It’s hard to imagine a picnic basket or alfresco spread these days without a few internationally-inspired bites tucked between the sandwiches and lemonade. Whether you’re in a park, on a beach, or simply basking in the garden, outdoor dining often invites a menu rich with borrowed words. Even if you know what these tasty items are, their linguistic roots add an extra layer of flavour.

Take hors d’oeuvre, for example – a familiar term for small savoury bites served before a meal. The phrase is French for ‘outside the work’, implying these dishes sit apart from the main culinary ‘labour’ of the meal. Perfect for a picnic plate, they’re the edible prelude to a feast.

Then there are crudites – a colourful medley of raw vegetables, crisp and refreshing under the sun, often paired with a creamy dip. The word comes from the French plural crudité, meaning ‘rawness’, from the Latin crudus, which also gave us ‘crude’. Rough? Perhaps. But ideal for nibbling on a chequered blanket.

The Italian antipasto, meaning ‘before the meal’, is a picnic star in its own right. Think olives, cured meats, and slices of cheese laid out on a wooden board or tucked into a travel-friendly box. The word stems from anti (‘before’) and pasto (‘meal’), from Latin pastus, meaning ‘food’. A meal before the meal – how delightfully indulgent!

And don’t forget tapas, those Spanish small plates made for sharing. The word comes from tapa, ‘to cover’, possibly referring to the old practice of covering drinks with a slice of bread or meat to keep out flies – a clever, if unintentional, invention of the world’s first bar snacks.

Just like these portable treats, Lovatts’ crosswords & puzzles are perfect for snacking on – anytime, anywhere. Whether you’re under a tree or at a garden table, consider them a picnic for the mind.

Happy Puzzling!