Alright, so I heard some buzz about this particular New York Times crossword. People were saying it was something else, maybe tricky, maybe just really well-done. You know how it is, sometimes the hype is just hype, but I was curious. Had a bit of free time this morning, so I thought, why not give it a shot?
First thing, gotta have my coffee. Settled into my usual chair, the comfy one by the window. Fired up the NYT Crossword app on my tablet. Felt that little bit of excitement, like cracking open a new book. I usually start with the Monday puzzles, nice and easy, build up through the week. But this one, landing mid-week, promised a bit more bite.
Getting Started
So, I jumped in. Started scanning the Across clues, looking for the easy gimmes, the fill-in-the-blanks. Found a few right off the bat. Always feels good to get some letters on the board, makes the whole thing seem less intimidating. Put in things like “AREA” and “ETA”. Standard stuff.
But then, pretty quickly, I hit a few snags. Some clues just weren’t clicking. Read them over and over. Sometimes the wording feels deliberately awkward, you know? Trying to trip you up. I hopped over to the Down clues, hoping for some crossers to help unlock the tricky Across ones. That worked for a bit. Got a corner filled in, feeling pretty good about myself.
Hitting the Wall (and Breaking Through)
Then I hit a real roadblock. A whole section just… blank. The clues felt vague, or maybe they were about stuff I just didn’t know. Pop culture references sometimes get me, or weird old slang. I stared at it. Typed in a guess, erased it. Typed in another. Nope. Felt that familiar frustration starting to creep in.
This is the part where I usually take a break. Walk away, refill the coffee, maybe look out the window for a bit. Let the brain reset. Did that. Came back. Looked at one clue I’d been stuck on… and suddenly, the answer just popped into my head. Isn’t it weird how that works?
That one answer was the key. It gave me letters for like three other crossing words. And seeing those partial words… bang, bang, bang. The other answers started falling into place. It’s like dominoes tipping over. Super satisfying feeling.
- Found a tricky long answer.
- That opened up the middle section.
- Realized there was a bit of a theme going on, clever wordplay.
The “Exceptional” Part
Now I started seeing what people were talking about. It wasn’t just hard; it was clever. The theme, once I spotted it, was really nicely woven through the whole puzzle. It made me chuckle a couple of times when I finally got how a clue related to the theme. It involved playing with word meanings, bending them a bit. You had to think outside the box, not just recall facts.
There were a few clues that felt genuinely fresh, not the same old crossword-ese you see all the time. That’s what I appreciate. When the constructor clearly put thought into making it interesting and not just a fill-by-numbers exercise.
Wrapping It Up
The last few squares took some thinking. Had to guess on one or two letters, based on what made sense for both the Across and Down words. Always hold my breath a little when I do that. Finally, filled in the very last square. The app played its little victory tune. Done!
Took a moment to just look at the completed grid. Yeah, that was a good one. Definitely a bit tougher than usual for the day, but fair. The cleverness made the struggle worth it. It wasn’t exceptional because it was impossible, but because it was smart and rewarding to figure out. Glad I took the time to tackle it. Felt like a good mental workout to start the day.
