h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

DUST or ASHES

Well spotted!

The rule was the words can be used to form adjectives / adverbs in the format X-to-X, eg

coast-to-coast walk,
door-to-door salesman
seeing eye-to-eye

I'm not sure 'ashes to ashes' and 'dust to dust' are quite the same (they're not separately listed in the dictionary, for one thing), but they're common enough phrases to illustrate the structure.


Scoreboard:

Dr St Justin
SashaQ

Clever, you folk!

Damn!

That was a good one. I was stuck on them all being combined with GUARD.


You don't realize how many types of guard there are. Several most of those do work even if some are rather arcane. (There's a brand of lubricant called "Reel Guard" for fishing reels.)

Thank you

Congratulations to Dr St Justin

I had only a very vague idea of what the pattern was, so I was still pondering after the surprise of getting one right

Well done Dr St Justin, who I haven't seen around in a long time.

Nice puzzle! Had me utterly foxed.

Me too.

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust" is part of the Anglican burial service, said as earth is scattered on the coffin once it's lowered in the grave.

It always struck me as quite an odd thing to say. Yes, we arose from the Earth and will return to it, but isn't the religion all about the everlasting life (or eternal damnation, for that matter)?

I never was too fond of Thomas Cranmer.

Well, it refers to Genesis 3:19. "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."

There's not much about an afterlife in the Old Testament.

"What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?" (Psalm 30)

Ah, but the oldest book in the Bible is Job.

'For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:

And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.' Job 19:25-26

Job is the exception in many respects. It is the only OT book to discuss the nature of God at all. It is also by general acclamation the best book in the bible, and Revelation is the worst.

The bible's a choice compilation
Of tales for our edification.
Our lessons begin
With original sin
And progress to eternal damnation.

I prefer Robert Heinlein's Book of Job.

I don't know that one. I'm very fond of Friedrich Buechner's 'Son of Laughter', which is a great story about Isaac...quite funny, too.