08.25.13 — Three Uses of the Knife — The Acrostic


Jason and Medea © Carle van Loo / Bridgeman Art Library

You take a knife, you use it to cut the bread, so you'll have strength to work; you use it to shave, so you'll look nice for your lover; on discovering her with another, you use it to cut out her lying heart. ~ Huddie Ledbetter, also known as Leadbelly 

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Sunday, August 25, 2013

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

This Sunday’s acrostic draws a quotation from Three Uses of the Knife: On the Nature and Purpose of Drama by David Mamet.

What makes good drama? How does drama matter in our lives? In Three Uses of the Knife, one of America's most respected writers reminds us of the secret powers of the play. Pulitzer Prize--winning playwright, screenwriter, poet, essayist, and director, David Mamet celebrates the absolute necessity of drama -- and the experience of great plays -- in our lurching attempts to make sense of ourselves and our world. ~ Google Books

The quotation:  IT IS IN OUR NATURE TO DRAMATIZE. … WE REINTERPRET THE WEATHER — AN ESSENTIALLY IMPERSONAL PHENOMENON — INTO AN EXPRESSION OF OUR CURRENT VIEW OF THE UNIVERSE.  “GREAT.  IT’S RAINING.  JUST WHEN I’M BLUE.  ISNT THAT JUST LIKE LIFE?”

The author’s name and the title of the work:  MAMET, THREE USES OF THE KNIFE

The defined words:

A. Dreamy god of Greeks and Romans, MORPHEUS
B. Come to, as a decision (2 wds.), ARRIVE AT
C. Practitioner of capitalism, MERCHANT
D. Muppet with Rubber Duckie, ERNIE
E. Seated figurer in many New Yorker cartoons, THERAPIST
F. Shakespeare’s Cressida, for one, TROJAN
G. Striking event in meteorology, HAILSTORM
H. Earliest U.S. intercollegiate sport (1852), ROWING
I. Volcanic mount of Antarctica, EREBUS
J. Privately (2 wds.), “ENTRE NOUS
K. Like harvested bananas, usually, UNRIPE
L. Pious, perfect, SAINTLY
M. Last name on Martin Sheen’s passport, ESTEVEZ
N. It may go up a mountain in the spring (2 wds.) SNOW LINE
O. Best with brainpower, OUTWIT
P. Not for real, insincere, sham, FEIGNED
Q. “Das Kapital” or “Common Sense,” e.g., TREATISE
R. Coxa, in anatomy (2 wds.), HIP JOINT
S. One signing up for a tour, ENLISTEE
T. Gulf war battleground, KUWAIT
U. Producer of “The Jeffersons” and “Maude” (2 wds. NORMAN LEAR
V. One INFINITE Loop (Apple’s street address)
W. Bug repellent? (2 wds.), FLU SHOT
X. Direction for departing players, EXEUNT

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