Okay, so I tried to solve a crossword puzzle from The New York Times today. It felt like a big deal, you know? Those puzzles are kinda famous for being tough. I went to the website, and picked the one from February 4th because why not?
I started with the Monday puzzle, which is supposed to be the easiest. I filled in the words I knew, which wasn’t a whole lot, to be honest. I remembered reading somewhere that using the less common letters like “K,” “F,” or “Z” can help, so I tried to focus on clues that might use those letters.
- Tried to find words with unusual letters.
- Started with the Monday puzzle for an easier start.
It was pretty slow going. I kept getting stuck. I did learn a few things about how these puzzles work, though. Like, if a clue has quotation marks, it means the answer is something someone would say out loud. And if there’s an asterisk, it means the clue is part of the puzzle’s theme. I didn’t really get the theme, but hey, at least I learned something, right?
I spent a good chunk of time on this, and I didn’t even come close to finishing. I did find one answer though! The clue was “Kind of opening,” and after checking online, I found out the answer. That felt pretty good, even though I had to look it up.
- Learned about quotation marks and asterisks in clues.
- Got stuck a lot, but did solve one clue.
Some Thoughts
I guess solving these puzzles is a skill you develop over time. It’s not just about knowing words, but also about understanding how the clues are written and how the puzzle is put together. There’s probably a whole bunch of strategies and tricks that experienced solvers use. I might need to get the app or something, and actually practice.
Anyway, it was a fun little experiment. I wouldn’t say I’m a crossword person now, but I can see why people enjoy them. It’s like a mental workout, and it’s pretty satisfying when you finally figure out a clue. Maybe I’ll try another one sometime, but I definitely need to learn more about how to approach these things before I dive back in.
- Realized that solving crossword puzzles is a learned skill.
- Might try again in the future after learning more.
It was a challenge, but a good one. I think I’ll stick to easier puzzles for now, though!
