Sunday, July 13, 2014
Acrostic, Puzzle by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon
Edited by Will Shortz
This Sunday’s acrostic draws a quotation from “The Dirt on the Clean: An Unsanitized History” by Katherine Ashenburg.
The question of cleanliness is one every age and culture has answered with confidence. For the first-century Roman, being clean meant a two-hour soak n baths of various temperatures, scraping the body with a miniature rake, and final application of oil. For the aristocratic Frenchman in the seventeenth century, it meant changing your shirt once a day and perhaps going so far as to dip your hands in some water. … The Dirt on Clelan considers the bizarre prescriptions of history’s doctors, the hygienic peccadilloes of great authors, and the historic twists and turns that have brought us to a place Ashenburg considers hedonistic, yet over sanitized. ~ amazon.com
The quotation: THE MEDIEVAL WORLD WAS IMMEASURABLY LESS DEODORIZED THAN OURS. … SO SPIRITUAL A CHARACTER AS… THOMAS AQUINAS APPROVED OF INCENSE IN CHURCH BECAUSE IT MASKED THE PREVAILING BODY [ODOR], WHICH, HE ADMITTED, ‘CAN PROVOKE DISGUST.”
The author’s name and the title of the work: ASHENBURG, THE DIRT ON CLEAN
The defined words:
A. Fruit salad with miniature marshmallows, AMBROSIA
B. Bags packed with scents, SACHETS
C. Popular fish-and-chips fish, HADDOCK
D. Slivovitz or kirsch, e.g. (3 wds.), EAU DE VIE
E. Aromatic lquid used as a solvent, NAPHTHA
F. Sold as a package deal, BUNDLED
G. Creator of the friar-sleuth William of Baskerville (2 wd.), UMBERTO ECO
H. Solemn music for a Mass, REQUIEM
I. Visual aid (2 wds.), GUIDE DOG
J. Modern-day midden (2 wds.), TRASH HEAP
K. Shaky memory; turbidity, HAZINESS
L. Superficial tissue layer, EPIDERMIS
M. Doctrine of evolution, DARWINISM
N. Bar once sold with the slogan “It floats” (2 wds., IVORY SOAP
O. Bring back, as a product, RELAUNCH
P. Teamster’s meeting place, maybe (2 wds.), TRUCK STOP
Q. Having a keen sense of smell, OSMATIC
P. Monks in training, NOVICES
S. Moderately amused reaction, CHORTLE
T. Water closet, LAVATORY
U. Role for Patrick McGoohan in “Braveheart” (2 wds.), EDWARD I
V. Breath mints packaged in tins, ALTOIDS
W. Special bulletin (2 wds.), NEWS FLASH
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