Alright, let me tell you about this crossword I tackled the other day. Found it tucked inside an old book I was sorting through. Looked pretty standard at first glance, you know, black and white squares, numbered clues. The title just said “Exactly Crossword”. Didn’t think much of it.
So, I grabbed a pencil, sat down with my coffee, figured I’d knock it out pretty quick. Started with the across clues. The first few were okay, typical stuff. But then I hit a weird patch. The clues seemed simple, but the answers just wouldn’t fit, or the words I thought of felt… off.
Hitting the Wall
Like, there was one clue, something simple like “Perfect fit”. My mind went straight to ‘ideal’ or ‘snug’. Nope. Didn’t work with the letters I already had. Then another, “Precisely correct”. I thought ‘accurate’. Still no dice. It felt like every answer had to be exactly the word the creator was thinking of, no synonyms allowed, really specific stuff.
I started getting a bit frustrated, tapping the pencil. This wasn’t relaxing anymore! I put it down for a bit, went and did some chores around the house, just to clear my head. Came back to it later in the afternoon.
This time, I decided to really focus on that “Exactly” part. Maybe it was a hint? I reread the clues super carefully. “Perfect fit” – I thought about things that fit perfectly. A key in a lock? A puzzle piece? What word captures that exactness? Then it hit me – maybe something like ‘spot on’? Tried fitting ‘spoton’ – bam, it worked with the down clues I had tentatively penciled in.
The Slow Grind
Okay, so that was the trick. I had to think hyper-literally, or sometimes find a very specific idiom or phrase. It was slow going. Much slower than my usual crossword pace.
- Read the clue.
- Think of the obvious answer.
- Discard the obvious answer.
- Think about what “exactly” that clue could mean.
- Try a weirder, more specific word.
- Check the crossing letters.
It took me way longer than I expected. Didn’t even finish it completely, got stuck on the bottom right corner. But honestly, figuring out those few really tricky ones felt like a proper achievement. It wasn’t just about vocabulary; it was about getting inside the puzzle maker’s head, figuring out their specific wavelength.
It was definitely an experience. Made me appreciate how flexible language usually is, and how weirdly satisfying it can be when you finally find that one, exact word someone was looking for. Still, not sure I’d seek out another “Exactly Crossword” tomorrow. My brain needs a bit of a rest after that one.
