'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
Humpty Dumpty, Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland
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Thursday, March 20, 2008To go to the original post with illustrations, additional commentary, and the completed puzzle, or to leave a Comment, click on the TITLE at the beginning of today's or any day's commentary.
Puzzle by Stephen Edward Anderson, edited by Will Shortz
Folk tales from various European countries claim that only on the March equinox day, can one balance an egg on its point. However a soul can balance an egg on its point any day of the year if one has the patience -- and, further, on this first day of Spring, we have a perfectly balanced crossword puzzle!
Four place-name portmanteaux are the main entries in today’s crossword -- MEXICALIMEXICO (20A. South-of-the-border border town portmanteau); KANORADOKANSAS (25A. Plains border town portmanteau); DELMARDELAWARE (42A. Mid-Atlantic border town portmanteau); and TEXARKANATEXAS (47A. South-central border town portmanteau).
A portmanteau is actually a large suitcase with two compartments, albeit archaic and rare. The definition with which we are now familiar is the combination of parts of two or more words into one, which yields a new meaning. e.g. lunch and breakfast into brunch, or smoke and fog into smog.
In Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, Humpty Dumpty and Alice discuss the poem, ‘Jabberwocky’. The egg explains the word "slithy”: “Well, ‘slithy‘ means ‘lithe and slimy.’ ‘Lithe’ is the same as ‘active.’You see it’s like a portmanteau - there are two meanings packed up into one word.” Both before and after Lewis Carroll, what is now called the portmanteau was a common way of coining new words.
For everyday portmanteaux, go HERE.Best entry today is XORO (52D. Tic-tac-toe choice). The entry XMAS is out of season on this, the first day of Spring! Tied together throughout the puzzle are pairings of NOVA & AVON, GOAT & GUAM, OAHU & OHNO, ORZO & EZRA. EATEN and TVDINNER share E's. Best short entry of the day -- always like seeing LEO, even when Roman numerals are included!
Longer entries also include DORMROOM, STREAKED, PEACENIK, POTION, and MAXOUT (all quite compatible, if you’ve been there). Sounds in the crossword include PLOP, TING, DRUM, DIRGE, SANG, and ALARMS.
However, the entries of Mexicali, Mexico; Kanorado, Kansas; Delmar, Delaware, and Texarkana, Texas are just out of this world!
Hey, if you’re traveling to any of those places, be sure to take your portmanteau!
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For today’s cartoons, go to The Crossword Puzzle Illustrated.
