A few rough entries in here so downs-only solving is not recommended and Googling is encouraged. Better cluing angles and feedback appreciated. Enjoy! Photo by Nik Owens on Unsplash.
Definitely your toughest grid! Lots of savory fill, as always (not just because of the theme). I'm confused by 10A: I always thought the acronym was EMEIA, and middle India isn't something I'd seen before. Or is that what your wut meant?
10A was completely inexcusable glue that defeated me. My "joke" (if one can call it that) is that the conventional acronym is EMEIA as you said, and my entry was not quite the same. Perhaps I should have just said "EMIEA" as the clue and given up!
Mama 🤓13:29 · 2024-06-20T17:40:57.079Z
You’re totally wrong about 11A but totally right about 19D. 18D seems plausible, though, since I quite liked pepperoni and banana in Iceland of all places.
That's (another) great thing about 4A — everyone can top theirs to their own taste! The issue with 18D (from what I read) is avoiding overly wet toppings — it seems like it works better with green, firm, drier 18D than the sweet, ripe, yellow ones we tend to demolish on their own. (And banana peppers I have heard of and enjoyed, but never bananas! How ripe were they?)
Thank you for the kind words and the specific feedback! For what it’s worth I think 6D is not such common lingo for people in the USA either, even if the object itself is more familiar. Yet another case where I was beguiled by a tenuous theme connection & made it unduly difficult!