05.13.07 -- MOTHERHOOD & CREATION

Click here for LARGE PRINT

ACROSTIC

by Emily Cox & Henry Rathvon

If you are an aficionado of the acrostic puzzle then you must know that Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon are the Betty Comden and Adolph Green of the genre. Last month, on Sunday, April 15th, this dynamic duo gave us a clever acrostic (see HERE) with a quotation from Dave Barry’s “Greatest Hits” in reference to the Federal Income Tax, without missing a single beat -- everything was in tune to taxes, every word -- even the puzzle itself felt a bit like doing one’s taxes! That's a compliment! This Sunday’s Acrostic is also topical -- Mother’s Day. However, it’s a tune with a twist -- the constructors have managed to cover neatly, in this one masterful puzzle, every kind of progenitor that science or religion knows. NEONATE (S. Newborn in its first 28 days) is all of us who can read this or do an acrostic puzzle, WHISTLER (B. Painter in 1871 of a revered progenitor) is the artist in us all that conjures up the image of our mother. Ms. Cox and Mr. Rathvon have brought into this puzzle the orphan, the nymph, the progression of youthful development, with comical references for good measure (fodder, mudder, Fatha, a rabbit), and every sort of offspring, with a caretaker for beasts in the field. Included are an echidna (which is an egg-laying mammal of Australia), the Medusa jellyfish (which auto-impregnates itself), Athena (the deity born fully-grown from Zeus’ head), the sea horse (of which the male becomes pregnant), an egg-containing capsule, an oothera or ovisac. The quotation itself takes us deep into the secrets of the sea where a father protects his newborn in the only way that is possible. Here is birth and babies, mother and father, male and female, daughters and sons, wives and husbands, kings and madness, temptresses and tragedy -- from the sea came we all by our creator who would have us rest on the Sabbath -- this Mother’s Day.

This is a masterpiece!

AUTHOR’S NAME AND THE TITLE OF THE WORK:

D W MOORE SON OF MR GREEN JEANS

QUOTATION:

AFTER THE FEMALE JAPANESE CARP GIVES BIRTH TO HUNDREDS OF TINY BABIES THE FATHER CARP REMAINS NEARBY WHEN HE SENSES APPROACHING DANGER HE SUCKS THE BABIES INTO HIS MOUTH AND HOLDS THEM THERE UNTIL THE COAST IS CLEAR

DEFINED WORDS:

A. DAUGHTER -- Hel, to Loki, or Gaea, to Chaos

B. WHISTLER -- Painter in 1871 of a revered progenitor

C. MATISSE --Painter in 1950 of “Beasts of the Sea”

D. OVISAC -- Egg-containing capsule, as an ootheca

E. OFFSPRING -- One’s immediate descendants

F. RABBIT -- Exemplar of fertility

G. ETHNOS -- Group of people with a common race or culture

H. SEAHORSE -- Marine creature of which the male becomes pregnant (2 wds.)

I. ORPHANED -- Deprived of key guardians

J. NYMPHET -- Arouser of a Nabokovian sort

K. OEDIPUS -- King with a matrilineal problem

L. FRESHMEN -- New members of schools

M. MACBETH -- Title king with a “fiend-like queen”

N. RUTH -- Wife of Boaz and ancestor of David

O. GENETICIST -- Student of DNA and heredity

P. RACETRACK -- Place to see a mudder and fodder?

Q. EARLHINES -- Jazz pianist called “Fatha” (2 wds.)

R. ECHIDNA -- Egg-laying mammal of Australia

S. NEONATE -- Newborn in its first 28 days

T. JELLYFISH -- Medusa

U. EPHEBUS -- In old Greece, a youth entering manhood

V. ATHENA -- Deity born fully grown from Zeus’ head

W. NEATHERD -- Caretaker for beasts in a field

X. SABBATH -- Time to stop working.

See also April 1st (cryptography) and 29th (textiles and narrative) for more commentary on acrostics.

...or The ACROSTIC Puzzle -- The NY Sunday Times

For further illustrations, go to The Crossword Puzzle Illustrated.

T. Medusa -- not the JELLYFISH, the Gorgon -- see today's TWO TIMES THREE crossword -- 23A What someone who looks at Medusa does -- TURNSTOSTONE!

Puzzle available on the internet at

THE NEW YORK TIMES -- Crossword Puzzles and Games

If you subscribe to home delivery of The New York Times you are eligible to access the daily crossword via The New York Times - Times Reader, without additional charge, as part of your home delivery subscription.