Alright folks, let me tell you about my recent wrestling match… with a crossword puzzle! I’m calling it “coming after crossword” because, man, did I have to chase this thing down.
It all started innocently enough. I was bored, you know? Scrolling through my phone, trying to find something to occupy my brain besides cat videos. I stumbled upon a crossword app. Figured, why not? I used to be pretty good at these things.
First clue: “A small Eurasian finch (4 letters)”. Okay, easy peasy. “Siskin”. Typed it in. Bam! Instant gratification. I was feeling good, feeling smart. Ready to conquer this thing.
Then…the wall. Clue: “Ancient Peruvian (5 letters)”. Uh oh. My brain went blank. I stared at those empty squares like they held the secrets of the universe. I tried every South American country I could think of. Nothing.
I did what any self-respecting (and slightly ashamed) crossword solver would do: I cheated. Just a little. I Googled “Ancient civilization Peru”. Boom, “Inca”. Okay, okay, I can live with that. Just needed a little jumpstart.
But that’s when things got interesting. See, the “I” in “Inca” intersected with another clue: “Italian volcano (4 letters)”. Now, I knew this one! “Etna”! But it didn’t fit! The “I” was already taken by the “I” in “Inca”. What the heck?
This is where the real battle began. I started questioning everything. Was “Inca” even right? Maybe it was “Maya”? Or “Aztec”? I tried every combination I could think of. Nothing worked. I felt like I was going insane.
I took a break. Walked around, made a cup of coffee, stared out the window. Sometimes you just need to clear your head, you know?
When I came back, I looked at the puzzle with fresh eyes. And then it hit me. “Siskin” might be right vertically, but the horizontal word didn’t work! What else could be “A small Eurasian finch”? A quick search revealed “Linnet” which gave me the “E” I needed and “Erna” for “Italian volcano”!
AHA!
From there, it was like the dam broke. The rest of the clues started falling into place. One by one, I filled in the blanks. It was a grind, I won’t lie. There were more Google searches involved than I’d like to admit. But I persevered.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, I had it. The whole crossword, completely filled in. And the best part? I learned a few new things along the way. Who knew there were so many obscure types of birds?
So, the moral of the story? Don’t give up! Even when you’re staring at a seemingly impossible puzzle, a little perseverance (and maybe a little cheating) can go a long way. And sometimes, you just need to walk away and come back with fresh eyes.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to find another crossword to conquer.
