If I have to solve OREO a billion times, you can solve a foreign brand

May 29, 2019 6:46 AM

Looking for non-US cultural references/words (English or otherwise) that can fit into my first crossword. Especially if it has to do with Asia, Oceania, Eurovision, or local names for countries.

So I'm in the middle of making my first crossword puzzle and I'm looking for suggestions of words to fill certain spaces in my grid (to maintain symmetry).

The idea is to bring in references from around the world, to combat the US-centrism of most crosswords I solve. If I have to spend time Googling random NFL teams and US congressmen, people can go look for cricket teams or Global South politicians! Alternatively, the words can be more general but the clues are localised (e.g. "CAT" for "what is the capital of Sarawak named for" - Kuching).

There's a chunk that are local languages of countries and there's storylines about Asia, Oceania, and Eurovision, so feel free to use those as inspiration. Names, brands, titles, acronyms, phrases (or part thereof) are all good, so long as it's easily Googleable.

WORDS I NEED TO FIT:

[_][_][_][_][_][_][_][A][_][_][_][_] (12 letters, A is 8th letter)

[*][_][_][_][E][_][_][_][_][_] (10 letters, E is 5th letter)

[*][_][_][L][_][_] (6 letters, L is 4th letter)

[L][_][O][_][_][I][_] (7 letters, L is 1st letter, O is 3rd letter, I is 6th letter)

[_][_][_][P][_][_] OR [_][_][T][_][_][_] (6 letters, either P is 4th letter or T is 3rd letter - this is because I can fit EFTPOS in either and need a word for the other)

[_][_][_][F] (4 letters, F is 4th letter)

The *s are because they share a letter, but feel free to suggest whatever first and I'll find a pair to use. Feel free to suggest other thematic words too and I'll see where I can put them.

posted by divabat to Writing & Language (18 answers total)

[*][_][_][_][E][_][_][_][_][_] (10 letters, E is 5th letter)
Hallelujah, by Gali Atari and Milk & Honey, 1979 Israeli Eurovision winner. Only time Israel have won twice in a row.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 7:09 AM on May 29, 2019

For your first one, BOLLAPRAGADA fits.
posted by moonmilk at 7:11 AM on May 29, 2019

Teff (last one) is the main ingredient in injera (Ethiopian and Eritrean flatbread)
posted by Mchelly at 7:38 AM on May 29, 2019 [2 favorites]

[_][_][T][_][_][_]

“Voting”, with the clue being “Europe, start ______ now!”, would be Eurovision-related and not that hard to Google (searching for “Europe start” now brings it up as a suggestion).
posted by sailoreagle at 7:47 AM on May 29, 2019 [1 favorite]

For [_][_][T][_][_][_]:

Bitters: Lemon, lime and ______, popular Australian drink
Attila: Model of scooter formerly manufactured by SYM

For [_][_][_][F] :

HKPF - Hong Kong Police Force
DELF - Certificate of basic French proficiency (there's also a DALF that's for a more advanced level than the DELF)
posted by mhum at 10:11 AM on May 29, 2019

For [L][_][O][_][_][I][_]:

Léo Pain: Season 7 Winner of The Voice Brasil
posted by mhum at 10:20 AM on May 29, 2019 [1 favorite]

For [_][_][_][P][_][_]:

Lumpia: a kind of spring roll popular in Indonesia and the Phllippines
Jaipur: capital city of the Indian state of Rajasthan (or, the former princely state).
Kalpak: a high-crowned cap worn throughout the Balkans and Central Asia
posted by mhum at 11:11 AM on May 29, 2019 [1 favorite]

I love this question.
posted by widdershins at 12:08 PM on May 29, 2019

For [*][_][_][L][_][_]: (sticking with initial "H" to match "Hallelujah" from EndsOfInvention)

Hoelun: Genghis Khan's mother
Henley: a suburb of Sydney
Hollie: _____ Smith, NZ singer-songwriter
posted by mhum at 12:14 PM on May 29, 2019

For [*][_][_][L][_][_]: (sticking with initial "H" to match "Hallelujah" from EndsOfInvention)

Hellas, the English transliteration of the Greek word for Greece.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 12:30 PM on May 29, 2019

For [*][_][_][_][E][_][_][_][_][_] :

Rutherford: Ken _____, NZ Cricketer known for his long nose
Clementine: former lead singer of Filipino band Orange & Lemons
Clémenceau: Martine _____, represented France in Eurovision in 1973
Hermelinda: _______ Linda, a Mexican comic book series starring an eponymous witch
posted by mhum at 1:00 PM on May 29, 2019 [1 favorite]

For [_][_][_][_][_][_][_][A][_][_][_][_]:

Toyotama-hime: daughter of the Japanese sea deity, Watasumi (aka Ryūjin).
Kota Kinabalu: capital city of the state of Salah in Malaysia, formerly known as Jesselton
Sonal Chauhan: Indian model & actress, currently starring in the Zee5 web series, "Skyfire"
Wanbi Tuấn Anh: Vietnamese pop star, died in 2009 at age 26 due to a brain tumor
posted by mhum at 2:38 PM on May 29, 2019

One more for [L][_][O][_][_][I][_]:

Lion Air: airline based out of Jakarta
posted by mhum at 3:56 PM on May 29, 2019

[_][_][T][_][_][_]
Astana: The former name of the captial city of Kazakhstan
posted by cholly at 5:26 PM on May 29, 2019 [1 favorite]

[_][_][_][P][_][_] Saipan (Northern Marianas island in U.S. commonwealth)
[*][_][_][L][_][_] Laulau (Hawaiian traditional food)
posted by spamandkimchi at 5:31 PM on May 29, 2019

[_][_][_][_][_][_][_][A][_][_][_][_]
Anuradhapura: one of the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka
posted by cholly at 5:33 PM on May 29, 2019

[*][_][_][_][E][_][_][_][_][_] Canoe Plant (category of introduced plants by Polynesians to Hawaiian islands, such as taro, coconut and sweet potato)
posted by spamandkimchi at 5:42 PM on May 29, 2019

OOH and if you ignore the ‘okina,
Liliʻuokalani (Hawaiian queen)
[_][_][_][_][_][_][_][A][_][_][_][_] (12 letters, A is 8th letter)
posted by spamandkimchi at 5:44 PM on May 29, 2019