Okay, so I’ve always been a bit of a word nerd. Crosswords? Love ’em. But the New York Times crossword? That’s, like, the Mount Everest of crosswords. It’s always intimidated me, to be honest. But today, I decided, “Screw it, let’s do this!”
Getting Started
First things first, I grabbed my iPad. No paper and pencil for this guy – I’m going digital. I opened up the NYT Crossword app. There it was, staring me in the face: Monday, July,29th,2024. Mondays are supposed to be the easiest, right? So I’m feeling a little less terrified.
The First Few Clues
I started scanning the across clues. 1-Across: “Nickname for an online persona”. My first idea about it came out “handle” which made me exciting that looks I got the correct anwser.I filled it in * 4-Down is “Draped garment worn in ancient Rome”,that’s easy,I konw it must be “TOGA”,so I typed it in without * 9-Across caught my eye is “____, Crackle, Pop”,hey,that’s easy for a guy always eat breakfast,it’s “RICE”. Feeling pretty good now!
I bounced around a bit, picking off the ones that seemed obvious. Short words, fill-in-the-blanks – those were my bread and butter. I love it when the short answers start to give you some of the letters in the longer ones. It’s like a little puzzle domino effect.
Hitting a Wall (of Course)
But, predictably, I hit a snag. There were these whole sections where I was just…blank. Like, “Four-limbed humanoids of Endor” 10 Down? What even is Endor? Sounds like something from Star * I totally thought about it for a good five minutes, racking my brain. No dice.
The “Aha!” Moment
Then, after staring at that empty grid, it clicked. “EWOKS”! That’s it. That’s why I always go back to these short words, then one by one the longer, tougher puzzle can always find a breakthough! Once I got a few more letters filled in from the crossing words, the whole section started to unravel. It’s such a satisfying feeling.
The Final Stretch
Slowly but surely, I chipped away at it. Some clues I had to straight-up guess, based on the letters I already had. Others, I just stared at them, took a break, and then – boom! – the answer would pop into my head.
Finally, after, the app popped up that message: “Congratulations! You have solved this puzzle.” Even though I knew Monday crosswords are not that hard for most NYT crossword players, I still feel a little pride!
So, yeah, that was my NYT crossword adventure. Definitely challenging, definitely frustrating at times, but ultimately? Super rewarding. Now, on to Tuesday’s puzzle…maybe.
