Help me, Will

[hankhank at ccwf.cc.utexas.edu]

On Tue, 1 Apr 1997 Dkipen at aol.com wrote:
> Oh and by the way, forgive me for intruding on a lot of really fascinating
> internecine warfare here, some of it even-Pynchon-related, but would anybody
> care to read the first sentence of a little tossoff from Henry Holt called
> "Mason & Dixon"? Here goes:
> 
> "Snow-Balls have flown their Arcs, starr'd the Sides of Outbuildings, carried
> Hats away into the brisk Wind off Delaware,-- the Sleds are brought in and
> their Runners carefully dried and greased, Shoes deposited in the back Hall,
> a stocking'd-foot Descent made upon the great Kitchen, in a purposeful Dither
> since Morning, punctuated by the ringing Lids of Boilers and Stewing-Pots,
> fragrant with Pie-Spices, peel'd Fruits, Suet, heated Sugar,-- the Children,
> having all upon the Fly, among rhythmic slaps of Batter and Spoon, coax'd and
> stolen what they might, proceed, as upon each afternoon all this snowy
> Winter, to a comfortable room at the rear of the House, years since given
> over to their carefree Assaults."
> 
> It came yesterday morning. Go to town. Beware, though. In hopes of adding a
> little I.A. Richards/Gene Rayburn piquancy to the whole affair, I've taken
> the liberty of replacing one of the words with a near-synonym. Any guesses,
> Pynchomanes?

We are quite possibly April-fooled, but this is fun, anyway. 

Maybe David's replacement is this Tyrone-and-London-related "starr'd",
the original being more directly Americanesque "spangl'd". But I do like
"starr'd" more. "Descent" on the other hand feels *too* overt a GR loan, 
but I cannot cook up a good synonym for it. Could it be "foray"? 

Heikki