A modified ten-square.

More than ten years have passed since "In Search of the Ten-Square" appeared in the November 1990 Word Ways. The ASTRALISED square presented in that article was the culmination of almost twenty years of work on large squares. The main weakness of the ASTRALISED square is the term ROLY NADERS, because there is no published record of Roly Nader anywhere, and besides, there seems to be just one Roland Nader, who is only occasionally called Roly.

I have recently been able to modify the square so that every term has a legitimate written source, or can be reasonably inferred (pluralized) from one. This latest square is not only modified, it is also modernized. Two of the new terms can currently be found only on the Internet, and another in a dictionary less than ten years old.

As with the original square, I don't expect the modified version to satisfy everyone, because personal standards differ. However, it does conform to my own criteria for acceptability, and it is, I feel, an improvement. There is always the hope of course that one day someone, probably with the help of a computer, will discover a ten-square using only dictionary words.

D I S T A L I S E D
I M P O L A R I T Y
S P I N A C I N E S
T O N Y N A D E R S
A L A N B R O W N E
L A C A R O L I N A
I R I D O L I N E S
S I N E W I N E S S
E T E R N N E S S E
D Y S S E A S S E S

DISTALISED past participle of the verb distalise, to make more distal, to adjust in a distal direction [Oxford English Dictionary Word and Language Service]. Used in orthodontics, where `distal' refers to the position farthest from the center of a tooth.

   `... extra-oral anchorage is used to distalise the teeth in the upper right
   quadrant' [Ajnodontia: Orthodontic and periodontal preparation prior to
   implant therapy, G. & S. Rozenzweig, J. Burn, 2001 (Google)]

   `This is especially true if buccal teeth have been distalised or retracted
   with or without headgear' [Are Extractions Necessary? www.orthotropics.com,
   2001 (Google)]

IMPOLARITY lack of polarity, particularly nonexpression of opposite emotional extremes, absence of mood swings--a rare technical term in behavioural psychology.

   `This battery of tests will emphasize those functions shown to be impaired
   on an empirical basis (problem solving, abstraction, linguistic ability)
   and theoretical basis (behavioral self-regulation, impolarity, shift of
   set, sustained effort, and attention)' [An Identical Twin High-Risk Study
   of Biobehavioral Vulnerability, Ming T. Tsuang & Michael J. Lyons (Google)]

SPINACINES plural of spinacine, an amino acid derived from the much commoner and more important amino acid histidine, the plural of which is listed in Web 3. Spinacine can be isolated from the crab Crango vulgaris, the liver of the shark Acanthias vulgaris, the roots of Panax ginseng, and from spinach. There is also a synthetic form [Dictionary of Natural Products, Vol 5, Chapman & Hall, 1994].

   `Amino acids come in two forms, sometimes described as right-handed and
   left-handed, and distinguished by the prefixes D- and L- (dextro- and
   laevo-). The molecules are identical except for being non-superimposable
   mirror-images of each other. Usually the L-form occurs in nature and the
   D-form is synthetic. So since there are two forms of the compound, I think
   it certainly conceivable that one could talk of the spinacines' [Dr Trevor
   Kitson, Institute of Fundamental Sciences, Massey University, New Zealand
   (letter, Jun 20 2001)]

TONY NADERS persons named Tony Nader, such as residents of Chatsworth, California, and Torrington, Connecticut [www.whitepages.com (Google)]. There are also Tony Naders listed in the 1998 Boston telephone directory, the 1990 Houston telephone directory, and the American Social Security Death Index (1930-93). No less than eleven Anthony Naders appear on the Internet database `WhoWhere', many of whom are no doubt called Tony. Dr. Tony Nader, president of Maharishi Open University, has numerous mentions on the Internet.

ALAN BROWNE a common personal name found in many telephone directories throughout the world. There are seven men called Alan Browne on the 2001 New Zealand electoral rolls (2.6 million people). The most well-known Alan Browne is probably the American bank consultant born in 1909 [Who's Who in America, 45th edition, 1988-89]

LA CAROLINA a town on the southern slopes of the Sierra Morena mountain range in Spain, 32 miles north of Jaen. First settled by Swabian colonists in 1769, La Carolina trades in minerals, oil and wine [WNGD].

IRIDOLINES plural of iridoline, an oily liquid compound derived from coal tar [Funk & Wagnalls New Standard Dictionary, 1963]. It has the molecular formula [C.sub.10][H.sub.9]N, the same as its isomer lepidine, the plural of which is shown in Web 3. Although no dictionary specifically lists iridolines, the Physical Sciences editor at Merriam-Webster states that a plural form is possible, a view supported by Dr. Trevor Kitson (see SPINACINES).

SINEWINESS the state or quality of being sinewy; firm strength, toughness [Web 3].

ETERNESSE variant of `eternness', a rare and obsolete synonym for `eternity'.

   "What impossible mixtures? Vice and vertue, Corruption and eternnesse, at
   one time" [OED, 1608 quotation from `The Conspiracie and Tragedie of
   Charles Duke of Byron' by George Chapman]

DYSSEASSES plural of dysseasse, a 16th-century spelling of the noun `disease' [OED]

JEFF GRANT
Hastings, New Zealand