06.25.10 — I Do...

The Bride and Groom of the Eiffel Tower, 1939, Marc Chagall

In our life there is a single colour, as on an artist's palette, which provides the meaning of life and art. It is the colour of love" - Marc Chagall

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Friday, June 25, 2010

Puzzle by Robin Schulman and Byron Walden, edited by Will Shortz

I DO in five single squares — IDO IDO IDO IDO IDO (34A. Abba hit of 1976) and I DO in four more squares in the grid constitutes the interrelated group of this brilliantly festive Friday crossword. Wordplay, the New York Times Crossword Blog, reports an insider acrostic message — BYRON AND ROBIN TODAY WILL BE SAYING I DO, via the starting letters of each Across clue. For a photograph of the couple (with an adorable dog), an interview and more information with Jim Horne’s assessment — HERE.

The corresponding downs to I DO, I DO, I DO, I DO, I DO — PLAC[IDO] (20D. Spanish man’s name that means “peaceful”), PA[ID O]FF (26D. Bribed), IS[IDO]RA (27D. George Sand title heroine), SK[I-DO]OS (28A. Some snowmobiles) and [I DO]TTER (35D. Punctilious type, slangily).

The remaining four squares containing I DO produce LIB[IDO]S (3D. Teen drivers?) crossing TV [IDO]L (19A. Davy Jones or any other Monkee); MA[ID O]F HONOR (11D. Shower holder) crossing DIDGER[IDO]OS (18A. Native Australian winds), hear one HERE; SA[ID O]K TO (39D. Accepted) crossing CHIL[I DO]G (45A. Ballpark fare); and PER[IDO]T (49d. Birthstone for most Leos) crossing HUM[IDO]R (59A. Good place for a smoke).

Other — ATE KOSHER (51A. Shunned shellfish, say), FROTHERS (40A. Implements in a coffee shop), I PURITANI (31D. Bellini opera set in the English Civil War), LODESTARS (15A. Navigational reference points), PASSED OFF (20A. Relayed to), PLANT FOOD (56A. You might get it at a nursery), PONTOONED (58A. Nautically equipped, in a way), PROFANERS (12D. Sacrilegious types), WINE CASK (30A. Tun), WORTH A LOT (30D. Dear).

Mid-size — ALEVE, ALIAS, AMITY, AS AM I (48D. “Same here“), ASNER, ATRIA, ATROPOS (10D. Mythological thread-cutter), BEGET, ERRATUM (42D. Slip), ENRAPT (47A. Engaged, and then some), FASTER, GO FOR, NO ONE, OKAPIS (25A. Inhabitants of central African rain forests), PALPS (1A. Bug detection devices), PART V, PAULSON (4D. Geithner’s predecessor at Treasury), REBUT, SEDONA (16D. Red Rock State Park location), SILENT R (38D. February 4th, to some?), STARR (57A. “It Don’t Come Easy” singer, 1971), TARRY, TOP HAT (23A. Bowler alternative), TRUSS and VESSEL.

Short stuff — ADDS, ALDA, AMPM, ARAB, ASEA, EDDY, EKE, HEN (41D. Chick magnet?), HOES, MSS, ORR, PPS and SST (Bird” with a flexible nose), Gateau des ROIS (Mardi Gras dessert), “Dawn of the ROSY fingers …” : The Odyssey (at the very beginning of Odysseus' journey, the "rosy-fingered Dawn" is referenced, an image of youth and a fresh beginning for whatever is to come); SHA, SONO, SOP, STAC, STIR, TERR.

Love me or leave me, make your choice but believe me

I love you

I do, I do, I do, I do, I do

I can't conceal it, don't you see, can't you feel it

Don't you too

I do, I do, I do, I do, I do

Oh, I've been dreaming through my lonely past

Now I just made it, I found you at last

So come on, now let's try it, I love you, can't deny it

'Cos it's true

I do, I do, I do, I do, I do

Oh, no hard feelings between you and me

If we can't make it, but just wait and see

So come on now, let's try it, I love you, can't deny it

'Cos it's true

I do, I do, I do, I do, I do

So love me or leave me, make your choice but believe me

I love you

I do, I do, I do, I do, I do

I can't conceal it, don't you see, can't you feel it

Don't you too

I do, I do, I do, I do, I do

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Click on image to enlarge.

Puzzle available on the internet at

THE NEW YORK TIMES — Crossword Puzzles and Games.

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Remaining clues — ACROSS: 6. Yemeni, for one; 10. Red indication on a clock radio; 14. O. Henry, e.g.; 17. Answer; 21. Oiler or liner; 29. Nary a soul; 33. Drench; 36. Yossarian’s tentmate in “Catch-22”; 37. Wooden or metal framework; 55. Aboard a 21-Across, maybe; 60. Incite; 62. Opposite of hatred. DOWN: 1. Final section of T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land”; 2. Brand with the slogan “All Day Strong”; 6. “Crimes and Misdemeanors” actor, 1989; 8. Kicks in; 9. Spawn; 13. Freelance output: Abbr.; 22. Just get (by); 24. Can.’s Northwest ___; 33. Short and disconnected: Abbr.; 46. Fetch; 50. Be a slowpoke; 52. “I am,” in Italy; 53. They might break up a plot; 54. Turning point?; 56. “Also, I almost forgot …”: Abbr.; 57. Doo-wop syllable.