KJ
Scotland
I was a little bit gutted to find that 25A wasn’t neep but ROOT. In Scotland, neep and turnip are synonymous* names for rutabaga, and for a moment it was thrilling to see this recognised in the NYT! Alas. It would’ve been fitting for October, time to start gutting your neeps for jack o’lanterns, the harder to carve and more horrifying precursor to the pumpkin version. *Yes, I know this doesn’t track to botanical nomenclature, don’t come at me
@Jane Wheelaghan Americans use “ARE YOU GOOD/I’m good” in informal language and to indicate friendliness via familiarity. “I’m fine” is still used in more formal American language. To my ear ALRIGHT and all right are used similarly in the UK, eg “alright pal?” on the street vs “are you all right?” in the office. No doubt that’s regional. But, either one would be taken by an American as an expression of concern rather than a greeting!
@Rich in Atlanta thank you for that! I’ll take my four thrills then. Yes, turnip was in the clue, as was rutabaga. Afaik the three words are only synonymous in Scotland, not in the rest of the UK or the US, and especially with neep being a Scots word there would’ve been a signifier for a foreign language or dialect. It was temporarily nice to feel represented though :)
@G yes, the turnip-neep convergence can get confusing! In the rest of the UK, swede is used for rutabaga, and turnip is the same as in the US. At a Scottish TESCO rutabagas will be labeled swedes or neeps and the non-neep turnips will be a white turnip or a salad turnip. But, in everyday Scottish English “turnip” means neep/rutabaga. I looked for an example of a Scottish carved turnip, and found these from Ireland, where it seems the usage is the same. Judge the degree of horror for yourself <a href="https://ridiculouslyinteresting.com/2022/01/15/terrifying-turnips" target="_blank">https://ridiculouslyinteresting.com/2022/01/15/terrifying-turnips</a>/
A WIT and a card can both mean someone who’s fun at a party
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