Okay, so I decided to tackle the New York Times crossword today. Grabbed my usual cup of coffee, sat down, and got ready to dive in. I usually like to start with the shorter, easier clues first, especially the fill-in-the-blanks, just to get some letters on the grid.
Getting Started
I did my first pass, picking off some of the low-hanging fruit. You know, the usual three and four-letter words. Stuff like “ERA” or “ATE”. Got a few scattered across the grid, feeling pretty okay about it. It wasn’t super smooth sailing right away, though. Some clues felt a bit tricky early on.
Hitting the Theme (and a Wall)
Then I started noticing something peculiar. There were a couple of clues that seemed… related? Or maybe the answers felt connected in a weird way. I hit one long answer clue, stared at it for a bit, and just couldn’t crack it. I moved on, but it stayed in the back of my mind. Then another long one seemed to point towards a similar idea, something about understanding or agreement.
I started filling in crosses around these longer entries. Little by little, some letters appeared. I remember getting a ‘T’, then an ‘H’, then maybe an ‘S’ somewhere in the middle of one of them. It wasn’t immediately obvious.
The “Aha!” Moment
Finally, it clicked. I filled in enough crossing words for one of the main theme answers, and I saw it. It was literally a phrase that meant something like “Oh, I get it now!” or, well, “That makes sense!”. Once I saw that first one spelled out, the whole puzzle’s theme just opened up.
It was one of those satisfying moments where you go from slightly frustrated to feeling pretty clever. I realized the other long theme answers were probably variations on this same idea. It totally changed how I looked at the remaining long clues.
Working Through the Grid
With the theme cracked, things started moving faster. I went back to the other theme clues I’d struggled with and could now see what the puzzle creator was going for. It helped tremendously.
Of course, it wasn’t all theme answers. There were still plenty of tricky bits:
- A couple of proper names I wasn’t familiar with. Had to rely heavily on the crossing words for those.
- Some wordplay clues that took a few reads to understand the angle.
- That one corner, I think it was the northeast, gave me a bit of trouble for a while. Just couldn’t see how the words fit together.
But I kept chipping away. Filled in a word here, another there. Sometimes I’d leave a section and come back to it later with fresh eyes, which usually helps.
Finishing Up
The last few squares always feel good to fill in. I double-checked some of the crossings, made sure everything looked right. The final word went in, and boom – done. Always a nice little sense of accomplishment when you finish one of these things.
Looking back, it was a fun theme. Pretty straightforward once you got the main idea, but cleverly hidden at first. Definitely made sense in the end!
