DO RE ME
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Puzzle by Roger Wolff, edited by Will Shortz
DEERAFEMALEDEER (17a Doe, in song), DROPOFGOLDENSUN (36A Ray, in song), NAMEICALLMYSELF (55A Me, in song) with EDELWEISS (11D Alpine flower), GERMANY (35D 1990 Reunification site), and DOREMI (43A Money, slangily) leave little doubt about this puzzle's main thrust.
The Sound Of Music Do-Re-Mi (Maria And The Children) Lyrics
"Doe, a deer, a female deer
Ray, a drop of golden sun
Me, a name I call myself
Far, a long, long way to run
Sew, a needle pulling thread
La, a note to follow Sew
Tea, a drink with jam and bread
That will bring us back to Do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-
Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti
Do . . . So Do Re . . . La Fa Mi . . . Mi
Do Fa . . . Re So . . . So Do La . . . La Fa Ti . . . La So Fa
Mi Re Ti
Do - oh - oh
Ti Do -- So Do"
Cheerful? -- Think again!
This little Tuesday monster has a sinister underside -- ROTTENIDEA (15A Idea that stinks), AWASH (5A Covered with water), BRINE (22A Pickle juice), TRIPE (46A Nonesense), ONETWO (54a Boxing Combo), SMEE (60A "Peter Pan" pirate) OMANI (62A Muscat-eer?) sharing it's "i" with OMNI (54D Prefix with potent), THIS (46D "Don't breathe a word of ____"), LURE (38D Bait), DISARM (43D Drop one's weapon), ROBOCOP (23D 1987 sci-fi film set in near-future Detroit), POLICEMAN (32D One dressed in blue), PRONE (31D Lying facedown), KIDD (10D William the pirate), EATUP (25D Eagerly devour), STALIN (8D Red star?), PIT (37D Cockfight area), HADES (1D Pluto's alias) and WOE (6D Misery) -- all lurking in the shadows of joy!
This puzzle is rich with etymological imagery and rife with memories of the past and future, calling to mind the U.S. Open, Ivan Lendl, Pittsburgh, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (left over from yesterday's puzzle), General Motors, Moline,_Illinois, Peter Pan, Reese Witherspoon, Helen of Troy, William Kidd, Humphrey Bogart, Pinky Lee and Peggy Lee, the Gin Blossoms, Elena Verdugo, Rocco Mediate, Muhammed Ali, Len Deighton, Ted Turner, Joseph Stalin and the Devil Himself.
To read more about this terrific little Tuesday terror, check out the following:
Madness...Crossword and Otherwise
Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle
Diary of a Crossword Fiend
For today’s cartoon, go to The Crossword Puzzle Illustrated.
Click here for original post with illustrations and puzzle grid.
