Teresa Carioti

In offering my opinion on the clue for which the answer is 'ziti', in no way did I mean or want to criticize or offend the constructor. I was trying merely to elucidate the answer word. This word is used in Sicily, Calabria, Basilicata, but probably no farther north than the Campagna region. Each Italian region has its own dialect, influenced by Italian itself and other languages. Anyway, I did not mean to stir up confusion and debate, and certainly did not want the dear readers and crossword constructor to argue or be offended in anyway. I do thank , however, those of you who understood my intention. We are all passionate about puzzles, but in the end they are games. BTW, am Italian by birth but have spent 62 years in this country, my home. 🌻

I am not sure about the definition of the Sothern Italian word ziti. It is masculine plural meaning either betrothed men, lovers, grooms , or newly married men. Being masculine plural, it also means the betrothed male/female, the male/female lovers, the bride/groom couple or the newly married male/female couple. The masculine singular is Zito. The feminine singular is Zita, and feminine plural is Zite. This means a betrothed female, a female lover, a bride, or a newly married female. There is, to my knowledge, no usage of Ziti as "brides". This word is used in the dialects of Southern Italy, and has regional usage nuances. In the context of pasta, the words zita and ziti refer to the tubular pasta with which we are familiar. The bride would traditionally make "ziti" for her spouse. But ziti, in terms of pasta or gender, does not refer to brides: for brides, the word would be zite.

Re: Friday's puzzle SOLITARY: antisocial? I find this somewhat disturbing.