I recently got back from an amazing three-week holiday in Australia and New Zealand. This puzzle celebrates Australia; next week it's New Zealand's turn.
Jeff Linder
JeffsPuzzles.com
PuffinlessTravel.com
It-Could-Be-Verse.com
G'day! Vegemite isn't so bad, mate - dilute it with some butter if you're not a true blue, ridgy-didge battler and it'll be bonza. Thanks for visiting!
A first draft even had Quokkas, but the fill was seriously compromised. I was shocked about the camels also but they seem to be happy transplants (or as happy as a camel gets, which I don't think is very).
Apt rhyme for fled (as in "I ___ away from the Vegemite-covered toast")
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
Orizzontali
1A
Apt rhyme for fled (as in "I ___ away from the Vegemite-covered toast")
5A
"La ___" (progeny of Spanish and indigenous peoples in Mexico; it loosely means "the People," not "the Race")
9A
One of around one million feral, humped, non-indigenous mammals in the Australian desert
11A
I will need to drink several of these bitter brews before next tasting Vegemite
12A
Beer from Shmaltz Brewing Company
14A
Romance novelist Roberts
15A
Emu ___ (1932 Australian conflict won by the emus)
16A
How you can't fly to Australia from the east coast of the United States
18A
Actress Taylor-Joy
20A
Degree for Shaq
21A
The ____ (much of Australia)
24A
Aunt (Sp.)
25A
Middle-eastern eye makeup or one-time midwestern senator (and Bucks owner) Herb
28A
Seacrest and Strahan, for two
32A
One-time source of Triptiks
33A
Some Australian mammals, for short
34A
Soviet leader/mass murderer
36A
On
37A
Inland taipan, e.g. (one of Australia's one hundred or so species of poisonous reptiles)
38A
Puzzle with a puzzle
39A
Taiwanese computer brand
Verticali
1D
The last syllable of "Australia," in the International Phonetic Alphabet
2D
Song of praise (ironically, it's prounounced kind of like a bathroom activity, which reminds me of a joke: If you're American outside the bathroom, what are you inside?)
3D
Joey at birth, essentially
4D
___ Spiegel
5D
Turn a place over looking for loot
6D
Much
7D
Number of mass shootings in Australia in 2023 (and in most years since 1996, when the right-wing government of this nation of proud freedom-lovers imposed stringent gun ownership restrictions following a tragic shooting in Tasmania). Imagine a place where parents don't have to worry about their kids being shot at school!
8D
Stat! equivalent, as in "get that vegemite away from me ____!"
10D
___ Goodman (late Dancing with the Stars fixture)
13D
Cute Australian marsupials, as long as you don't get near them
17D
Shaq's league
19D
Place to pamper your Porsche (or your 2013 Nissan Altima and 2009 Ford Escape, in my case)
22D
"___ the season"
23D
Cute Australian marsupials that sleep 20 hours a day