I give myself a B-

This week’s challenge, completing an entire NY Times crossword, would have been impossible without help from the internet.  Before this week, I’ve started many crosswords and finished zero.  Now I remember why.  I get to a certain point, I get stuck, and I need just a few more letters to move me along.  I usually ask whoever is in the room and if they can’t help, I quit.  This week, I stayed with it.  The first few days I was determined not to use the internet.  Day one, I got stuck.  When I went back the second day, with fresh eyes, I actually got a fewthat I thought I didn’t know the first day.  That was cool.  But, by the third day, I was scouring the internet for help.  I figured that if it was fair to ask people in the room, then asking the internet was almost the same, it just happened to be a lot smarter.  I learned a few things through that process though.

1) You cannot find every answer on the internet.  I mean, sure, you can find a clue like “Prince Valiant’s wife” easily enough (ALETA), but crossword puzzle writers are tricky and the put other clues in that aren’t so straightforward.  Clues like, “the racer’s edge” (STP), “exactly what’s expected” (PARFORTHECOURSE), and “preside over the tea ceremony” (POUR).  Just try googling any of those phrases and you will not come up with the answer.  But, once I got a few of the ones I could google, I at least had enough letters to help me with the more slippery clues.  So, I didn’t have to look up a lot of clues.  I’d say 10-15?  (sheepish smile)

2) There are people that are crossword fanatics!  There were whole blogs dedicated to people figuring out the NY Times crosswords and then posting every answer with commentary on each one.  I avoided these sites once I found them (I swear!), but it was kind of funny.  I also hear that there are competitions and people can do these things fast and without the internet!  I am in awe.

So, I worked on the puzzle with the internet for days three and four and I was able to finish it on Thursday.  Answers I knew right away… “high protein food often found in vegetarian cuisine” (TOFU!), “Wrigley Field and Camden Yards” (BALLPARK), and “cheese-covered chip” (NACHO!).  Haha.  There’s still one I completely do not understand… “Lollapalooza” (ONER??).  Does anyone know what that means?  I made sure I got Tuesday’s paper because it had the answers from Monday.  When I finished the puzzle, I checked my answers and, even with the internet’s help, I had two letters wrong!  The Lollapalooza one got me (I had OVER) and another clue “went in haste” was HIED and I had HIAD (which I didn’t think was a word, but it worked in the space).  I also had the darndest time with “syllables in a gay refrain” (TRALA).  What?  That was mean.  Ah well.  I was going to give myself a 98% for only missing two letters, but then with all the cheating, I thought I better give myself a B-.

Posted proudly

I had fun challenging myself to finish a tough (to me) crossword, but it was also a nice break from work.  It was addictive and it relaxed me a bit.  It was sort of like a mental workout without any consequences.  I liked it.  I think I might try a few more.  Does anyone have links to good online ones?