Monday, September 17, 2007
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Puzzle by Sarah Keller, edited by Will Shortz
Four bell ringers -- AVON (1A With 68-Across, bell ringer) LADY (68A See 1-Across); CHURCHWARDEN (20A Bell ringer); PERCUSSIONIST (37A Bell ringer); and BICYCLERIDER (54A Bell ringer) -- are the inter-related entries of this back-to-work Monday crossword puzzle from Sarah Keller, who constructed the puzzle that appeared this past Labor Day .
Opening the week, Sunday’s church bells still ringing in the ears, along with the sermon from that fellow who loves to ORATE (9DA Speechify) -- “Lord, ISITI?” (66A); HERESY (49D Religious dissent); NOTRE Dame (4D); MICAH (63A Book after Jonah); RITE (35D Baptism or bar mitzvah); and an IDLE (5A Doing nothing) NERO (64A Emperor who reputedly fiddled while Rome burned).
Perhaps EROS (65A God of love) brought DICIER (34A Less certain) weekend activities with which to OBSESS (9D Dwell [on]), such as a DREAMBOAT (34D Heartthrob) crossing an OLDMAID (50A Kids’ game involving an unwanted card); or a ROUNDTRIP (10D Point A to point B) cut through with YESDEAR (24A Spouse’s meek agreement) on a HIKE (41A Go backpacking) to the mall.
Or was it sports -- SIS boom bah (59D); cool-head TED (12D Slugger Williams); VIDA (29A Cy Young Award winner Blue); BOXER (16A Pugilist); ERNIE (52A With 28-Across, winner of golf’s 1997 U.S. Open) ELS (28A See 52-Across) that kept you in your CAVE (18A Grotto) or ESTATE (33A Home that may have a live-in butler) watching HBO (41D “Curb Your Enthusiasm” airer), or a rerun with “Bewitched” witch ENDORA (47D).
Scouring the news for a HOTTIP (42A Inside info for an investor, maybe), or reading AESOP (32A Greek fabulist) to the little ones about the DISH (31A One running away with a spoon, in a children’s rhyme) , or the BLEATS (43A Sheep’s cries) of the sheep of Little Bo Beep, or that other one, Mary of LORE (56D Stories passed down through generations).
Perchance you watched an old western with APACHE (1D Geronimo’s tribe) Going ATIT (26D) with CREE (55D Native Canadian); or OTO (39D Palindromic tribe name) -- oh, and speaking of palindromes -- “Able was I ERE I saw Elba” (13D) -- “California, HEREI Come” sez the Forty NINER [gold rush participant] (40D) where a DRAW (6D Sketch) could mean DYING (51D Faulkner’s “As I Lay ____”) in a pool of GORE (62A Al or Tipper) -- ruing not learning TAICHI (44D Chinese martial art) or commanding REN (27D Stimpy’s cartoon pal) to “SIC ’em!” (45D).
It OCCURS (3D Happens) we had a little music: SUEDE (19A Material for Elvis’s blue shoes); DEE (22D Joey with the Starliters); Pop music’s Bee GEES (67A). Well, that’s all I’ve got-- nothing to say about PACO, VACHEL, CIVIC, ETH, the little trio of SIC, SCI, SIS, or RIGEL (53A Star in Orion) and ENOS (57D 1961 space chimp), much less ASSOC, ACCT, EAUS, EMERY LAVA, EKED, PILL, TIEROD, TRAM and ITCH. So, like a PEON to work (46D Unskilled laborer), with bells and whistles, I’m off!
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lllustrations: 1 Carillon in cupola of Royal Palace in Amsterdam consists of thirty-seven bells cast in 1664 by François and Pieter Hemony. 2. Piscatorial Percussionist by artist James C Christensen. 3. Margaret Hamilton as Miss Gulch in “The Wizard of Oz”. 4. Oldest bell of the peal of six at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican is the della Rota ("of the wheel"). Cast sometime before 1354, it is one of the few archaic bells still in regular use in Europe.
The New York Times Crossword Puzzle solution above is by the author of this blog and does not guarantee accuracy. If you find errors or omissions, you are more than welcome to make note of same in the Comments section of this post -- any corrections found necessary will be executed promptly upon verification.
Puzzle available on the internet at
THE NEW YORK TIMES -- Crossword Puzzles and Games
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