04.24.11 — Dreaming in Chinese — the Acrostic


Sunday, April 24, 2011

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



“Any traveler who shudders at the prospect of deciphering Chinese should be armed with a copy of this funny, sympathetic, and demystifying survivor’s tale from the frontlines of learning Mandarin. This elegant tour of the language renders Chinese - and the Chinese people - with humor, tenderness and depth. If only every language book were this good; it conveys the hidden joys of Chinese, not as a language frozen on a page, but as a world alive in the alleys, kitchens and mountain towns of the people who created it.”
 - Evan Osnos, The New Yorker


The quotation:  CHINESE… CHARACTERS ARE NOT BOUND BY SPACE. EACH CHARACTER, EVEN IF IT IS HALF OF A… WORD, IS SEPARATED EQUALLY FROM ITS NEIGHBOR. THERE IS NO TELLING WHERE A WORD BEGINS AND ENDS — ITWOULDBEASIFYOUWEREREADINGTHETEXTTHISWAY.
 

The author’s name and the title of the work: D FALLOWS, DREAMING IN CHINESE

The defined words:


A. What can be scared out of you, DAYLIGHTS
B. Cohort of Nym, Pistol and Bardolph, FALSTAFF
C. Take in; sponge up, ABSORB
D. Spanish for “the tar” (2 wds.) LA BREA
E. Home of the University of Kansas, LAWRENCE
F. Starting at every little thing (2 wds.), ON EDGE
G. Rough stuff with a lathery look (2 wds.), WHITEWATER
H. Plumbing fixture fastener, SETSCREW
I. Unit expressing the intensity of a sound wave, DECIBEL
J. Ran through, REHEARSED
K. Lyre player in a nonet, ERATO
L. Deity whose symbol is an owl, ATHENA
M. Part of an engine’s exhaust system, MUFFLER
N. Book of 64 hexagrams (2 wds.), I CHING
O. Mistral or tramontane (2 wds.), NORTH WIND
P. A flat’s equivalent (2 wds.), G SHARP
Q. Goggled-at set (2 wds.), IDIOT BOX
R. Restore order to, NEATEN
S. Stir-fried dish often served with rice (2 wds.), CHOP SUEY
T. Smack in the middle of a drug den, HEROIN
U. Backwards and forwards, down to the last detail (2 wds.), INSIDE OUT
V. Currently, NOWADAYS
W. Not notable for consistency, ERRATIC
X. Like rain-soaked sod underfoot, SQUISHY
Y. Adam or Eve, eventually, EVICTEE


The New York Times review, HERE.

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Click on image to enlarge.

Puzzle available on the internet at



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