Alright, so I was messing around with the New York Times Crossword today, you know, just trying to keep my brain sharp. And I stumbled upon this clue that I swear I’ve seen before, but I just couldn’t place it. The clue was “Italian for ‘year’.” I thought, “Okay, this should be easy, right?” I mean, I’ve picked up a few Italian words here and there from menus and movies.
So, I started racking my brain. I went through all the Italian words I could think of. “Tempo?” No, that’s time. “Giorno?” Nope, that’s day. I was drawing a blank. I even tried to think of some Italian phrases I knew to see if I could jog my memory. Nothing.
Feeling a bit stuck, I decided to turn to the internet. I fired up Google and typed in “Italian for ‘year’ NYT crossword clue.” And boom, there it was, staring right at me on the screen: “anno.” I felt a little silly for not remembering it, but hey, that’s what learning is all about, right?
- I found that this clue has actually shown up quite a few times in the NYT Crossword.
- It seems like a popular one for the puzzle creators.
- I also learned that “anno” is related to the Latin word “annus,” which is where we get words like “annual” and “anniversary” in English. Kind of cool how languages are connected like that.
Anyway, after solving that clue, I managed to finish the rest of the crossword. It wasn’t my fastest time, but I got it done. And I added a new word to my very limited Italian vocabulary.
It Got Me Thinking
This whole experience got me thinking about how much I enjoy these little challenges. Crosswords, puzzles, brain teasers – they’re all great ways to keep your mind active and learn new things. Even if it’s just a simple word like “anno,” it’s still something new that I didn’t know before. And who knows, maybe it’ll come in handy someday. Maybe I’ll impress someone at an Italian restaurant, or maybe I’ll just crush it the next time this clue pops up in the crossword.
So yeah, that’s my little story about how I spent a bit of my time. Just a regular day, learning something new, and keeping my brain busy. Nothing fancy, but hey, it’s the little things that make life interesting, right?
