| C | O | I | F | S | I | P | A | S | S | A | H | A | B | A | L | P | O | |||
| U | B | O | L | T | W | A | S | A | T | P | A | C | E | P | O | O | H | |||
| P | O | W | E | R | C | O | U | P | L | E | B | I | R | D | B | R | A | I | N | |
| S | E | A | A | I | R | L | I | A | R | S | R | E | E | L | N | N | E | |||
| V | A | R | C | A | N | O | E | L | I | O | T | T | A | |||||||
| C | A | B | L | E | G | U | Y | M | O | U | N | T | A | I | N | G | O | A | T | |
| H | U | R | O | N | N | I | B | P | R | E | V | A | I | L | ||||||
| O | T | I | C | A | S | P | E | N | S | O | R | E | S | A | S | S | Y | |||
| M | O | T | I | O | N | D | E | T | E | C | T | O | R | L | O | W | S | |||
| P | T | A | M | O | E | S | G | A | I | T | E | R | G | A | V | E | L | |||
| U | N | M | A | D | E | P | A | R | E | S | O | N | E | S | I | E | ||||
| A | N | N | A | N | P | A | R | T | E | D | O | M | E | N | E | T | C | |||
| N | E | I | N | S | E | E | D | Y | C | H | A | R | A | C | T | E | R | |||
| T | R | A | C | E | O | K | S | Y | E | S | A | N | D | L | E | N | A | |||
| A | M | O | R | O | S | O | A | R | T | C | U | R | E | S | ||||||
| D | R | I | V | I | N | G | F | O | R | C | E | A | I | R | H | E | A | D | S | |
| R | E | M | E | N | D | N | E | E | D | S | C | O | E | |||||||
| U | G | H | E | A | R | L | O | R | I | N | G | T | W | I | S | T | S | |||
| D | R | E | A | M | T | E | A | M | S | T | A | R | W | I | T | N | E | S | S | |
| G | E | R | M | E | A | V | E | E | E | R | I | E | O | R | G | A | N | |||
| E | T | E | S | S | L | A | T | I | D | E | S | T | Y | E | A | R | S |
This puzzle was inspired by my favorite mathematician, Emmy Noether. Noether was a brilliant algebraist who became particularly well known for her work with rings. One day, the particularly funny thought popped into my mind that she could aptly be described as a RING LEADER or even a RING MASTER. This led me down the garden path of other famous historical thinkers that might be humorously described in other ways. I hope this puzzle makes you chuckle!
I'm enormously grateful to my mentor, the wonderful editor Christina Iverson. She supported my efforts on this puzzle from start to finish — without her, this puzzle wouldn't exist. Thank you, Christina!
I've been so grateful to the crossword constructor community over the years — many of my happiest moments in life have involved a coffee in one hand and a crossword in the other. It's such a delight to join the ranks and contribute a puzzle of my own. Happy solving!