The New York Times Crossword in Gothic: 03.22.15 — How to Be a Victorian

Straight front Brembo corset. Photo by Morúa,

Leicestershire County Council Museum Services, Symington Collection

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Sunday, March 22, 2015

ACROSTIC, Puzzle by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon

Edited by Will Shortz

This Sunday’s acrostic draws a quotation from “How to Be a Victorian: A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Victorian Life” by Ruth Goodman.

Ruth Goodman believes in getting her hands dirty. Drawing on her own adventures living in re-created Victorian conditions, Goodman serves a sour bustling and fanciful guide to nineteenth-century life. Proceeding from day break to bedtime, this charming, illustrative work celebrates the ordinary lives of the most perennially fascinating era of British history. From waking up to the rapping of a “knocker-upper man” on the window pane to lacing into a corset after a round of calisthenics, from slipping opium to the little ones to finally retiring to the bedroom for the ideal combination of “love, consideration, control and pleasure,” the weird, wonderful, and somewhat gruesome intricacies of Victorian life are vividly rendered here. How to Be a Victorian is an enchanting manual for the insatiably curious. ~ Google books

The quotation: A LIGHTLY BONED… CORSET… IS… VERY EASY… TO WEAR, MORE COMFORTABLE, IN MY OPINION, THAN… UNDERWIRED BRAS OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY. … IT IS HARD TO ACHIEVE MORE COMPRESSION THAN IS PRODUCED BY THE SHAPEWEAR CURRENTLY ON SALE… .

The author’s name and the title of the work: RUTH GOODMAN, “HOW TO BE A VICTORIAN”

The defined words:

A. Like Stoker’s “Dracula” or Shelley’s “Frankenstein”, GOTHIC
B. Giving cryptic clues about the future, ORACULAR
C. Influential 1859 work by John Stuart Mill (2 wds.), ON LIBERTY
D. Subject of certain codes, DRESS
E. Brilliant but lethargic brother of Sherlock Holmes, MYCROFT
F. A case of faulty ignition?, ARSON
G. Remedy for grief, per Greek myth, NEPENTHE
H. Up-to-the-minute things?, HYPHENS
I. Anglo-Chinese strife of the 1800s (2 wds.), OPIUM WARS
J. “Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1” artist, WHISTLER
K. Where flies are typically found, TROUSERS
L. Hamper the progress of, OBSTRUCT
M. Supplier of archery gear, BOWYER
N. Like the era after the one evoked n this puzzle, EDWARDIAN
O. Eponymous physicist André-Marie, AMPERE
P. Cabinet with an inset washbowl, VANITY
Q. Psychologically connect (with), IDENTIFY
R. Trickster in Native American folklore, COYOTE
S. Monopoly tokens with dimples, THIMBLES
T. Factor in the budget for a roofing company?, OVERHEAD
U. Parliamentary law affecting voting (2 wds.), REFORM ACT
V. Gilbert and Sullivan opera featuring the Queen of the Fairies, IOLANTHE
W. Drug that brings pain relief, ANODYNE
X. Subtle distinctions, NICETIES

The full paragraph of the quotation: A lightly boned, corded corset like this is a very easy thing to wear, more comfortable, in my opinion, than the underwired bras of the twenty-first century. A corset moulds the body into an elegant shape, supporting the bust and smoothing out the lumps and bumps. It is warm to wear, and not too constricting. Even with enthusiastic tugging on the lacing, it is hard to achieve more compression than is produced by the shapewear currently on sale in today’s high-street shops. A corset is perhaps too hot to wear in the height of summer, and the busk length must be just right so that it does not dig in (contrary to popular expectation, longer is better: ending somewhere on the pubic bone seems to be most comfortable), but it provides a smooth, compact solidity to the torso that looks attractive through the outer clothing of the day, holding everything firmly in place and providing a fashionably high bust-line.

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