Knock 'em dead this year! I have high hopes for you and Al...maybe one of you will take first and the other second.

Will you be blogging at all from Brooklyn? If you've already addressed that and I've spaced it...sorry ; )
Linda G | Homepage | 02.27.08 - 10:57 pm | #

Linda, I'd be completely fine with taking first or second along with Al! I do blog from the tournament, though not necessarily about the newspaper puzzles, and not necessarily before 2 a.m.
Orange | Homepage | 02.27.08 - 11:11 pm | #

I have heard these words from the NYT called both antagonyms and contranyms. I went to usingenglish.com to see if there is an official name and here is the result of that search.

What to call it?

or

http://www.usingenglish.com/glos.../ antagonym.html


Isn't that "interesting"? I never heard of the third choice. What say you?
PhillySolver | 02.27.08 - 11:37 pm | #

Hey O... knock 'em dead. You're my puzzle hero! Can't wait to hear all about it. You go girl!!!

Best of luck to everyone!
rikki | 02.27.08 - 11:57 pm | #

P.S. I loved this NYT puzzle. The opposites were clever and fun and I sailed through. Yeah Radar!
rikki | 02.28.08 - 12:01 am | #

Amy,

Good luck at the tournament. I would loved to participate especially as i live in Brooklyn. However I am a Sabbath observer (Friday night and Saturday until nightfall) and therefore am unable to participate in the tournament. I would like to stop by afterwards. Is it OK to visit the site without signing up? And is there a schedule as to events on Saturday evening and Sunday?

Phil
profphil | 02.28.08 - 1:02 am | #

Best of luck to you. I'm doing exactly as you suggested and have signed up for the "do it at home version" this year. I'll truly try to get there next year. Really enjoyed Matt Ginsberg's puzzle. Easy going and clever. Philly, thanks for the link.
jae | 02.28.08 - 1:08 am | #

Be great to make the trek one day, and flounder in the C Division, all the while putting faces to forum ciphers, and memorising General Tso, just in case his chicken appears. (Will need to save my sous and zlotys.)

Monsieur Merckx inspires a possible theme: BELGIAN NOT FRENCH, with such entires as TINTIN, SMURFS, RENE MAGRITTE, GEORGES SIMENON, JUSTINE HENIN and the FRENCH FRY.
DA | Homepage | 02.28.08 - 5:13 am | #

PhillySolver, I've heard autoantonym used most, I think.

ProfPhil, $30 will get you a set of tournament puzzles (available separately for $20) and admission to the finals on Sunday morning. You can probably wander around for free if you don't want to see the final competition.

DA, people have traveled from Europe for the ACPT, but I don't know if anyone's come from as far as Oz. You should make the trip one of these years. Hurry, before the dollar strengthens.

And thanks for all the good-luck wishes!
Orange | Homepage | 02.28.08 - 7:40 am | #

FYI, Eddy Merckx is probably (in my opinion definitely) the best road cyclist of all time. He won the Tour de France five times, but also rode in the Vuelta de Espana and Giro d'ITalia, two more monster stage races. [FWIW, Lance rarely if ever rode in the other two during is stretch in the Tour.] Merckx was also a monster in single day races and was known as the cannibal. jay
flipperista | 02.28.08 - 9:18 am | #

Oh, man, that "X" in MERCKX. Wow. That's circus material right there. Talk about flying blind. That was the last square I filled in - and Mr. Happy Pencil actually startled me, so surprised was I to see him after having offered up a word that ended "KX."

See you all (well, some of you) tomorrow. We're getting in in the late afternoon, but probably won't be on The Scene, as it were, until nearly 8pm, as I have a good friend in Brooklyn I need to see first.

mds
Monsieur Sharp | Homepage | 02.28.08 - 7:26 pm | #

One gripe on the New York Sun puzzle; why does the 22A clue (Curtain call?) have a "?"? (maybe the first time I put three question marks in one sentence). Threw me off for a while, since I kept looking for something other than ENCORE.
Gene | 02.28.08 - 9:19 pm | #

gene - a curtain call is usually just the bowing at the end of a show, but in this case the 'call' is an actual shout. Thus, the QM to indicate figurative language.
best,
pauer
pauer | 02.29.08 - 5:50 am | #