I finished a Saturday crossword,*
The hardest one offered each week.
It took me a while
But earned me a smile
And the constant reminder I seek
That my brain cells, although I am aging,
Are still functioning well enough to
Fill in all of the squares
That some person prepares
So we solvers can track down each clue.
It’s a sense of accomplishment, truly;
Other puzzlers know just what I mean.
Though we do it alone,
We are, each of us, prone
To a chance to internally preen.
*last Saturday’s New York Times puzzle,
solved today
Judy Tucker’s Jelly
Sally Ann’s ass
Lucy in the sky with vacuum
Pretty puzzlers
Tiny tina’s marigolds,
Give color flavor beauty and meaning to our lives
Helping us remember
What we’re here for.
If lawyers get de-barred and clergymen de-frocked
Does it naturally follow and make sense
That electricians are de-lighted and cowboys de-ranged?
Need some answers, no sitting on the fence!
Can a motorist be de-fined, or a balloon be de-flated
This silliness surely must stop
Do dead mailmen de-liver, are old ships de-ported
Better stop before I call a burly cop
Do musicians get de-noted, dry cleaners de-pressed?
Now hold on, I'm getting quite upset
Can models be de-posed, do tree surgeons de-bark?
Haven't heard any answers as yet
Do skirts get de-pleted, has your hair been de-parted?
This must be some kind of a plot
Artists quit by de-sign, symphonies de-compose?
I think about de-strings a lot!
My pencil is ready;
The boxes are bare.
I look at the clues
That are luring me there.
I always begin
With the first clue across,
Continuing on
Until I’m at a loss.
I do not despair
If a few I can’t solve
But begin on the down clues
With extra resolve.
The empty spots beckon;
They yearn to be filled
And if I’m successful
I’m quietly thrilled.
Today is the date when
We puzzlers cheer
For since 1913,
Once a day they appear.
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Background of the word: This 45-letter word was coined in 1935, by
the president of the National Puzzlers' League of the United States, Everett E. Smith, in a presentation about the ever-growing length of medical terms.
He coined it to show how ridiculously long medical terms had gained acceptance.
It was created by stringing together a series of Latin stems that,
taken together, could conceivably describe an inflammatory lung disease caused by the inhalation of fine silica dust, a real disease already known popularly as black lung and technically called pneumoconiosis or silicosis.
Source:: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Untitled
Artificial long word said
to mean a lung disease caused
by inhaling very fine
ash, sand and quartz dust.
~x~
If lawyers get de-barred and clergymen de-frocked
Does it naturally follow and make sense
That electricians are de-lighted and cowboys de-ranged?
Need some answers, no sitting on the fence!
Can a motorist be de-fined, a balloon's mood de-flated
This silliness surely must stop
Do dead mailmen de-liver, are old ships de-ported
Better stop before I call a burly cop
Do musicians get de-noted, dry cleaners de-pressed?
Now hold on, I'm getting quite upset
Can models be de-posed, do tree surgeons de-bark?
Haven't heard any answers as yet
Do skirts get de-pleted, has your hair been de-parted?
This must be some kind of a plot
Artists quit by de-sign, symphonies de-compose?
I think about de's things a lot!
© Jack Ellison 2013
You Quiz-puzzlers out there,
I hope you take care,
And don't sucumb to high blood pressure,
Please don't implode like the good sub, U.S.S. Thresher,
So take it in stride,
With the answers I do hide,
And you'll wake up all that much fresher
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