Choice Words

a cryptic puzzle by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon

In this puzzle, whenever the word OR occurs in an answer, solvers are asked to choose the letter before or after OR for entry in the diagram. OR and the un-chosen letter are omitted: for example, CROSSWORD would be entered CROSSW or CROSSD. Fifteen such choices occur in the puzzle. The fifteen letters chosen for entry will always occur at the intersection of an Across and a Down; the fifteen letters not chosen will spell, in the order of their clue numbers with Acrosses preceding Downs, the name of a choice literary work. Answers include five proper nouns.

Across

  • 1.
    Bottom fish circles island (5)
  • 5.
    Jokes about rate of progress in NASA installations (10)
  • 10.
    A farm animal Eliot charms (7)
  • 11.
    For audience, pen tune (7)
  • 12.
    Paul Newman movie keeps a greater number amused (7)
  • 13.
    Woodcutter trips a wire tirelessly? (6)
  • 14.
    Bowl for Spanish bell (9)
  • 16.
    African dimwit keeps carbon copy with article (8)
  • 17.
    Document about rent erased (7)
  • 19.
    Foreign cars tour with a tribe of Indians (9)
  • 22.
    Remedy aboard steamship for tanker mishaps (6)
  • 25.
    Figure out about British lighter: (7)
  • 27.
    Radar signal nabs military aircraft (5)
  • 29.
    Fourteen lines in French are describing New England (6)
  • 31.
    After a party, share love (9)
  • 32.
    Made a subordinate study of rock-filled object (7)
  • 33.
    Sing jazz run? (4)
  • 34.
    A ruler's strangely depicted by Arp? (7)
  • 35.
    Pushes heroin in cartels (7)
  • 36.
    Impudent talk about ends of Series (5)

Down

  • 1.
    Bachelor owns about a thousand islands (7)
  • 2.
    Arrange us a room for loving (7)
  • 3.
    Southern French writer raised poisonous plants (6)
  • 4.
    Original impression takes half minute (7)
  • 5.
    Laurel's covering dead bears (6)
  • 6.
    Gershwin lifted the Spanish spirit (5)
  • 7.
    Bridge player in festival missing lead (4)
  • 8.
    Top gold around large mesa (7)
  • 9.
    Stitched writer's initial into issue (5)
  • 14.
    Rob plates, bats, and stuff you can carry (9)
  • 15.
    Effect of uranium left in shelter (6)
  • 18.
    Turn a church green (7)
  • 20.
    Hoists a superb convertible (7)
  • 21.
    Changed Lord Peter Wimsey's ending, we hear (10)
  • 23.
    Total a Reagan soldier turned over for dope (9)
  • 24.
    Woods in rural circle rise strangely 9) (9)
  • 25.
    Trees surrounding California outlook (8)
  • 26.
    Catcalls about King's first volumes (5)
  • 28.
    Navigation aid finally helps sailor (4)
  • 30.
    Women found in Spanish lands and not in seas (7)