Democracy Dies in Darkness
Crosswords

Solution to Evan Birnholz’s May 19 crossword, ‘Bowl Game’

A metapuzzle with some secret ingredients.

Analysis by
Crosswords
May 19, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. EDT
The filled grid to the May 19, 2024, crossword, “Bowl Game” (Evan Birnholz/for The Washington Post)

We’ve had a mini-spate of metapuzzles recently, with two in three weeks. This one says we’re looking for a two-word phrase. The theme answers stick out as utterly bizarre phrases:

  • 19A: [Headline noting that a Canadian politician was reelected, thus extending their tenure at Parliament Hill?] is OTTAWA TERM ELONGATED.
  • 29A: [Swimming venue that’s familiar to me?] is POOL I’VE SEEN.
  • 40A: [“Mr. Paisley has some reservations”?] is “BRAD IS HESITANT.”
  • 53A: [Holy hardships?] is SACRED ILLS.
  • 66A: [Twangy-sounding abbey figure?] is NASAL MONK.
  • 75A: [Classroom session led by “Rent” actor Anthony?] is RAPP LESSON.
  • 88A: [“In that case … how could you betray me, Ms. Dion?!”?] is “WELL ET TU CELINE?!”
  • 102A: [Chaos lover?] is HAVOC ADORER.
  • 112a: [Caribbean archipelago resident’s information?] is ADDRESS IN GUADELOUPE.

These aren’t puns where you easily tell which original phrases they’re based on; they’re seemingly random mashups of words that make no sense. Whenever you have a meta based on such nonsense phrases, it’s good to ask yourself why the theme answers are constructed the way they are. Maybe the phrases hide some important letters … or entire words. Look closely at them: They hide food items, specifically ingredients in a salad bowl: