09.22.13 — Rameau's Niece — the Acrostic



Sunday, September 22, 2013

ACROSTIC, Puzzle by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon


This Sunday’s difficult but ultimately delightful acrostic draws a quotation from Rameau’s Niece by Cathleen Schine.

Although she considers herself happily married to a gregarious Englishman who teaches at Columbia University and is an inveterate quoter of poetry, Margaret Nathan, author of a best-selling scholarly biography, finds that her equilibrium is thrown when she chances upon Rameau's Niece , the manuscript of an 18th-century French erotic novel. Haunted by the sensual images that passages from Rameau's Niece have triggered, Margaret finds herself sexually attracted to a woman friend, a gay male friend, her dentist, and several other acquaintances, and she begins to question the viability of her marriage. ~ Library Journal

The quotation:  EDWARD HAD NO DIFFICULTIES AT DINNER PARTIES.  IF HE HAD BEEN SEATED BESIDE A ROCK, HE WOULD HAVE QUICKLY BEGUN AN ANIMATED DISCUSSION OF ITS LAYERS OF GRANITE … OR LIME, ITS LIFE UNDERGROUND, ITS JOURNEYS AND ASPIRATIONS …

The author’s name and the title of the work:  CATHLEEN SCHINE, RAMEAU’S NIECE

The defined words:

A. Insouciant, nonchalant, CAREFREE
B. Martial at with disarming moves, AIKIDO
C. Conversational forum groupings, THREADS
D. Samuel Butler’s mock-heroic knight, HUDIBRAS
E. Transparent, crystal clear, LIMPID
F. Delaware Bay or Long Island Sound, e.g., ESTUARY
G. Happen as a result; come after, ENSUE
H. Improvising musically; indulging in mental play, NOODLING
I. Attraction for devotees, SHRINE
J. Yellow card, in soccer, CAUTION
K. Prevent, forestall (2 wds.), HEAD OFF
L. Behavior of one hell-bound, INIQUITY
M. Display of mild interest, NIBBLE
N. Ghost in Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit”, ELVIRA
O. Given celebrity treatment, in a way, ROASTED
P. Shoe brand that traces back to Jesse Owens at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, ADIDAS
Q. 2003 Oscar vehicle for Charlize Theron, MONSTER
R. Make a great display of enthusiasm, EFFUSE
S. One who renounces a belief or cause, APOSTATE
T. Not fair, UNJUST
U. Wham-O’s first product, which inspired its name, SLINGSHOT
V. Home to the University of Delaware, NEWARK
W. Succinctly stated (3 wds.), IN A WORD
X. Given proper instruction, EDIFIED
Y. Aegean island group, CYCLADES
Z. Occasion to say “That’s all she wrote”, ENDING

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The full paragraph of the quotation:  Edward had no difficulties at dinner parties.  If he had been seated beside a rock, he would have quickly begun an animated discussion of its layers of granite or sandstone or lime, its life underground, its ocean journeys and aspirations for the future.  Intoxicated by this encounter, he would regale Margaret with tales of the rock’s history, which he would tell with such enthusiasm and such grace that she would laugh and hope that some day she too might sit beside a stone at dinner.  And the stone?  It would sigh and bask in its newly realized glory, its importance and beauty, necessity and dignity — I pave roads and build towers, I form mountains, I rest on the throats of gracious ladies! ~ Cathleen Schine, Rameau’s Niece


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




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