Okay, so I’ve been seeing these “but wait” clues in crosswords lately, and they were totally throwing me for a loop. I mean, I’d get the first part of the answer, but then that “but wait” part would just…stump me. I decided I needed to figure this thing out, so I dove in.
First, I grabbed a bunch of crosswords – some old ones I had lying around, some from the newspaper, and even a few online (though I tried to stick to the printed ones, because, you know, old school). I just wanted to see as many examples of these “but wait” clues as I could.
Then, I started solving. Not the whole puzzle, just focusing on those tricky clues. I’d scribble down the first part of the answer I could figure out, then really think about what that “but wait” could mean. Was it a pun? A double meaning? A complete reversal?
My “Aha!” Moment
It took a few puzzles, and a lot of frustrated pencil tapping, but I started to see a pattern. It’s like the clue is saying, “Yeah, you think you know the answer, but wait, there’s another layer!” Most times it related to the sounds of the words, not the literal meaning of what I put initially.
- Some clues were playing on words that sound alike.
- Others were using a diffrent meaning of a word from the first part of the clue.
It helped to keep saying it outloud too.
I kept practicing. The more I did, the easier it got. I even started to anticipate the “but wait” twist before I even fully solved the first part of the clue. It was like my brain was getting rewired for this specific type of wordplay.
The Results
Now, I’m not saying I’m a crossword master or anything, but those “but wait” clues? They don’t scare me anymore. I actually kind of enjoy them now, because they’re like a little mini-puzzle within the bigger puzzle. I still get tripped up sometimes, but now I have a much better strategy for tackling them. It’s all about looking for that second, unexpected meaning.
So, yeah, that’s my “but wait” crossword journey. From total confusion to, well, slightly less confusion. And a lot more fun!
