07.31.11 — Imponderables — the Acrostic



Sunday, July 31, 2011

ACROSTIC, Puzzle by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon

Edited by Will Shortz

This Sunday’s delightful acrostic draws a quotation from Do Penguins Have Knees? by David Feldman, the sixth in a series of "Imponderables" books by Feldman. Most questions in this volume have been posed by readers of the previous volumes, and the author asks his reading public to submit questions for future books. Experts in the various fields are either quoted or paraphrased in the answer along with commentary from the author. The final section of the book is devoted to Frustables unanswerable "imponderables") -- new, updated, and those that "will not die." The index is thorough and useful; however, reference librarians would find a cumulative index extremely helpful. (unanswerable "imponderables")-- new, updated, and those that "will not die." ~ Amazon.com

The quotation: USING ALL CAPS, CARTOONISTS CAN ALLOCATE THEIR SPACE… MORE EASILY. SMALL LETTERS NOT ONLY VARY IN HEIGHT BUT A FEW… [SWOOP] BELOW OR ABOVE… OTHER LETTERS (L’S MAKE A’S LOOK LIKE MIDGETS, AND P’S AND Q’S DIVE BELOW MOST LETTERS)

The author's name and the title of the work: FELDMAN, DO PENGUINS HAVE KNEES

The defined words:

A. Like some moccasins and cowboy shirts, FRINGED
B. Giving according to need?, ELASTIC
D. County on England's Jurassic Coast, DORSET
E. Beverage touted as a digestive aid (2 wds.), MINT TEA
F. Frank admission, declaration, AVOWAL
G. Get snug as a bug in a rug, NESTLE
H. Finding based on Archimedes' "eureka" insight, DENSITY
I. Coiner of "Oldspeak" and "doublethink", ORWELL
J. Place where some litter may be picked up (2 wds.), PET SHOP
K. Sleepy John of country blues, ESTES
M. James Taylor album featuring "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)", GORILLA
N. Where to find the Adirondacks in New York, UPSTATE
O. Meteorologist's line of work?, ISOBAR
P. Harding's postwar campaign promise, NORMALCY
Q. Cry fowl?, SQUAWK
R. Direct; frontal (hyph.), HEAD-ON
S. Novelist with the famous opening line "Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents", ALCOTT
T. Student athlete at N.Y.U.; pansy, VIOLET
U. Decorate in relief, EMBOSS
W. Form for "A Christmas Carol" or "Billy Budd", NOVELLA
X. Beanpole, by W.H. Sheldon's classification, ECTOMORPH
Z. Flaky sort of stone, SCHIST


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Puzzle available on the internet at

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