06.30.13 — The Uninvited Guests — the Acrostic


Sunday, June 30, 2013

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


This Sunday’s challenging acrostic draws a quotation from The Uninvited Guests by Sadie Jones.

“A grand old manor house deep in the English countryside will open its doors to reveal the story of an unexpectedly dramatic day in the life of one eccentric, rather dysfunctional, and entirely unforgettable family. Set in the early years of the twentieth century, award-winning author Sadie Jones’s The Uninvited Guests is, in the words of Jacqueline Winspear, the New York Times bestselling author of the Maisie Dobbs mysteries A Lesson in Secrets and Elegy for Eddie, ‘a sinister tragi-comedy of errors, in which the dark underbelly of human nature is revealed in true Shakespearean fashion.’”  ~ Amazon.com

The quotation:  THE EDGE OF THE GARDENS FORMED A HA-HA … BORDERED BY A KNEE-HIGH … HEDGE … CHILDREN … USED TO TAKE RUNNING JUMPS OFF THE APPARENT PRECIPICE, TERRIFYING VISITORS …, ONLY TO EMERGE LAUGHING HILARIOUSLY, COVERED WITH DANDELION FLUFF…

The author’s name and the title of the work:  SADIE JONES, UNINVITED GUESTS

The defined words:

A. Clever bit of trickery, SLEIGHT
B. Give unsolicited solicitous advice, ADMONISH
C. Full-size Dodge S.U.V., DURANGO
D. “Peter Pan” song sung by Peter Pan (2 wds.), “I’M FLYING
E. Game that introduced jokers as cards, EUCHRE
F. Ballet company based in Chicago, JOFFREY
G. Gauge of interest in a used car, ODOMETER
H. “A woman is closest to being NAKED when she is well dressed” 
     (Coco Chanel) 
I. What a certain theory in physics seeks to explain, EVERYTHING
J. Patty in the World Golf Hall of Fame, SHEEHAN
K. Change to a new software version, UPGRADE
L. Commoner variety of jade, NEPHRITE
M. “Napoleon Dynamite” setting, IDAHO
N. Copacabana or Studio 54, e.g., NIGHTCLUB
O. Vladimir Lenin wore one, VANDYKE
P. Chip off the old block?, ICEBERG
Q. Precursor to some drillling, TOOTHACHE
R. Insect with pincer like rear appendages, EARWIG
S. Hinged extender (2 wds.), DROP LEAF
T. Well above average in talent, GIFTED
U. Open to the breeze, UNFURL
V. Drug that treats asthma and allergies, EPHEDRINE
W. Weed that’s been wrapped in paper, SPLIFF
X. Animal clocked at 5 m.p.h. tops, TORTOISE
Y. Engage in a smear campaign, SLANDER

————————


The prior paragraph and the full paragraph of the quotation:  The house stood on a piece of land so clearly semicircular, so strictly rounded, that it might have been a cake-stand left behind in the landscape by some refined society of giants.  It was covered with deep, soft turf as one might lay a thick rug over a table, and all the busy pattern o fields, hedges, cows and villages scattered beyond, toy miniatures a child’s imagination would produce.

From the front of the house, the edge of the gardens formed a ha-ha between order and free nature.  It was bordered by a tree-high sharp-trimmed box hedge, lest dogs should rush at it and fall off.  Small children had been known to topple, although happily the slope, on falling was much gentler than it first appeared.  Clovis and Emerald, when much younger had used to take running jumps off the apparent precipice, terrifying visitors unfamiliar with the topography, only to emerge laughing hilariously, covered with dandelion fluff or mud or clinging claws of long couch grass.





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Puzzle available on the internet at
THE NEW YORK TIMES — Crossword Puzzles and Games.

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