crossword 3:48
meta -1:30 

whats up and welcome to episode #753 of matt gaffney’s weekly crossword contest, “Global Search”. i solved this week 1 puzzle with out the directions, and it was not very tough. what are the theme solutions?

• {One of about 750 eateries within the US} QDOBA RESTAURANT.
• {Rulers of China from 1636-1912} QING DYNASTY. aka the manchu dynasty, however that didn’t match.
• {Bed, Bath & Beyond purchases (sure, that is what they really name them)} Q-TIP HOLDERS. i didn’t know this was a factor outdoors of, like, physician’s workplaces.
• {Most of you’re fixing this crossword on these} QWERTY KEYBOARDS. not me! within the first place, i print the puzzle out and resolve it on paper each week; within the second place, i exploit the dvorak keyboard format. i suppose matt in all probability is aware of the relative variety of his subscribers who obtain the pdf and .puz variations of the puzzle, however i’m wondering what number of of these persons are fixing on a cell system with out a keyboard connected.

anyway, all 4 of those start with a Q not adopted by U; the title means that we’re maybe on the lookout for the identify of a rustic, which is confirmed by the clue for 63a IRAQ: {The meta reply is NOT this nation, look extra carefully (it’s not Mozambique both, come on!)}. so the reply have to be QATAR, the host nation of the boys’s world cup, kicking off in below a fortnight. there’s somewhat nod to the match at 64a {It will arrange many a goal-scoring header this month} CROSS, which … effectively, positive. i suppose that’s not essentially in regards to the world cup, since skilled gamers around the globe are smack-dab in the course of their membership seasons (besides in MLS, which simply concluded its season). so gamers have been, and can proceed to be, crossing and heading this month proper up till the eve of the world cup anyway.

different clues that caught my eye:

• {Reiner who directed “The Story of Us,” during which Michelle Pfeiffer performs a crossword puzzle constructor} ROB. i’ve by no means seen that film and that i didn’t assume i knew that crossword reality. it’s not talked about on the film’s wikipedia web page. i did some googling and located little or no about it, apart from this web page (which was fairly a shock to me proper off the highest). “There is no evidence, however, to suggest that Ms Pfeiffer is a crossword constructor in real life.”
• {First identify of 80% of all working actresses (I’m guessing)} EMMA. thompson, stone, watson, roberts, and apparently michelle pfeiffer. okay, the mathematics checks out.
• {Oft-described “Swedish Supergroup” however it seems that one in every of them (Anni-Frid) is definitely Norwegian (what?!)} ABBA. alas, neither sweden nor norway will likely be that includes within the males’s world cup. (each have certified for the 2023 ladies’s world cup.) it’ll be a disgrace if erling haaland by no means will get to play in a world cup.
• {Acting guru Hagen} UTA. uh oh, there goes our math. higher discover 4 extra emmas. oh wait, no, uta hagen died in 2004 so she’s not a working actress. phew.
• {“___ of God” (1985 Jane Fonda film set in Quebec)} AGNES. oops, jane fonda continues to be a working actress, as she was in gracie and frankie, which led to april 2022.
• {English chess grandmaster Matthew whose ancestors might have made seats for equestrians (I can’t verify this)} SADLER. i examine this man a short time in the past. attention-grabbing profession—he was a prime participant in his youth and received the british championship at age 21 and a number of other different excessive finishes within the Nineteen Nineties. then he took the 2000s off from match play, shifting to the netherlands and dealing as an IT skilled. he got here again in 2010 as an “amateur”, and has had some sturdy outcomes and climbed again up into the highest 100. i’m glad there are tales of people that have discovered some form of work/life stability at excessive ranges of chess.
• {Animal that feels like you possibly can click on on it} LYNX. i can’t advocate this conduct.

that’s all i’ve acquired for this week. in the event you haven’t voted right this moment, please vote!