Academic

Scene From A Long Drive During The Holidays

By Ann Bartow

The characters are a teenaged boy and his mother. The mom is driving, while the boy is calling out clues from a crossword puzzle that they are completing together to make the time pass.

Teen Boy: “Three Down: River to the Caspian Sea, four letters.”

Mom: “I have no idea.”

Teen Boy: “Thirty-four Across: Knoll, five letters.”

Mom: “Do we have any letters?”

Teen Boy: “Probably starts with M.”

Mom: “Mound?”

Teen Boy: “I’ll pencil it in. Okay, Thirty-four Across: Doc bloc, three letters, first one is A.”

Mom: “Try AMA.”

Teen Boy: “Twenty-four Down: Beat off. Four letters.”

Mom: “WHAT?”

Teen Boy, very quietly: “Beat … off.”

Mom: “Wow.  That’s kind of weird, because ‘beat off’ is a euphemism for …”

Teen Boy: “I KNOW, I KNOW. Let’s just move on to another one.”

Turns out the answer for Twenty-four Down was “fend.” If you doubt the veracity of this anecdote, check out the USA Today crossword for December 18, 2008 (page 7D).

–Ann Bartow

Full post as published by Feminist Law Professors on January 06, 2009 (boomark / email).