08.03.08 -- A Writer's Notebook -- the Acrostic

Sunset from top of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia NP, Maine -- by James Fisher Photography

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Sunday, August 3, 2008

ACROSTIC, Puzzle by Emily Cox & Henry Rathvon, edited by Will Shortz

The thoughts, observations, sketches and ideas of W. Somerset Maugham between the years of 1892-1949 is the subject of the work quoted in today’s acrostic.

The quotation: THE PHILOSOPHER IS LIKE A MOUNTAINEER WHO HAS with difficulty CLIMBED A MOUNTAIN FOR THE SAKE OF THE SUNRISE, AND ARRIVING AT THE TOP FINDS ONLY FOG; whereupon he wanders down again. HE MUST BE AN HONEST MAN IF HE DOESNT TELL YOU THAT THE SPECTACLE WAS STUPENDOUS.

The author’s name and title of the work: W. Somerset MAUGHAM WRITERS NOTEBOOK

The defined words: MATINEE (A. Preprandial theatergoing option); ASPHALT (B. Bituminous gunk used in roofing); UPTOWN (C. Chicago entertainment district); GOFORTH (D. Get ready to multiply, in the Bible? [2 wds.]); HINDLEGS (E. Props for rearing animals [2 wds.]); ANTAEUS (F. Giant wrestler crushed by Hercules); MCINTOSH (G. Ancestor of Cortland and Empire apples); AUDIBLE (H. Change given by a quarterback); WHITEFISH (I. Cod, haddock or Pollock); ROCKSTEADY (J. Pre-reggae ska offspring [2 wds.]); INFESTED (K. Teeming, as with sharks or fleas); THAMES (L. River spanned by Waterloo Bridge); EPONYMOUS (M. Like Mae West vis-à-vis life preservers); REFUND (N. Overpayment outcome, often); SALTFLAT (O. Landform conducive to speed [2 wds.]); NEPHRITE (P. Type of jade once thought to cure kidney stones); OMPHALOS (Q. Stone at Delphi thought to mark the center of the earth); TENSION (R. Variable involved in tuning a violin); ELEVEN (S. Number of sides in an undecagon); BEARISH (T. Pessimistic, on Wall Street); OTTOHAHN (U. Collaborator with Lise Meitner on fission [2 wds.]); OUTSHINE (V. Attract more acclaim than); KEROUAC (W. Chronicler of a road trip with Cassady).

No one can write a best seller by trying to. He must write with complete sincerity; the clichés that make you laugh, the hackneyed characters, the well-worn situations, the commonplace story that excites your derision, seem neither hackneyed, well worn nor commonplace to him. . . . The conclusion is obvious: you cannot write anything that will convince unless you are yourself convinced. The best seller sells because he writes with his heart's blood. — W. Somerset Maugham, A Writer's Notebook

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Puzzle available on the internet at

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