Patois Crossword

Grand · Medium · No. 20:00

Patois Crossword: Grand · Medium · No. 2

A medium grand Patois crossword with 45 clues. Every answer is a real Jamaican Patois word from the dictionary, and each links to its entry when you finish. Medium: A wider vocabulary. Clues are the meaning, and you can have wrong letters marked but never shown the answer.

Across

  1. 1 A swamp or wetland (6)
  2. 4 Chatting or half-singing rhythmically over a riddim (8)
  3. 8 A close friend, companion, or running partner — one of your tight-knit circle (7)
  4. 10 The wooden pounding bowl, used with a 'pestle' (6)
  5. 11 Jamaica's traditional formal set-dance (9)
  6. 12 Cooked or ground provisions — but in Patois it stretches beyond the plate (4)
  7. 13 Marks location and existence — roughly 'there', 'is at', or 'to be somewhere' (3)
  8. 14 Two nearly opposite things, told apart by tone (6)
  9. 15 The man at a bus or taxi park whose job is to 'load' the vehicles (5)
  10. 17 A traditional Jamaican dance and celebration (8)
  11. 19 The biggest festive season of the Jamaican year (9)
  12. 23 A wind instrument made from a cow's horn (5)
  13. 24 A small amount of money (6)
  14. 26 A wild, sprawling bitter vine (7)
  15. 27 Flashy, showy jewellery (5)
  16. 29 Wind of any strength (6)
  17. 30 In Patois, '____' means the whole leg — from hip to toe (4)
  18. 31 Here, this place — the everyday word for 'here', as in 'come ____' (3)
  19. 32 The famous brand of aged, golden Jamaican rum from the ____ in St Elizabeth's Nassau Valley (8)
  20. 33 An affectionate term for a serious, committed girlfriend or wife (5)
  21. 34 Water — the Patois pronunciation of 'water', with the vowel opened out (5)
  22. 36 Allspice — the dried berry of the ____ tree (7)
  23. 38 The light of the moon, and by extension a bright moonlit night (9)
  24. 39 Excellent, exciting, or top-quality (5)

Down

  1. 1 Salted or tinned ____ (8)
  2. 2 Money — from the ____ banknotes it comes in (5)
  3. 3 A flat, round flatbread made from grated cassava (5)
  4. 4 Snobbish, uppity, and high-society — stuck-up and putting on grand, upper-class airs (9)
  5. 5 The sapodilla — a small, round, rough brown-skinned fruit with sweet, soft, grainy brown flesh (9)
  6. 6 A ____ — the great tropical storm that Jamaica braces for each season (9)
  7. 7 The porch or covered gallery running along the front or side of a Jamaican house (8)
  8. 9 A man's sleeveless vest or singlet worn as an undershirt (6)
  9. 12 Abroad — any country outside Jamaica, and above all the United States, Britain, and Canada (6)
  10. 16 A stinging wasp, feared for its painful sting (9)
  11. 18 A tank, drum, or built cistern (9)
  12. 19 Covetous, greedy, and grasping (8)
  13. 20 A public statement in church of what God has done for you (9)
  14. 21 Shoes with soft ____ (raw-rubber) soles (5)
  15. 22 An underskirt or slip worn beneath a dress or skirt to line (9)
  16. 25 A deep-red drink brewed from the dried calyces (6)
  17. 27 The oppressive establishment (7)
  18. 28 An inner-city community that votes solidly for one political party and is controlled (8)
  19. 34 A multi-purpose question and linking word — 'where', 'what', or the relative 'that/which/who' (3)
  20. 35 To take — in the full range of English senses (3)
  21. 37 One of the busiest little words in Patois, doing several jobs (3)

Where the words come from

Every answer is an entry in the Patois dictionary. This puzzle draws on: Actions & Verbs, Affection, Love & Romance, Animals, Plants & Nature, Body, Health & Appearance, Clothing & Style, Culture, Heritage & History, Dance, Party & Celebration, Descriptions & Emotions, Grammar & Function Words, Money, Work & Business, Music, Reggae & Dancehall, People & Relationships, Places & Directions, Rastafari & Iyaric, Superstition, Folklore & Spirituality, Transport & Travel. When you finish, each answer shows its meaning, its pronunciation and an example sentence.

The number in brackets after a clue is the length of the answer, and (3,5) means two words of three and five letters, typed with no space. Patois has no single spelling, so if you type another spelling the dictionary records, it counts.

More to play

Back to all Patois crosswords, try the daily word game Guess Di Word, or take a Patois quiz. You can print this puzzle from your browser's print menu.