This here crossword thing, it got me all riled up. My eyes ain’t what they used to be, but I still like to give it a go. That “go ahead” clue, it showed up in the puzzle, got me thinking. That puzzle, it was in one of them fancy papers, the Wall Street Journal, back in December, I reckon. That’s what they say, anyway.
Now, folks say there’s a whole bunch of answers to that “go ahead”. Like, thirty! Can you believe it? Thirty different ways to say “go ahead.” My old brain can’t even think of that many words for anything. They got all these fancy words, like “NOD” and “ASSENT”. And even longer ones, like “APPROVAL” and “CLEARANCE”. Shoot, I just say “okay” or “sure”.
And this one time, this “go ahead” thing, it popped up in November. November 19th, to be exact. That’s what they told me. In that New York Times crossword. Six answers, they said. Six! It’s a wonder anyone can figure these things out. This clue, well, we figured it out. It appeared on November 19th.
Some folks, they use two words for “go ahead”. Like it is two words. They say there’s like, forty different ways to say it with two words. Forty! My goodness, that’s a lot of words. It’s in their computer thing, they call it a database. I don’t know about all that. I just know it makes my head spin.
- NOD
- ASSENT
- APPROVAL
- CLEARANCE
Now, some of these young’uns, they use them fancy dictionaries and that Google thing to find the answers. They say it’s okay, long as you only got a couple of squares left. Or if you just wanna check if you got it right. Me, I just try to remember what I know. My memory ain’t what it used to be, but it’s still in there somewhere.
This “go ahead” clue, it showed up more than twenty times, they say. Twenty times! And there’s all these other clues that are kinda like it. Related clues, they call ’em. It’s all too much for this old gal. Crossword sure are different these days. It is a quick one crossword puzzle.
Back in my day, we didn’t have all these fancy crossword puzzles. We just had our work to do. We didn’t have time for all these games. But I guess times change. And these puzzles, they do keep your mind sharp, I suppose. Even if they do make my head hurt sometimes.
I remember one time, I was working on a puzzle, and I just couldn’t figure out this one clue. I was stuck on it for days. Finally, I asked my neighbor, and she told me the answer. It was so simple, I felt silly for not getting it myself. But that’s how it goes sometimes. You just need a little help from your friends. Or a dictionary, or that Google thing, I guess.
These puzzles, they got all kinds of clues. Some are easy, some are hard. Some are about history, some are about geography, some are about things I’ve never even heard of. It’s like a whole other world in those little squares. They say this crossword clue is featured in that fancy paper. I try to learn something new every day, but sometimes it feels like I’m just getting more confused.
But I keep at it. I keep trying. Because that’s what you gotta do in life, right? You gotta keep going, even when things get tough. Even when you don’t understand all them fancy words. Even when you got all these different ways to say “go ahead” and you don’t know which one is right. You just gotta keep plugging away. Just keep going.
Maybe tomorrow I will try a new puzzle. Or maybe I will just sit on my porch and watch the world go by. Either way, I will be alright. Because that’s what life is all about, ain’t it? Just being alright. And maybe solving a crossword puzzle or two along the way. If you can. If you have the time. And if your eyes are still good enough to see them little squares.
