09.12.10 — What Fresh Hell Is This? — the Acrostic

Sunday, September 12, 2010

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

This Sunday’s elegant and entertaining acrostic draws a quotation from Dorothy Parker: What Fresh Hell Is This? by Marion Meade of which Publishers Weekly states "Meade's lively biography recounts the unhappy life of the wise-cracking versifier, short story writer and critic. So detailed is Meade's book that this, one imagines, is the last time a biographer will need to explain why so talented a writer could at the same time be so nasty a human being."

Dorothy Parker was known for her outrageous one-liners, her ruthless theater criticism, her clever verses and bittersweet stories, but there was another side to Dorothy Parker--a private life, set on a course of destruction. She suffered through two divorces, a string of painful affairs, a lifelong problem with alcohol, and several suicide attempts.

In this lively, absorbing biography, Marion Meade illuminates both the dark side of Parker and her days of wicked wittiness at the Algonquin Round Table with the likes of Robert Benchley, George Kaufman, and Harold Ross, and in Hollywood with S.J. Perelman, William Faulkner, and Lilian Hellman. At the dazzling center of it all, Meade gives us the flamboyant, self-destructive, and brilliant Dorothy Parker. — amazon.com

The quotation: HER WAY OF LOOKING AT LIFE WAS INCURABLY PESSIMISTIC CONFRONTED BY THE UNKNOWN SHE IMMEDIATELY PREPARED FOR THE WORST ORDINARY OCCURRENCES THE DOORBELL OR A RINGING TELEPHONE MADE HER WONDER WHAT FRESH HELL IS THIS

The author’s name and the title of the work: MARION MEADE DOROTHY PARKER

The defined words:

A. “At the same time, back at the ranch …”, MEANWHILE
B. Poignant, delicate humor of a classical sort (2 wds.), ATTIC WIT
C. Football or fraternity activity, RUSHING
D. Nowhere near what you’re trying to find (hyph.), ICE-COLD
E. Figure derived from the 1565 tale “Un Capitano Moro”, OTHELLO
F. Knickerbocker (2 wds.), NEW YORKER
G. Baffle with enigmas, MYSTIFY
H. Contingent for quadrille dancing, EIGHTSOME
I. Bad thing for a renter to be in, ARREARS
J. Inclined to facilitate coasters, DOWNHILL
K. Harold Ross, to the quote’s subject, EDITOR
L. Karmic payback, DESERTS
M. Ready to roll (2 wds.), ON WHEELS
N. Phase in bread production, RISING
O. Like a casual bon mot, OFFHAND, e.g., an extemporaneous witticism
P. HBO drama set in Baltimore (2 wds.), THE WIRE
Q. Actress who “ran the gamut of emotions from A to B”, HEPBURN
R. Ambivalent, oxymoronic reply (3 wds.), YES AND NO
S. Modern novelist with a penchant for paranoia, PYNCHON
T. Creator of saws, APHORIST
U. Hitchcock’s only Oscar winner for Best Picture, REBECCA
V. Actor who said “The monster was the best friend I ever had”, KARLOFF
W. Holder of a crown, EMPEROR
X. Setting used to avoid quarrels as to precedence (2 wds.), ROUND TABLE

The Algonquin Round Table in caricature by Al Hirschfeld. Seated at the table, clockwise from left: Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley, Alexander Woollcott, Heywood Broun, Marc Connelly, Franklin P. Adams, Edna Ferber, George S. Kaufman, Robert Sherwood. In back from left to right: frequent Algonquin guests Lynn Fontanne and Alfred Lunt, Vanity Fair editor Frank Crowninshield and Frank Case.

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Puzzle available on the internet at

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