Edward Lear (1812-88), an accomplished ornithological draftsman, wrote and illustrated several journals during his European travels, and for a while acted as Queen Victoria's drawing master at Osborne House.
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Sunday, December 9, 2007
ACROSTIC by Emily Cox & Henry Rathvon, edited by Will Shortz
A rare treat of poets and poetry in various states of humor lavishes a lusty luxuriance of long-lost laughter upon this excellent Sunday acrostic. Included in the delightful construction of sense and nonsense are the poets, T. S. Eliot, Edward Lear, Robert Frost, Lewis Carroll, the Rig Veda, a touch of Shakespeare, and a hint of a Limerick. The quotation as it appears in the acrostic:
EDWARD LEARS NONSENSE IS NOT VACUITY OF SENSE IT IS PARODY OF SENSE THE JUMBLIES IS A POEM OF ADVENTURE AND NOSTALGIA THE YONGHY-BONGHY-BO AND THE DONG WITH A LUMINOUS NOSE ARE OF UNREQUITED PASSION BLUES IN FACT.
The author and the work are T S ELIOT THE MUSIC OF POETRY
For Lear’s ornithological works, follow these links for samples: Swindernslov Love Bird; Eagle Owl; Parrot; Red-Cheeked Jardine. For illustrations of his own work: A Book of Nonsense. Other work: Mount Kanchenjunga from Darjeeling, West Bengal; The Pyramids Road, Gizah; and Water Color of Benares. For his writings: The Dong with the Luminous Nose; The Courtship of the Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo; and The Jumblies .
The defined words: A. TOASTER (Browning selection?); B. SHANNON (Limerick’s river); C. ENJAMBED (In prosody, continued on a new line without a pause or break); D. LOURDES (Site of St. Bernadette’s visions); E. INDEMAND (Hard to keep on the shelf [2 wds.]); F. OBESITY (Adiposis); G. TOADIES (Those agreeable to a fault); H. TIFFANY & Co., Manhattan store that is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places; I. HYPNOSIS (State that may entered after a countdown); J. ESTONIAN (What people in Tallinn speak); K. MARQUIS (Title renounced by Lafayette); L. UNSOLVED (Still resistant to being cracked); M. SONINLAW (Othello, to Brabant [hyph.]); N. INGENUOUS (Artless, naïve; candid); O. CHEETAH (Predator of a gazelle); P. OFFENSE (Word punned upon in Frost’s “Mending Wall”); Q. FISHBOWL (Metaphor for unwanted public visibility); R. PUSSYCAT (Owl’s pea-green boat companion in a light verse); S. OUTGRABE (What the mome raths did in “Jabberwocky”); T. ENROUTE (On the way, in transit [2 wds.]); U. TEASHOP (Café for snacks in Britain [2 wds.]); V. RIGVEDA (Collection of ancient Hindu hymns [hyph.]); W. YODELING (Making peak calls?).
“And hand in hand,
on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.”
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For a little more Lear, go to The Crossword Puzzle Illustrated.
