Crossword Genius

Bells across the meadow? (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

tents

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'bells' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both man-made objects as well as being plural nouns.
Maybe you can see a link between them that I don't see?

'across the meadow?' is the wordplay.
'across' indicates putting letters inside.
'the' becomes 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects).
'meadow?' becomes 'tens' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
't' inserted inside 'tens' is 'TENTS'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for tents that I've seen before include "Canvas shelters" , "Temporary shelters" , "Portable shelters" , "Accommodation" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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