Okay, so yesterday I tackled the ‘clouds’ themed New York Times crossword puzzle, and let me tell you, it was a bit of a ride. Thought I’d share how it all went down.
First things first, I printed it out. Yeah, I’m old school like that. Something about holding the paper and scribbling with a pencil just feels right, you know? So, I grabbed my favorite mechanical pencil (the one with the good eraser) and settled in at my kitchen table.
Started with the Across clues. I always do. Read through all of them once, just to get a feel for the vibe. Immediately snagged a few of the easier ones – stuff like abbreviations or common words. Filled those in, and that gave me a few letters to work with for the trickier answers.
Then the Downs. Same process – read ’em all, fill in the obvious ones. This is where the crossword started to fight back a little. Some of the clues were pretty vague, and I had to rely on the letters I’d already filled in to make some educated guesses.
Got stuck for a bit on a couple of clues. One of them was something about a type of cloud formation. I knew it had to be something relatively common, but the letters I had just weren’t clicking. I tried a few different things, erasing and re-writing, but no luck. Frustrating!
Took a break. Seriously, sometimes the best thing to do is just walk away for a few minutes. I grabbed a cup of coffee, wandered around the house, and tried not to think about the crossword. It’s amazing how often the answer pops into your head when you’re not actively trying to find it.
Came back with fresh eyes. And bingo! The cloud formation clue suddenly clicked. It was CUMULUS! Slapped that in, and that unlocked a whole bunch of other answers. Feels good, man.
Still had a couple of stubborn clues left. These were the real head-scratchers. I started trying different combinations of letters, seeing what looked right and sounded right. Eventually, after a lot of trial and error, I managed to fill them in.
Finished it! It wasn’t my fastest time ever, but I got there. The feeling of satisfaction when you finally complete a crossword is just unbeatable.
- Key takeaway: Don’t be afraid to take breaks. Sometimes you just need to step away and clear your head.
- Another tip: Use a pencil! Erasing is your friend.
Anyway, that was my ‘clouds’ crossword adventure. Hope you enjoyed hearing about it!
