Phoenix 16/06/2017

[stuckontwo]

24 Down. It starts and ends city of cats but it's also about very big foreign city. (5) -O-Y-

[emeritus]

Tokyo ?

[Captain2]

Tokyo

[Captain2]

Does the clue actually say 'city of cats'?

Also = TOO
starts and ends 'something' of cats = K(itt)Y

[stuckontwo]

BRILLIANT!!!! Thank you all. #Done

[Captain2]

What's the correct clue then PLEASE?

[stuckontwo]

Yes, it says exactly as I typed it.

[Captain2]

Thanks for that stuckontwo - can't quite see the word play though.

[Flonska]

Captain . . . does this help?

Yanaka is an old suburb in Taito, northeastern Tokyo that gives visitors a taste of the Edo period and is also known for being a ‘cat town’ because of the number of stray cats that reside there.

https://tictokyo.wordpress.com/2016/11/09/yanaka-city-tokyos-edo-town-with-a-lot-of-cats/

[Captain2]

Flonska - thanks for looking into that. I had Googled 'cat city' and Yanaka came up but I thought nothing of it because....

as you can see from my part parsing we need to find out where the 'KY' comes from to insert into 'TOO' to make the clue work; all I could think of was that the first 'city' in the clue may be incorrect and should somehow indicate a synonym for 'cats; hence my first and last letters of 'Kitty' = KY
Signed
'Still puzzled of Wilmslow'

[Mamyalynne]

Maybe

Too round K(ilkenn)Y

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilkenny_cat

Kilkenny is a city.

[Flonska]

As "BlueBottle" would say . . "Thenk you My Captinnnn."

Curiously . . . Tokyo is an anagram of Kyoto a Temple City in Japan. It too, I believe, is known/referred as a city of cats . . .

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-03/21/c_134084946.htm

Are we getting closer??

[Captain2]

Think Mamya has it Flonska; ta Mamya

All this talk of Tokyo is giving me Wanderlust; we are hopefully going back to Japan next year; been to Tokyo, next year Kyoto - bring it on.

[Mamyalynne]

Have a good trip Cap'n.

[Flonska]

Yes Captain. . . I'll go with KilkennY . . . well spotted Mamya!

When you get to Tokyo and/or Kyoto you can amaze everyone with your local knowledge of feline anagrams. Enjoy!

[Mamyalynne]

Not 100% sure but seems the answer is right at least.

[stuckontwo]

I'm sitiing here in County Kerry, and I would not have made the Kilkenny/cats connection ever. Wouldn't mind, but been taking about the KilKenny (Cats) hurling team all day. Many, many thanks to all. (I actually went with the Kitty explanation), so, all good. Thanks again,all.

[Mamyalynne]

I've got my own home town wrong twice in geographical quizzes, you do feel a fool ( well I did).