06.14.15 — The Unspeakable — the Acrostic

Clark Griswald, the Talking Dog, Flickr

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Sunday, June 14, 2015

ACROSTIC, Puzzle by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon

Edited by Will Shortz

This Sunday’s acrostic draws a quotation from “The Unspeakable and Other Subjects of Discussion” by Meghan Daum.

Nearly fifteen years after her debut collection, My Misspent Youth, captured the ambitions and anxieties of a generation, Meghan Daum returns to the personal essay with The Unspeakable, a masterful collection of ten new works. Her old encounters with overdrawn bank accounts and oversized ambitions in the big city have given way to a new set of challenges. ~ amazon.com 

The quotation:  DOGS ARE INCAPABLE OF BEING ANYTHING BUT THEMSELVES.  SHOW ME A DOG THAT PUTS ON AIRS OR LAUGHS POLITELY AT AN UNFUNNY JOKE AND I’LL SHOW YOU A HUMAN IN A DOG COSTUME, POSSIBLY ONE OWNED AND LICENSED BY WALT DISNEY.

The author’s name and the title of the work:  MEGHAN DAUM, “THE UNSPEAKABLE”

The defined words:

A. Singer who said, “I am my own work of at”, MADONNA
B. First inductee into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, EDISON
C. Home of the University of Strathclyde, GLASGOW
D. Interval from B to C, e.g. (2 wds.), HALF STEP
E. Home to about one in five Ivorians, ABIDJAN
F. 1998 Winter Olympics host, NAGANO
G. Popular soap of the 1980s, DYNASTY
H. What science is to superstition, per Adam Smith, ANTIDOTE
I. Balmy, batty, bonkers, UNHINGED
J. Shipboard computer in “Alien”, MOTHER
K. Some motel furnishings (2 wds.), TWIN BEDS
L. Pals from your neighborhood, HOMEBOYS
M. Slippery, ELUSIVE
N. Marked improvement, as in the stock market, UPSWING
O. Small, bright body in the head of a comet, NUCLEUS
P. Name for a Dalmatian, SPOT
Q. Shakespearean cross-dresser, PORTIA
R. Gravy train (2 wds.), EASY MONEY
S. Virgin Mary’s lack, ALCOHOL
T. Neighbors of bishops, KNIGHTS
U. Eponym of a society of naturalists, AUDUBON
V. Member of a small septet, BASHFUL
W. Having a legal eagle’s manner, LAWYERLY
X. Even prompting yard signs, ELECTION

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Puzzle available on the internet at

THE NEW YORK TIMES — Crossword Puzzles and Games.