Okay, so this morning I decided to tackle the NYT crossword. I’ve been trying to get better at them, and “losing steam” was one of the clues that totally stumped me. I mean, I stared at it for a good five minutes, pen tapping, completely blank.
First, I tried to think of synonyms. “Fading”? Nope. “Weakening”? Nah. “Burning out”? Didn’t fit the letter count. I even went down a rabbit hole thinking about actual steam engines, like, “derailing?” Totally off base.
My Process of Elimination
- Looked at the crossing words. This is key! Sometimes the intersecting words give you hints about letters or even the theme of the answer.
- Considered different meanings of “losing” and “steam.” Could it be literal steam? A metaphor? Slang?
- Tried filling in any letters I was absolutely sure of in the surrounding clues. This can sometimes give you a breakthrough.
- Finally if I failed everything above, I am used to searching the Internet to resolve my issue.
I kept going back to the crossing words. One of them was clearly starting with an “E”, and another had a “T” in the middle. It was driving me nuts! I finally caved and search it on the internet. That’s my all day practice sharing, thanks.
