Alright, let me tell you about my little crossword session today. I always try to do one puzzle a day, just to keep the gears turning upstairs, you know?
So, I was cruising along pretty well, got most of the top half done. Then I landed on this clue, it just said: Abate. Okay, simple enough word, I thought.
My first reaction was thinking about what ‘abate’ means. Things like ‘lessen’, ‘die down’, ‘decrease’. Like when the rain starts to abate after a big storm. Pretty straightforward.
Working it Out
But then I looked at the grid. It needed a five-letter word. Okay, ‘lessen’ is six, ‘decrease’ is eight… those weren’t going to work. ‘Die down’ is two words, also no good.
I checked the letters I already had from other words crossing it. I had the first letter, an ‘E’, and the third letter, an ‘S’. So it looked like E _ S _ _.
What five-letter word starts with E, has S as the third letter, and means ‘abate’ or ‘lessen’?
- EASE? E A S E D? No, ‘ease’ fits the meaning, like ‘ease up’. E A S E… four letters. Hmm. Could it be EASES? Let me check the clue again. Just ‘Abate’. Present tense, maybe? EASES? Yeah, that fits E _ S _ S. Let’s try that.
- Wait, I re-checked the crossing down clue for the last letter. It strongly suggested the last letter should be just an ‘E’. So E _ S _ E.
Okay, back to the drawing board. E _ S _ E. Means ‘lessen’ or ‘subside’. What fits? My mind went blank for a second. I stared at it. EASE! E A S E. That’s four letters, not five. I must have miscounted the squares! Happens more often than I’d like to admit.
Let me recount. One, two, three, four. Yep, only four squares for that clue. My mistake entirely.
So, the clue was ‘Abate’ and the grid needed four letters, looking like E _ S _. Well, EASE fits perfectly! The storm can ease, the pain can ease. It means to lessen or make less severe.
Penciled in E A S E. Checked the crossers again. Yep, looks right. It’s funny how sometimes you get stuck on the length or overthink the meaning, when the simple answer is right there. Glad I sorted that one out. On to the next clue!
