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Sunday, February 26, 2012
ACROSTIC, Puzzle by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon
Edited by Will Shortz
This Sunday’s easy-going acrostic draws a quotation from “Fiction Ruined My Family” by Jeanne Darst
“Fiction Ruined My Family reads like a script for performance art, a rapid stand-up routine, careless and wisecracky, signaling moments for the audience to respond to a punch line by clapping. The tinkle of glasses subsides; the performer makes a grimace, takes a bow, goes on. Yet genuine pain is explored - for the dangerous ambitions of fame and achievement and the really dangerous distractions of carelessness with loved ones.” ~ The San Francisco Chronicle
The quotation: AS A KID I WAS ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED OF CLICHES. MY FATHER FORBADE THEM. IF YOU SAID, “YOU CAN LEAD A HORSE TO WATER, BUT YOU CAN’T MAKE HIM DRINK,” MY FATHER WOULD GO BALLISTIC…. MOM VIOLATED THIS RULE ABOUT EVERY FIVE SECONDS.
The author’s name and the title of the work: DARST, FICTION RUINED MY FAMILY
The defined words:
A. Sleeping with the fishes, DEAD
B. Clumsy as an ox (2 wds.), ALL THUMBS
C. Fair and square; on the button, RIGHT
D. Hair-trigger temper (2 wds.), SHORT FUSE
E. Vanishing point? (2 wds.), THIN AIR
F. Much ado about nothing, FUSS
G. Vantage high above the daily grind (2 wds.), IVORY TOWER
H. Bee’ knees, something else (2 wds.), CAT’S MEOW
L. Neck and neck, even-steven, TIED
J. On a bad losing streak (hyph.), ICE-COLD
K. Marching to a different drummer, OFFBEAT
I. When there’s not a moment to spare (3 wds.), NICK OF TIME
M. Take to the cleaners, ROUT
N. Akin to apples and oranges or night and day, UNALIKE
O. What star-crossed lovers are (2 wds.), ILL-FATED
P. Keyed up; on tenderhooks, NERVOUS
Q. A piece of cake (3 wds.), EASY AS ABC
R. “There’s no place like home” speaker, DOROTHY
S. Enough to make your skin crawl, MACABRE
T. Fair maid or strapping lad, YOUTH
U. Seen in the limelight time and again, FAMOUS
V. Good at being palsy-walsy, AMIABLE
W. Seized the moment (2 wds.), MADE HAY
X. With no why or wherefore, IDLY
Y. Busy bee, eager beaver, pistol (2 wds.), LIVE WIRE
Z. Teamed up to do a hard day’s work, YOKED
The full paragraph of the quotation: As a kid I was absolutely terrified of clichés. My father forbade them in our home. It was like the way other people regarded cursing in their house. If you said, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink,” my father would go ballistic. Mom couldn’t control herself, apparently, because she violated this rule about every five seconds. ~ Fiction Ruined My Family
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Click on image to enlarge.
Puzzle available on the internet at
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