Frank Langella as Dracula
————————
Sunday, July 1, 2012
ACROSTIC, Puzzle by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon
Edited by Will Shortz
This Sunday acrostic’s quotation is from Dropped Names by Frank Langella.
Judging by this satisfyingly scandalous new memoir, Frank Langella has slept with, been propositioned by, or at least swapped dirty jokes with a breathtaking swath of stars over his illustrious half-century career. Each of the 65 chapters in “Dropped Names” offers a no-holds-barred eulogy somewhere between mash note and carpet-bombing. The collection paints Hollywood and Broadway as teeming with vulgar, neurotic and irresistible company, and Langella as relentlessly affable in the face of nonstop groping by famous people in far-flung locations. He ambles into history and falls into notable beds like some kind of sexy Forrest Gump or beefcake Zelig. ~ Ada Calhoun, Sunday Book Review, The New York Times, April 20, 2012
The quotation: OUR PRINCIPAL … CAME IN TO ASK IF THERE MIGHT BE A VOLUNTEER … TO AUDITION FOR THE ROLE OF AN ELF IN THE ANNUAL SCHOOL EXTRAVAGANZA … MYSTERIOUSLY MY HAND SHOT UP … AS IF HAVING BEEN YANKED THERE BY SOME DIVINE PUPPETEER
The author’s name and the title of the work: FRANK LANGELLA, DROPPED NAMES
The defined words:
A. Slashed picture of 2008? (2 wds.), FROST/NIXON
B. Total on a cash register (2 wds.) RING UP
C. ANTHONY Awards, prizes for crime fiction
D. Of or resembling snow, NIVEOUS
E. Hang around offering unwanted advice, KIBITZ
F. Seem to defy a natural law, LEVITATE
G. Creature named for its changing shape, AMOEBA
H. One with long stories to tell, NARRATOR
I. Minneapolis theater for the performing arts, GUTHRIE
J. Wiped out, erased, expunged, EFFACED
K. University in Bethlehem, Pa., LEHIGH
L. Land with a tree on its flag, LEBANON
M. One skilled in methodical examination, ANALYST
N. Microscopic kind of alga with a cell wall of silica, DIATOM
O. Gaudily cheap; a bit disreputable, RAFFISH
P. Cyclopean, in a certain respect (hyph.), ONE-EYED
Q. Successor to Rolls-Royce’s Silver Ghost, PHANTOM
R. Reptile proliferating in the Everglades, PYTHON
S. Darth Vader’s dominion, for example, EMPIRE
T. Film character who says “I never drink wine”, DRACULA
U. Recently created, as a style or art, NOUVEAU
V. Pursuit of a toxophilite, ARCHERY
W. Unlucky accident, MISHAP
X. Greek Muse of music who’s often portrayed with a flute, EUTERPE
Y. Cowled villain in the “Masters of the Universe” TV series and film, SKELETOR
————————
The full paragraph of the quotation: But were it not for one fateful morning sitting quietly in my sixth-grade homeroom at Number 3 School in Bayonne, New Jersey, this book, most likely, could not have been written. Our principal, Mrs. Ida Zeik, came in to ask if there might be a volunteer willing to audition for the role of an elf in the annual school extravaganza: an operetta entitled Lazy Town. Mysteriously, my hand shot up into the air as if having been yanked there by some divine puppeteer.
————————
Click on image to enlarge.
Puzzle available on the internet at
No comments:
Post a Comment