08.30.09 -- Farewell to New Orleans -- the Acrostic
Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, August 28,2005, NASA ----------------- Sunday, August 30, 2009 ACROSTIC, Puzzle by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon, edited by Will Shortz
This Sunday’s acrostic quotation is from “Domestic Manners of the Americans” by Fanny Trollope, published in 1832, described by Amazon.com: “When Fanny Trollope set sail for America in 1827 with hopes of joining a Utopian community of emancipated slaves, she took with her three of her children and a young French artist, leaving behind her son Anthony, growing debts, and a husband going slowly mad from mercury poisoning. But what followed was a tragicomedy of illness, scandal, and failed business ventures. Nevertheless, on her return to England, Fanny turned her misfortunes into a remarkable book. A masterpiece of nineteenth-century travel-writing, "Domestic Manners of the Americans" is a vivid and hugely witty satirical account of a nation and was a sensation on both sides of the Atlantic.”
The quotation: THE LAND IS DEFENDED FROM THE RIVER BY A LEVEE WITHOUT WHICH THE DWELLINGS WOULD SPEEDILY DISAPPEAR I COULD NOT HELP FANCYING NATURE WOULD SOME DAY TAKE THE MATTER INTO HER OWN HANDS AND IF SO FAREWELL TO NEW ORLEANS The author’s name and the title of the work: F TROLLOPE DOMESTIC MANNERS
The defined words: A. Exemplar of superfluity (2 wds.), FIFTH WHEEL; B. One unlikely to foot the bill, TIGHTWAD; C. Flavoring for Turkish delight (2 wds.), ROSE WATER; D. Tending to stay in line, OBEDIENT; E. Target of a late-night raid?, LEFTOVER; F. Game banned in the U.S. in 1988 (2 wds.), LAWN DARTS; G. Farther along in time or place, ONWARD; H. Protection from some harmful rays, PARASOL; I. One of the Waughs, or his first wife, EVELYN; J. “Annus Mirabilis” poet, DRYDEN; K. Confessed, admitted (2 wds.), OWNED UP; L. Stonehenge constituent, MEGALITH; M. Knockout, looker, hunk, babe, EYEFUL; N. Grant recipient’s regular allotment, STIPEND; O. Rock opera pioneers (2 wds.), THE WHO; P. Spoken with varying pitch, INFLECTED; G. Topper for satay or samosas, CHUTNEY; R. Figure you might see in a mosque, MULLAH; S. Offer a friendly word of advice, ADMONISH; T. Erstwhile requirement at New York’s “21” Club, NECKTIE; U. Improvise in a casual way, NOODLE; V. Fanged snake like a cobra or krait, ELAPID; W. Region of reduced precipitation to the lee of high mountains (2 wds.), RAIN SHADOW; X. John McEnroe memoir “You Cannot Be SERIOUS”.
The unabridged quotation: At no one point was there an inch of what painters call a second distance; and for the length of one hundred and twenty miles, from the Balize to New Orleans, and one hundred miles above the town, the land is defended from the encroachments of the river by a high embankment which is called the Levee; without which the dwellings would speedily disappear, as the river is evidently higher than the banks would be without it. When we arrived, there had been constant rains, and of long continuance, and this appearance was, therefore, unusually striking, giving to “this great natural feature” the most unnatural appearance imaginable; and making evident, not only that many had been busy there, but that even the mightiest works of nature might be made to bear his impress; it recalled, literally, Swift’s mock heroic, “Nature must give way to art;” yet, she was looking so mighty, and so unsubdued all the time, that I could not help fancying she would some day take the matter into her own hands again, and if so, farewell to New Orleans. 
Click on image to enlarge. Puzzle available on the internet at THE NEW YORK TIMES -- Crossword Puzzles and Games
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This Sunday’s acrostic quotation is from “Domestic Manners of the Americans” by Fanny Trollope, published in 1832, described by Amazon.com: “When Fanny Trollope set sail for America in 1827 with hopes of joining a Utopian community of emancipated slaves, she took with her three of her children and a young French artist, leaving behind her son Anthony, growing debts, and a husband going slowly mad from mercury poisoning. But what followed was a tragicomedy of illness, scandal, and failed business ventures. Nevertheless, on her return to England, Fanny turned her misfortunes into a remarkable book. A masterpiece of nineteenth-century travel-writing, "Domestic Manners of the Americans" is a vivid and hugely witty satirical account of a nation and was a sensation on both sides of the Atlantic.”
The quotation: THE LAND IS DEFENDED FROM THE RIVER BY A LEVEE WITHOUT WHICH THE DWELLINGS WOULD SPEEDILY DISAPPEAR I COULD NOT HELP FANCYING NATURE WOULD SOME DAY TAKE THE MATTER INTO HER OWN HANDS AND IF SO FAREWELL TO NEW ORLEANS The author’s name and the title of the work: F TROLLOPE DOMESTIC MANNERS
The defined words: A. Exemplar of superfluity (2 wds.), FIFTH WHEEL; B. One unlikely to foot the bill, TIGHTWAD; C. Flavoring for Turkish delight (2 wds.), ROSE WATER; D. Tending to stay in line, OBEDIENT; E. Target of a late-night raid?, LEFTOVER; F. Game banned in the U.S. in 1988 (2 wds.), LAWN DARTS; G. Farther along in time or place, ONWARD; H. Protection from some harmful rays, PARASOL; I. One of the Waughs, or his first wife, EVELYN; J. “Annus Mirabilis” poet, DRYDEN; K. Confessed, admitted (2 wds.), OWNED UP; L. Stonehenge constituent, MEGALITH; M. Knockout, looker, hunk, babe, EYEFUL; N. Grant recipient’s regular allotment, STIPEND; O. Rock opera pioneers (2 wds.), THE WHO; P. Spoken with varying pitch, INFLECTED; G. Topper for satay or samosas, CHUTNEY; R. Figure you might see in a mosque, MULLAH; S. Offer a friendly word of advice, ADMONISH; T. Erstwhile requirement at New York’s “21” Club, NECKTIE; U. Improvise in a casual way, NOODLE; V. Fanged snake like a cobra or krait, ELAPID; W. Region of reduced precipitation to the lee of high mountains (2 wds.), RAIN SHADOW; X. John McEnroe memoir “You Cannot Be SERIOUS”.
The unabridged quotation: At no one point was there an inch of what painters call a second distance; and for the length of one hundred and twenty miles, from the Balize to New Orleans, and one hundred miles above the town, the land is defended from the encroachments of the river by a high embankment which is called the Levee; without which the dwellings would speedily disappear, as the river is evidently higher than the banks would be without it. When we arrived, there had been constant rains, and of long continuance, and this appearance was, therefore, unusually striking, giving to “this great natural feature” the most unnatural appearance imaginable; and making evident, not only that many had been busy there, but that even the mightiest works of nature might be made to bear his impress; it recalled, literally, Swift’s mock heroic, “Nature must give way to art;” yet, she was looking so mighty, and so unsubdued all the time, that I could not help fancying she would some day take the matter into her own hands again, and if so, farewell to New Orleans. 
Click on image to enlarge. Puzzle available on the internet at THE NEW YORK TIMES -- Crossword Puzzles and Games
Thanks for the write-up.
ReplyDeleteSix feet of water in the streets of Evangeline.
Leon
ReplyDelete...and thank you for the link to Evangeline!