So, the other day, I was trying to kill some time, right? And I thought, why not try my hand at a crossword puzzle? I’ve always thought they were kinda neat, but I’ve never really been good at them. I picked up one from a magazine lying around and started flipping through it.
I found one that looked not too hard, not too easy, just right. I started filling in the easy ones, you know, the ones you just kinda know off the top of your head. But then I got stuck. There was this one clue that just had me totally stumped: “Abate.” I stared at it for what felt like forever.
I thought maybe if I worked on some other clues I could figure out the intersecting words and that might help me narrow it down. I got a few letters filled in around “Abate” but still no luck. So I started thinking, what does “Abate” even mean? To lessen, to reduce, to subside, right? I had the general gist of it.
- Tried looking for words that mean the same thing as “abate”, but in my head I couldn’t match one.
- Started looking at the number of letters in the blank space for the answer. It varied depending on the crossword puzzle site. Some were 7 letters, others were 5 or 6. This made it tough.
- Spent hours on this, no joke.
I decided to type the clue into the search bar, just to see what would pop up. And guess what? There were a bunch of websites that are all about helping you solve crossword puzzles. Who knew, right?
So I went through the top search results, checking out the hints and possible answers. One site listed 58 possible answers, another listed 30! Can you believe it?
Anyway, I started trying out some of the suggestions. After a bit of trial and error, I finally figured it out! I don’t wanna spoil it, but the three-letter answer that was last seen in the LA Times Crossword was “end” and it works! It was such a relief to finally crack it. Another seven-letter answer that works is “decrease”!
Here’s what I learned:
- Crossword puzzles are way harder than they look.
- There are a ton of resources online to help you if you get stuck.
- Don’t give up! Even if it takes a while, it’s super satisfying when you finally solve a clue.
This whole experience got me thinking, maybe I should get into crosswords more often. It’s a fun way to challenge yourself and learn new words. Plus, it’s a good excuse to take a break from staring at my phone all day. Anyone else a fan of crossword puzzles? Let me know in the comments!
