METACROSTIC #5: Quote
#5: Backup Clues
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#5: Backup Clues HOME PAGE
A. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 60 149 214 7 111 65 120 225 254 78
Before all this took place
There was a conditional proposition.
Which we quietly would replace,
And hide from the logistician.
B. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 106 226 101 141 264 169 163 173 5 30
They tossed out barbs, they even spit
And told their friends to eat it.
Turn this one over for a bit
And don't look so defeated.
C. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 4 189 80 31 143 157 68
It used to be that at the game
The crowd would rant and rave.
Nowadays they're all the same;
They know how to behave.
D. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 235 221 95 203 13 217 133 85 45 230 255
When I examine my visit clinically;
It was all I could expect.
I wasn't treated cynically,
But with kindness and respect.
E. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 263 195 98 34 3 223 208 92 41 162 116 57 51 256 135 150
When James spoke of pulses of consciousness
He said the affairs were quite integral.
Little else has been added of consequence.
Though much has been said in the interval.
F. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 185 29 229 103 261 154 174 167
She smote me with her glance
And shot across the fairground.
It was then I thought perchance
I could get her on the rebound.
G. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 124 108 153 6 238 83 90
Would you know Him if He came through
Or would you wait til Kingdom come.
Perhaps the Kingdom is within you
And it's only acting dumb.
H. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 131 247 23 148 176 117 43 94 140
His mouth is all discolored
Cause for years he was a smoker.
While we know he's not a dullard
His teeth are a pale ochre.
I. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 259 192 38 87 249
It all seemed so tempting and succulent;
It's not surprising I partook.
So what if I'm massively corpulent;
I still get to kiss the cook.
J. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 222 46 181 22 61 129
You get up with the dawn
To greet the sun's aurora.
This is the diety of the morn:
For the Hindus, a signora.
K. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 159 168 59 206 24 231 224 179
There's nothing to say about him
As he'd be the first to admit.
Yet there'd be much less talk without him
And we'd all be the better for it.
L. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 196 202 165 188 75 239 89
It's all just idle chatter.
Or so it seems to those viewing it.
But this really doesn't matter,
To those involved in doing it.
M. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 123 160 199 21 69
If I could speak with more force
And wasn't quite so shy
I'd get myself a real horse
And kiss this ass goodbye.
N. _____ _____ _____ 246 193 35
It's usually doubled
And connoting a wry laugh.
If you're unduly troubled,
Take it up with my staff.
O. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 151 240 1 265 14 28 172
A twice told tale is not the same
As two tales intertwined.
They each might have a separate aim
Then both of them combined.
P. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 74 228 17 86 104 134 205 52 170 190 241 44
What is that odor, so sublime;
I recognize the fumes.
I seem to do this every time
I dine upon legumes.
Q. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 200 237 171 144 184 50 32 39 262 126 213 20
You are what you eat,
And you aren't what you don't
Of the cultures we meet
Some will tell us, some won't.
R. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 232 33 105 127 19 73 197 187 27
I like to go out hunting
Just before spring training.
The warden won't need confronting
If I hit what I am aiming.
S. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 42 16 70 178 53 234 125 139 258 156
I moved from New York to Montana;
I did so for anti-commercialism.
The scenery was close to Nirvana
But it didn't match my urban metabolism.
T. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 110 130 201 25 66 15 79 18 186 152 48 219
He was no fool, no siree,
Who taught us how to spell it.
It's nearly given away for free
But don't trust the folks who sell it.
U. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 207 55 91 142 76 113
The accented parts of a measure;
Or proposals to further consider.
They brings dialecticians such pleasure,
That they go to the highest bidder.
V. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 248 72 227 114 47
I got myself a big hat
And a suit at a very low price.
Perhaps that explains why it is that
I had to go back to the tailor twice.
W. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 102 158 220 2 67 9 54 93 121 244 137
This little riddle or caption
Might give you your comeuppance:
That one's a certified captain
But no man aboard has a license.
X. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 198 175 210 128 236 191 242 155 49
I first thought this word was lame
My reaction was inelastic.
When I learned it pertained to a name.
My brain became quite orgiastic.
Y. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 132 194 64 177 211 10 180 71
My first look was only cursory
And I easily could have missed it.
You're having a special anniversary
Half a century you've existed.
Z. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 146 252 81 161 136 243 56 183 216 12 96 115 233
I find it artfully perplexing
How you manage to confuse me
While you're skillfully erecting
Little ditties to amuse me.
AA. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 118 164 8 218 63 245 112 204 82 40
Reducing everything to its gist
Is a result that might eventuate.
This word is an unusual twist
On a rare form we accentuate.
BB. _____ _____ _____ _____ 253 166 99 109
The female lead of Tootsie
An old aquaintance brought to mind.
She was too old for playing footsie.
He should have asked her what's her sign.
CC. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 11 36 122 209 88 107 260
When he tries to choose a tie or hat
It's a difficult selection.
He says not this and then not that.
(The clothes were misdirection.)
DD. _____ _____ _____ _____ 62 97 215 37
A species of edible lizard
If that's not a contradiction in terms.
So you don't think me a niggard,
The same source as last it confirms.
EE. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 212 119 100 147 250
A resident of ponds and lakes,
She must be quite aquatic.
This little nymph has what it takes;
She's certainly acrobatic.
FF. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 138 145 251 84 182 257 26 77 58
I don't understand a word they say
Though I mean them no offense.
They can't pronounce the time of day;
They're talking such nonsense.
© 1996 Arthur Bloch