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Sunday, June 6, 2010
ACROSTIC, Puzzle by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon, edited by Will Shortz
This Sunday’s acrostic draws its quotation from The Good Good Pig: The Extraordinary Life of Christopher Hogwood by Sy Montgomery.
Montgomery's books on exotic wildlife (Journey of the Pink Dolphins, etc.) take her to the far corners of the world, but the story of her closest relationships with the animal kingdom plays out in her own New England backyard. When she adopts a sickly runt from a litter of pigs, naming him Christopher Hogwood after the symphony conductor, raising him for slaughter isn't an option: Montgomery's a vegetarian and her husband is Jewish. Refitting their barn to accommodate a (mostly) secure sty, they keep Christopher as a pet. As he swells to 750 pounds, he becomes a local celebrity, getting loose frequently enough that the local police officer knows to carry spare apples to lure him back home. The pig also bonds with Montgomery's neighbors, especially two children who come over to help feed him and rub his tummy. Montgomery's love for Christopher (and later for Tess, an adopted border collie) dominates the memoir's emotional space, but she's also demonstrably grateful for the friendships the pig sparks within her community. The humor with which she recounts Christopher's meticulous eating habits and love of digging up turf is sure to charm readers. — Publishers Weekly, Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
The quotation: EVERYTHING ABOUT A PIG MAKES PEOPLE WANT TO LAUGH WITH JOY THE WAY THEIR LARDY BULK CAN MINCE ALONG GRACEFULLY ON TIPTOE HOOVES THE WAY THEIR TAILS CURL THEIR FLEXIBLE NOSE DISKS THEIR GREAT GREEDY DELIGHT IN EATING
The author’s name and the title of the work: SY MONTGOMERY THE GOOD GOOD PIG
The defined words:
B. Foul, disgusting, unappealing, YUCKY
C. Setting for the sitcom “Happy Days”, MILWAUKEE
D. Round with flattened ends, like a pumpkin, OBLATE
F. Good at conserving resources, THRIFTY
G. Aloha, ciao or shalom, GREETING
H. Goal, unbiased, OBJECTIVE
I. Strong, puissant, powerful, MIGHTY
K. Serving of bacon, RASHER
M. The Green Wave, in college sports, TULANE
Q. Demand too much of, OVERTAX
R. One of a select few in power, OLIGARCH
T. Strikingly lifelike, GRAPHIC
U. More than make up for, surpass in importance, OUTWEIGH
W. One confined but not charged, DETAINEE
X. Porject for a novice at crochet, POTHOLDER
Y. Key that isn’t for opening locks, ISLET
Z. Wet-weather wear, GALOSHES
The full paragraph of the quotation: Of course we loved pigs—but who doesn't? After all, what is more jolly and uplifting than a pig? Everything about a pig makes people want to laugh out loud with joy: the way their lardy bulk can mince along gracefully on tiptoe hooves, the way their tails curl, their unlikely, but extremely useful, flexible nose disks, their great, greedy delight in eating. But we knew precious little about them. More? HERE.
Click on image to enlarge.
Puzzle available on the internet at
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