There Goes the Neighborhood
difficult Each of the six people quoted below lives in one of the six houses in the neighborhood shown. The houses are white, brown, green, blue, yellow, and orange. Assuming that everyone is telling the truth, whose house is painted which color? Mrs. Antonini: Mrs. Borden lives due north of me. Mrs. Borden: I live in the orange house. I can walk to Mrs. Englehardt’s house without crossing any streets. Mr. Cruz: I live due east of a green house. Miss Dubois: There’s a white house north of mine, but I can’t see it from my house, because there’s a brown house in the way. Mrs. Englehardt: I live directly across a street from both a yellow house and a white house. Mr. Fung: I live in the green house.
Like the month of March—which is named for the Roman war god, Mars—the words in this quiz all have their origins in mythology. Muse upon them, then consult the fates for answers (or just turn the page).
1. odyssey n.
('ah-duh-see) a peculiarity. b long journey. c sea monster.
2. nemesis n.
('neh-muh-sis) a pen name. b memory loss. c archenemy.
3. delphic adj.
('del-fik) a ambiguous. b underground. c greedy.
4. vestal adj.
('veh-stuhl) a springlike. b fierce. c chaste.
5. narcissistic adj.
(nar-suh-sih-'stik) a forgetful. b generous. c self-obsessed.
6. mercurial adj.
(mer-'kyoor-ee-uhl) a changeable. b famished. c combative.
7. aurora n.
(uh-'roh-ruh) a dawn. b hearing. c lions.
8. cornucopia n.
(kor-nuh-'koh-pee-uh) a abundance. b madness. c herd.
9. calliope n.
(kuh-'ly-uh-pee) a echo. b shooting star. c steam-whistle organ.
10. ambrosial adj.
(am-'broh-zhuhl) a delicious. b of the blood. c golden.
11. paean n.
('pee-uhn) a beetle. b song of praise. c kinship.
12. venerate v.
('veh-nuh-rayt) a shine. b hunt. c worship.
13. myrmidon n.
('mer-muh-don) a half dolphin, half man. b loyal follower. c huge crowd.
14. lycanthrope n.
('ly-cuhn-throhp) a sailboat. b werewolf. c wine bottle.
15. plutocracy n.
(ploo-'tah-kruh-see) a government by the rich. b remote solar system. c chemical reaction.