Okay, so today I wanted to tackle this crossword clue that’s been bugging me: “sport with a rikishi.” I’ve been seeing it pop up in different crossword puzzles, like the USA Today one and even the New York Times, so I figured it’s gotta be something I should know.
First, I started digging around to see what this “rikishi” thing even was. Turns out, it’s a term for a professional sumo wrestler. That was a good start. Now that I knew we were talking about sumo wrestling, I needed to figure out what the answer could be in the context of a crossword puzzle.
I found a few websites that help with crossword clues. They basically collect all these clues and try to find possible answers. According to them, this “sport with a rikishi” clue has been seen in puzzles as recently as June 17, 2024, in the USA Today crossword and July 25 in the NYT one. And get this, they said there could be up to 40 possible answers! 40! That’s a lot.
So, I started to think about what a crossword answer for sumo wrestling might look like. It couldn’t be too long, right? Crossword answers are usually short and sweet. I started jotting down some ideas like, well, “SUMO.” The other is “SUMOWRESTLING.” Or maybe something related to the sport, like the ring, which is called a “dohyo.”
Then I remembered another clue, “Rikishi’s sport,” which basically means the same thing. This one popped up in the New York Times crossword around July 24, 2022. Again, the websites suggested a bunch of possible answers, but the most obvious one was “SUMO.”
After all this brainstorming and digging, I felt pretty confident. I went back to my crossword puzzle, and sure enough, the answer that fit perfectly was “SUMO”. It was short, it made sense, and it aligned with all the clues I had gathered.
It was a small win, but it felt good to finally crack that clue. Crosswords are such a fun way to keep your brain engaged, and it’s always satisfying to solve a tricky one. I’m definitely gonna keep an eye out for more crossword clues related to sumo wrestling now that I’m a bit more familiar with the terminology.
- Rikishi: A professional sumo wrestler.
- Sumo: The answer I was looking for! A traditional Japanese sport.
- Dohyo: The ring where sumo wrestling takes place.
Here’s what I learned today:
It was quite the little adventure, all from just one crossword clue. Hope this helps someone else who might be stuck on the same clue!
