.S. Congress MET in Federal Hall in NYC on March 4, 1789




46. Like candles: WAXY - How my wife describes Twizzlers


47. Handed out: DEALT - But you can't play cards you are DEALT very well if you have a 49. Gambler's giveaway: TELL.

53. MSNBC host Melber: ARI - Okay

54. Sylvia Plath title woman: LADY LAZARUS - A poem inspired by her accidental and intentional brushes with death


56. Low: MOO - Song of the season lyric, "The cattle are LOWING, the poor baby wakes"


57. What glasses are often for: EYES 


58. Dolores Haze, to Humbert: LOLITA - Yeah, what could possibly go wrong with Humbert's and Dolores' (who he nicknamed LOLITA) relationship?




59. PC pioneer: IBM.


60. Ain't better?: ISNT- Yes, ISN'T ISN'T a better word than ain't?


61. Gift that's heartfelt and often heart-shaped: LOCKET.



Down:


1. "Young Frankenstein" lab assistant: INGA - One of the best lines from Young Frankenstein is addressed to INGA (not IGOR)



2. "Me neither": NOR I.

3. Sweatshirt feature, perhaps: HOOD.


4. Taqueria drink: AGUA  En la taqueria, me gusta beber agua (At the taco restaurant, I like to drink water)


5. Vietnam Veterans Memorial designer: LIN -Maya LIN and her winning design which seems so small in this model 




6. America has ten of them: FEDERAL HOLIDAYS




7. Approve: BLESS.


8. Fin: FIVE - A $5 bill from "finf," Yiddish for "five"


9. Walk on air: FEEL TEN FEET TALL - How I feel when C.C.'s and my puzzles get published 


10. Show with Kate McKinnon, to fans: SNL - A funny bit from this year's Mother's Day Saturday Night Live show




11. Gabler's creator: IBSEN - Hedda Gabler is an IBSEN play I have never heard of


12. Relaxed: QUIET 


13. Ginger treats: SNAPS.


18. Explosive situation, metaphorically: LAND MINE - Avoid these at Thanksgiving!




22. Mots __: perfect words: JUSTES - French for words (MOTS) and right (JUSTES) 


25. Concern in hiring practices: AGEISM.




26. Old El __: Tex-Mex brand: PASO.


27. Right away, in verse: ANON - Juliet: " I come, ANON.—But if thou mean’st not well, I do beseech thee—"


28. Small change: DIME - Ah, vestiges of my yute!




29. Snooze: CATNAP - Now that's a serious CATNAP. Not even Mr. Bunny can disrupt it.

30. Off-white: EGG SHELL 

33. Chemical suffix: ANE - Flammable MethANE leaps to my mind


34. Flower from the Greek for "rainbow": IRIS - Ἶρις (Iota, 
rho, iota, sigma) - Goddess of the rainbow

35. Annie Lennox, by birth: SCOT - A bonny lass from Aberdeen who is the lead singer for the Eurhythmics 


36. List with starters: MENU - Found as appetizers in a restaurant and as icons on a computer 

42. Pundit: SWAMI.


43. Chocolate substitute: CAROB - CAROB on the left is caffeine free




44. Truism: AXIOM.


45. "That time of year thou __ in me behold": Shak.: MAYST - The title of Shakespeare's Sonnet 73 that speaks of entering old age 


48. Blissful land: EDEN - Richard II said of England - "This other EDEN, demi-paradise..." The third reference to The Bard Of Avon today


49. After-shower application: TALC.


50. Two-time NHL Norris Trophy winner Karlsson: ERIK - A San Jose Shark hockey player from Landsbro, Sweden


51. Minstrel's strings: LUTE.




52. Hurdle for aspiring attys.: LSAT Sample questions from the Law School Aptitude Test


54. Festive party accessory: LEI - In Crossword Land you frequently have to choose between an obi, a boa or a LEI

55. Wild place: ZOO.


I hope you think the puzzle and the write-up were worth the dough and not too crusty. Comment at will:



I told you it was a pangram!





*The correct answer in the IQ problem is #5

35 comments:

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Zoomed right through. Lady Lazarus was the only unknown, and she was well perped. Superb grid design - lots of impressive wall-to-wall fill!

Howdy, Husker, how interesting that nuptial pads turned up today. The story: back in the 70’s, I was given a copy of a book, The Case of the Midwife Toad. It was a gift from a family friend who saw in me a budding scientist, apparently, but truth be told, I couldn’t get into the book at the time. Recently, however, I took it from the shelf, and gave it a good read - what a fascinating book! It follows the true story of Dr. Paul Kammerer, an Austrian biologist who observed a curious trait in the nuptial pads of midwife toads. It was possibly breakthrough science in the 1920’s, but...

OwenKL said...

The NE corner defeated me. I finally checked red letters, and found IQS > apS, TAUNTS > TAU??S. how I missed BUN > ??N I don't know. SIA was unknown. IBSEN and QUIET were hidden by crossing errors.

I FEEL TEN FEET TALL when I'm well,
But when I'm not HALE, I feel I'm in Hell.
A purpose helps
Contain myself,
And also a friend to hear the pains I TELL!

Stu looked nice in his new tux,
Except for the occasional cluck.
Inside his HEM
He had a hen!
His ANIMAL MAGNETISM was bad luck!

INGA the door-keeper had her renowned,
For the huge door hardware, largest in town.
She thought it nice
When men mentioned it twice
That she had the biggest knockers around!

Lemonade714 said...

While I have heard the song many times, I did not know the name SIA . While the puzzle was not easy, it was very doable. I wanted MY OH MY loved seeing INGA, I was forced to read HEDDA GABLER twice in college.

I also appreciated the grid and HG's article on Derek. Thanks guys

CartBoy said...

Nailed it. Fun puzzle. Saturday crunch. Off to manage a little ball around Lookout Mountain here in the AZ desert.

BobB said...

Easy going except NW corner. Confidently filled in Igor, then Pei(5d), then Rent (20A). With all those errors nothing made sense. Had to erase it all and start that corner anew.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Took twenty minutes of "head scratching" before it all fell into place. Starting off with IGOR didn't help. Knew it had to be RIM or LIP...until it was HEM. Hmmmm. Could only think of Farmer McDonald, even after BUN showed up. D'oh! HALE could'a been SANE, or so I thought. LAND MINE, because POWDER KEG and TINDER BOX were too long. Thanx Derek for the abuse, and Husker for the tour. (I knew it had to be 5. Not in contact with any H.S. BFF's. Did you notice that there's Oberammergau and Unterammergau, but there ain't no Ammergau? Sometimes "ain't" works better than "isn't.")

Madame Defarge said...

Good Morning.

Thanks, Derek, for an amazing pangram. I broke into the mid section with Old El PASO, followed by ANON and DIME. Last to fall was QUIET because I didn't know SIA and finally decided it must be. Initially I wanted roof for LIEN. Ha!

Gary, thanks for all today's varied information. Nicely done once again. I have begun solving Saturday's on paper only. On the computer I tend to move across and down, but I'm having more success with Saturday's more difficult construction by moving around more randomly.

Off to the grocery store early to get a couple of things before the crowds of TG shoppers show up. Have a lovely day, everyone.

Big Easy said...

Then NE & NW gave me fits and it was a DNF in the NE. I couldn't guess IQS or QUIET, didn't know Hedda Gabler or IBSEN (Gary, I'm glad I'm not alone), and never heard of SIA. Couldn't decide which ISM 25D would be- RACe, SEX, or AGE and filling TEASES before TAUNTS didn't help at first. The NW was completed after changing IGOR to INGA and guessing the cross of NOOGIE & LIN. I guess I lived a sheltered life- never heard of a NOOGIE.

First pass was very white with maybe IN HALF, JEEP, PASO, STU, & EDEN as scattered islands in the vast ocean. But somehow the long fills started to appear and the puzzle was almost finished with only the three three letter fills -IQS, BUN,SIA- blank.

FEDERAL HOLIDAYS-too many and it seems that only government employees, banks, & P.O. get half of them. It's COLUMBUS day. If it were not for him or some other explorer, Europe would be even more overcrowded and the Indian tribes would still be killing each other. Ditto for Australia and the aboriginal tribes.

Old El PASO brand- bottom on the barrel for salsa, IMHO.

LOLITA- the French president was a male one with his teacher, only 25 years older than him.

billocohoes said...

Hand up for Igor. CAcao before CAROB. NORI was the name of one of the dwarves in The Hobbit.

Why can’t the answer also be #6? Also uses three shapes - downward triangle with dot, circle, frame.

desper-otto said...

Billocohoes, you need to superimpose the top image over the middle one. The two superimposed triangles make a star with a dot in the middle and a circle around the star.

billocohoes said...

I saw how #5 worked, but since the frame is in all six answers, nothing says all the parts have to come from the same column. You can create both #5 and #6 using two shapes inside the frame.

JJM said...

Fastest SAT solve in mos. (13:40). Regardless still a very good puzzle with spanners Down & Across.

On a another note, I read an article over the Summer that talked about reverse AGEISM. It seems that all over the country and especially at beaches, they can't get kids to lifeguard.... so they hire Senior Citizens. These people love the job; they're outside, get to talk to people, it's only seasonal, and they supplement their income for 3-4 mos. I guess millenials don't like these jobs. Whatever.

Have a great weekend. Snowing here in Chicago!

desper-otto said...

Billo, in the first two examples, the bottom image is the "sum" of the two images above it. So, column three should obey that "rule."

Tinbeni said...

Husker Gary: Wonderful, informative write-up.

(I rarely solve on Saturday, or Sunday, but I enjoy the extensive write-up's you produce).

Haven't ever precipitated in "National Homemade Bread Day" ... I get it at the Bakery.

A "Toast-to-ALL" at Sunset.
Cheers!

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

I got the IQ answer #5. Woo Hoo!

Needed help with TAUNT and CAROB. But I got everything else after a very slow start. Getting the hor. and vert. grid spanners made my day. I liked most of it; especially the top center.
GROUND - Dutch uses 'grond' additionally to mean "floor". On a ship, though, floor is "deck".

Great tour de force, Derek, and super intro, HG.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I started out slowly but once those grid spanners came into play, I was off and running. (Not at JJM's 13:40 finish, though, mine took 20:20.) My only w/os were Rim/Hem and Lyre/Lute. The few unknowns were: Lady Lazarus, Erik, Mayst, and Sia. The only thing I know about Sia is that she performs with her face hidden by her hair. (A wig?) What prompts this bizarre behavior is as mysterious to me as the IQ and LSAT questions. In addition to the five impressive grid spanners, I found the fill fresh and lively. I like the Pad/Cad, Moo/Zoo duos. Catnap reminded me of CED (Cat) and WikWak (Nap).

Thanks, Derek, for a challenging but doable offering and thanks, HG, for the terrific tour through Derek's pangram. I missed that feature completely. Re BFFs, I have three and we have been friends since third grade.

Have a great day.

Yellowrocks said...

Very doable, but challenging Saturday puzzle. FIR, but I always go slowly. It took maybe 30 minutes. Gary, I love your interesting tidbits.
My BFF from age 4 or 5 lived in CT ever since she married. She was my sister's BFF, too. We kept in touch, exchanged Christmas gifts, etc. Unfortunately she died of cancer this past year. She was the only school friend I have kept up with.
I prefer the original version of AIDA, one of my favorite operas.
We saw the Passion Play in Oberammergau many years ago. It was spectacular. We then toured the section of the Alps where Austria, Germany and Italy meet. So beautiful.
Ari Melber was a gimmee.
I used to give my boy students a modified noogie. Without grabbing them I would run my knuckles on their heads. They loved it and sometimes did it with each other.
CAROB is quite popular here.
IQS and QUIET were my last fills. The U in BUN suggested the Q, Aha! QUIET. I had IGOR, perps said it had to be INGA, but I wondered about it. SIA was all perps.

Lucina said...

Good fun from Derek today! Thank you!

Last night on "Finding Your Roots" Maya LIN found hers as did Richard Branson and Frank Gehry. Interesting stuff!

ANIMAL MAGNETISM makes me think of Idris Elba!

Two of my BFFS from high school passed away in the last three years but one remains. She and I talk often and have a close friendship.

I, too, read IBSEN's plays and always felt depressed by them. He was a melancholy sort. I have not, however, read LADY LAZARUS but it wasn't hard to suss. The same with LOLITA.

Thank you, Gary, for the insights and no, I won't be celebrating National Homemade Bread Day though I do have fond memories of the aromas emanating from my grandmother's kitchen when she baked bread.

Have a special Saturday, everyone!

Misty said...

Well, a Saturday toughie, for sure, but with lots of fun items, once I got going a little. Many thanks, Derek. I too put in IGOR which troubled that corner for a bit. But once I realized the main floor had to be GROUND LEVEL, it worked out okay. I should have gotten IBSEN long before I did, but took a while before I remembered his GABLER. Did not remember Plath's LADY LAZARUS, but did get Humbert's LOLITA. Lots of cool literature--thanks again, Derek. And thank you, too, for the great write-up, Husker Gary.

Have a great day, everybody!

Picard said...

Crunchy, but it is Saturday. Some clever misdirections. Got MOO right away but wasn't sure. Others were IQS, EASEL, AGUA

Hand up for IGOR -> INGA
Husker Gary thanks for the knockers clip with INGA. And thanks for the HEM line/stock market graph. I had heard this, but never seen the graph.

Unknowns: SIA, ERIK, SCOT as clued, ARI, SWAMI as clued, AIDA as clued

NOOGIE seems a bit more brutal than a head scratcher!

Can someone explain SWAMI for PUNDIT? Has anyone ever used that term in that way?

As a huge CHOCOLATE fan, I can say CAROB is about as much of a chocolate substitute as a brown WAXY crayon! Anyone else?

Here is a photo of a couple of my FROGs. Showing the amazing FOOT PADs that allow them to stick to glass.

PADs are also found on the kind of CAD work that I have done much of: Computer Aided Design

Here is a circuit board I designed in OrCAD.

I loved my work with mixed analog and digital. Most people do one or the other.

Last to fall: NE with SIA seeming to be just wrong. Wrong! FIR!

AnonymousPVX said...

From yesterday...Billocohoes.....I would strongly suggest a 3 stage snow blower, they have another impeller and work really well for not a lot more money on a one time purchase.

Today’s puzzle....anyone that has ever given or gotten a noogie knows it isn’t a “head scratcher”. Not even close.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-FLN - Tony - Battleship Hockey - 8 kids on offense trying to knock over 8 plastic bowling pins on a line from 10' away and 8 kids on defense trying to prevent the pins from getting knocked over and all 16 with hockey sticks swinging at 10 whiffle balls. Let the games begin!
-NOOGIE? My Uncles called it a “Dutch Rub” and it really hurt!
-Thanks, TINMAN!

Yellowrocks said...

Both pundit and swami can be used to mean a learned man or expert in the field. Here is an example of this use of swami.
"On one side were Mr. Cohn and free-trade advocates, and on the other was the Administration’s protectionist wing led by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, trade negotiator Robert Lighthizer and Mr. Trump’s personal trade swami, Peter Navarro."
— The Editorial Board, WSJ, "The Cohn Departure," 6 Mar. 2018
I sometimes see swami used this way in the printed news, but rarely in speech.

The noogies in our family were always mild and playful and never harsh or brutal. My noogies with my boy students were always playful, gentle and well received. If not, I would have been pilloried by the parents. The boys even copied the gentle noogie from me and used it among themselves. I don't see how either the brutal or the playful kind would be head scratching.

Although I see a lot of carob, I do not care for it at all. IMO it is an insult to think of it as chocolate.
I find the strawberry Twizzlers waxy and fake tasting. I do like the black ones. The anise taste redeems them. I love Good n Plenty candy.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Derek - True to interview? Then be pleased because I got a joy out of pecking at this puzzle even though I DNF'd it in the NW - IN HALF never showed and cerveza had too many letters @4d. Those grid-spanners, however, were fun to NOOdlE (not 14a) on.

HG - STU ART(?); now that's funny. Thanks for the rest of your expo too. //#5 is obvious; only on LinkedIn do H.S. & college BFFs & I stay in touch.*
FLN - thanks for the answer to Battleship Hockey. Sounds chaotic, to say the least.

WOs: I tried to fit teases @24a, eases b/f QUIET, MyOHMY [Hi LEM!], hand-up: I too reflexively entered Igor [1:36] @1d 'cuz I know how it's pronounced...
ESPs: JUSTES, SCOT (learned something about Annie Lennox [4:43] there).
FIW: CARaB - MaO didn't make sense; I was hoping HG would explain. He did. I was flat wrong. :-)

Fav: 60a, ISN'T didn't fool me but was cute.

{A+, B-, A}

Billo - #5 because it's first shape in second shape to make third image. #6 omits the middle bit as D-O pointed out.

IM - as soon as I entered LUTE, I thought "I bet it's lyre..." I got lucky - once in a row....

Picard - Peanuts' use of WAXY Crayons.

Cheers, -T
*well, except for DW - she's never 'friended' me on LinkedIn :-)

Picard said...

Yellowrocks thanks for finding an example of SWAMI used that way! I had never heard this use before; now I am sure I will!

And glad you agree about NOOGIE and CAROB.

AnonT I totally thought of that Peanuts cartoon with CAROB and WAXY! But no way I ever would have found it! How did you locate it?

I thought you also might appreciate my use of CAD.

Glad that others have indeed stayed in touch with BFFS. I live thousands of miles from my high school.

But here are photos of my BFF since third grade Randy out here visiting me a few years ago with his family!

Hand up I use Facebook to stay in touch with many others from my youth.

Here my friend Jerry was PAINTING on an EASEL as well as teaching a PAINTING class with EASELs.

He and his wife now live in Italy where I have stayed with them. BFFS last for me.

Forgot to mention LADY LAZARUS utterly unknown. But reasonable crosses made it possible to WAG.

Wilbur Charles said...

Derek must love Isao Aoki the golfer*

.. special sauce, lettuce,cheese, pickles, onion...
I had STREET LEVEL, ILSA,PEI,ADAGE,SEASHELL.. So a bit of a mess but FIR . Story later

The French have Rez de Chaussee then 1st floor.
Oops. I had #6 but now I get it.

Ok. Here's the story. I had Mtg at ten. Routine says Sports, Agony eg dear Abby, comics , bridge. Now I try the J. Got it today but I couldn't get the riddle yesterday.

Now I only had a few minutes to browse the xword. My routine there is read as many clues as possible so they will percolate.

I actually filled a few. The gang was going to Wendy's. I got there early and I'd filled about HALF when they walked in. Oops..
I had to go to Wendy's app for discounts, freebies etc**. When I'd got the food and sat down I realized I'd left the newspaper somewhere. Aaarrgghhhh!!! Now. .

Go to backup PLAN B. Winn Dixie where surely they'll have the newspaper left in the (free) coffee area. Bingo.

Now I had to remember my fills. But...
Once I got filling I ran the whole xword off finishing in the SW.

As I was leaving I noticed a guy with the newspaper. I think he was looking for the missing editorial page so I handed it to him xword and all.

WC

*Aoki isn't seen even on the Senior tour
** Got the free burger but no BOGO on the deluxe chicken.

Bill G said...

Sorry guys. I guess I might be out of touch for a while.

"Unless I press #1 to get support, they are going to have to disconnect my internet access due to an intrusion."

Anonymous T said...

Picard - My Google-Fu is strong...

Actually, I've been up all morning (a 10a! phone-call on a Saturday is a Harsh to my mellow) helping to get multifactor-authentication working with Office 365. While I waited on others to test my ninja-like skillz, I had the time to find that Peanuts comic.
My Bro learned to read w/ Peanuts (that's all he ever got from the library anyway) and the Crayon one is his favorite - he'll drop the reference whenever it's apropos; just as you did. It made me smile anyway.

BillG - I hope you're teasing re: the SCAM of which you speak...

Cheers, -T

Ol' Man Keith said...

Ta ~ DA!
I thought this might be an impossible Saturday challenge, but once I caught onto Mr. Bowman's witty cluing, it was a pleasure to work my way straight to the end.

I am posting this while trying to watch the USC-UCLA game, Trojans v. Bruins, over my shoulder. I know neither team is much of a contender this year, but I have a certain nostalgic affection for this cross-town rivalry in the Rose Bowl. The last game I ever watched live in the stadium was this one, thanks to 50-yard line ticket seats provided by a former in-law (& USC alum).
Happily, that part of my life is over and done with, but somehow the classic "Big Game" aura lingers on....

~ OMK
____________
DR:
Today we have one solid diagonal on the mirror side. Hmm. What does it have to say to us?
From Herbie, the bright VW bug, to the dashing Knight Rider, we’ve been entertained by a host of intelligent vehicles. Maybe that’s why Mr. Bowman gives us an anagram tribute to smart cars with his …
GENIUS JALOPY”!

Jayce said...

I think the reason #5 is the answer to Gary's IQ quiz it because it's the only pattern that can NOT be made from the given shapes.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Why is there any question that #5 is the answer?

Jayce said...

I greatly admire Derek Bowman's construction of 3 stacked 15-letter entries. It was the big bonus in this terrific puzzle, which I had a lot of fun working. As is often the case, a sea of white remained after my first pass, but the few answers I felt confident about gave me that toehold to work out the rest. A few WAGS and a few light-bulb aha moments propelled me to solve the whole thing without "cheating." My arm hurts a little from patting myself on the back.

Gary, your write-up is excellent and the effort you put into it shows clearly. Thank you.

I read Lolita and was pleasantly amazed at Mr. Nabukov's mastery of English. I liked the first half of the story but got bored about half way through.

Good wishes to you all.

Yellowrocks said...

Do you realize that once you have seen the reasoning for Gary's IQ question and others like it, you have an extreme advantage on any IQ test or any other similar test? You now are aware of new kinds of relationships and possibilities. SAT prep gives a similar kind of advantage. I studied a Miller's Analogies test prep guide and scored off the charts. From the prep guide I learned many ways I never thought of to parse the questions. I would have had a greatly reduced score if I had just walked in cold. I still feel guilty that I had an unfair advantage. These tests do not necessarily include native intelligence or even the extent of academic learning, but favor those with test taking savvy and experience.

Anonymous T said...

YR - That may be true (boning-up b/f the quiz) but I walked in cold to the GRE. I think dyslexia actually helps w/ pattern recognition and I do fairly well on those. I see patterns that I don't think others do, inherently, anyway. To me, it doesn't matter if others see me as a moron; I'm comfortable w/ that by now.

I can't spell for Shinola and laugh at myself when DW says "Didn't you mean dear? Not deer?" //yes, that was actually in a letter I wrote her from Basic.

In my defense, I do fawn over her :-)

Cheers, -T

Ol' Man Keith said...

My sister campus (UCLA) won the Big Game Rose Bowl rivalry - between the Bruins & Trojans.
It was an upset, so all the sweeter.
~ OMK