The literati count for nothing any more; the nu-merati have ravaged us all. And they tell us that everything will be much simpler after the changeover to the metric system. Shed a tear for the hours you spent learning obsolescent numbers; 1760 yards will still make a mile, but no one will care. An elegiac verse follows.
Instructions:
To solve the puzzle, first fill in the numbered blanks of any clues you can decipher. As an aid to the solver, the clue answers are in alphabetical order so that, for instance, the answer “Dallas” would precede the answer “Dalliance.” Each time you Till a clue blank, transfer the letters to the correspondingly numbered blanks in the message. Each message blank is characterized by a letter as well as a number – the letter indicates which clue the blank is to be filled from. Even with a very few clues filled in, you will begin to see words and phrases lake shape in the message. Use word lengths, arrangement, and punctuation to help in deciphering the message. Work back and forth, from clues to message and from message to clues, until the puzzle is completed.
Each clue indicates the answer in more than one way. In addition to straightforward definitions, clues may also contain puns, plays on words, anagrams (“The ability to lead people in confusion is a charm” – CHARISMA), or embedded spellings (“How it zeroes in distinguishes a cannon”). Another common type of clue is word construe;ion, where the answer is built of component parts. Example: “American leader required identification in gift” (PRESIDENT = I.D. inside PRESENT). All abbreviations are acceptable as long as they are in current usage (e.g., TV, p.d.q., etc.). Isolated letters may be indicated in a variety of ways – as compass points, Roman numerals, grades or scores (A, F, “zero” = O, “love” as in tennis = O), musical notations (P, F for soft or loud respectively). Parts of words may be used (IVE or just V might be indicated by “MidwIVEs”).
The one paramount rule is that the clue sentence, with a little repunctua-tion, will tell exactly how to get the answer.
The number in parentheses after each clue corresponds to the number of letters in the answer; when more than one numbcr appears, the answer contains more than one word. In most cases (he parenthetic numbers are Ihe same as the number of blanks in the clues, and the answer is entered in the usual way. But when there are fewer blanks allotted than letters in the answer, the solver must figure out how to make the numbers jibe: Some blanks will contain numerals.
Hint: One clue answer is a book title.
Send the completed puzzle (or reasonable facsimile) to Puzzling, D Magazine, 2902 Carlisle, Dallas, Texas 75204. All correct solutions will be held for one week after receipt of the first entry, at which time a drawing will take place to determine the winners. First winner will receive a $25 cash prize. Runner-up will receive a free one-year subscription to D. Winners and completed puzzle will appear in the November issue.
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