04.26.09 -- Central Park in the Dark -- the Acrostic

Winter Night, Central Park Lake #3, 2008, Lisa Breslow

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Sunday, April 26, 2009

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

This Sunday's delightful acrostic draws from a very fine work by Marie Winn, Central Park in the Dark.

Lurking in the woods of Central Park with a like-minded cohort, Winn invites passing strangers to peer through her binoculars at sleeping birds and proudly supplies the names of moths that alight on a bed sheet illuminated by black light: “We were showing off a bit of course, but our urge to include others had a deeper reason: we were in on an amazing secret, and we couldn’t bear to keep it to ourselves.” -- The New York Times Sunday Book Review by Elizabeth Royte, June 22, 2008

The quotation: AT CERTAIN TIMES OF YEAR YOULL FIND HUNDREDS OF CUCKOOS KINGLETS AND GROSBEAKS YOULL FIND RACCOONS WANDERING AND BULLFROGS CROAKING AND IF YOURE LUCKY YOU MIGHT COME UPON A SILVER-HAIRED BAT DOZING IN THE LEAF LITTER

The author’s name and the title of the work: WINN CENTRAL PARK IN THE DARK

The defined words: A. Bird whose courting flight spirals up, then nosedives, WOODCOCK; B. Any recipient of a Lemelson-M.I.T. Prize, INVENTOR; C. Aura surrounding a glamorous person, NIMBUS; D. Like moths and grizzly bears, generally, NOCTURNAL; E. River crossed by the Longfellow Bridge, CHARLES; F. The study of animal behavior, ETHOLOGY; G. Habitual cynic, skeptic or pessimist, NAYSAYER; H. Items in haute cuisine whose name comes from Latin for “lump”, TRUFFLES; I. Circumference divided by twice pi, for a circle, RADIUS; J. Blasted, goldarned (hyph.), ALLFIRED; K. Feature of Venice, Italy, LAGOON; L. “Gilligan’s Island” role, with “the”, PROFESSOR; M. With just one thing in mind (2 wds.), ADHOC; N. Make pure in a chemist’s still, RECTIFY; O. Means of transport for Ann Darrow (2 wds); KINGKONG; P. Like pastoral poems, IDYLLIC; Q. Picayune, petty, insignificant, NIGGLING; R. Sign at many a restaurant, TAKEOUT; S. Orchard crop that’s mostly Turkish-grown, HAZELNUTS; T. Like the kangaroo to Australia, ENDEMIC; U. Widely spread; long-winded, DIFFUSE; V. Division of an anthropod, ABDOMEN; W. Collection of quatrains of Persian verse, RUBAIYAT; X. Poke fun, not be serious (2 wds.), KIDAROUND.

The full paragraph of the quotation: The Ramble retains much of its original Vaux and Olmsted design, but there’s an essential difference in the scene today. In place of showy rose and rhododendron displays, you’ll find a multitude of carefully chosen trees and shrubs where birds can feed and insects overwinter. At certain times of year you’ll find hundreds of songbirds -- warblers, vireos, tanagers, cuckoos, kinglets, and grosbeaks -- for whom Central Park has become a crucial stopover place during migration. You’ll find raccoons wandering and occasional bullfrogs croaking. And if you’re lucky, you might come upon a silver-haired bat dozing in the leaf litter.

Click on image to enlarge.

Puzzle available on the internet at

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