Alright, let me tell you about my little adventure with the Opulent NYT Crossword. It was a doozy, but I finally cracked it. Here’s how it all went down.
First, I saw the title: “Opulent.” Okay, fancy. I figured it’d be a tough one. Grabbed my coffee, sharpened my pencil (yes, I still use a pencil!), and dove right in. Started with the Across clues. Usually, I can snag a few easy ones to get me going. Not this time!
The first clue, I stared at it for like five minutes. Nothing. Skipped it. Moved on to number three. Still nothing. Seriously, was this thing written in ancient Greek? Started to sweat a little. This was not going well.
So, I switched tactics. Jumped down to the Down clues. Sometimes a different perspective helps. Bingo! Got a four-letter word about halfway down. “AREA”. Okay, we’re in business. Filled it in. Gave me a letter or two to work with on the Across clues that intersected.
- That “A” in “AREA” helped me finally get one of the short Across clues. It was something like “Part of a joke,” and the answer was “PUNCH.” Sweet!
- From “PUNCH,” I could guess a few more letters in the surrounding Down clues.
Slowly, painstakingly, I started filling in more and more squares. It was like chipping away at a block of marble. Each correct answer gave me a little burst of confidence. But then I’d hit another wall. A seven-letter word for “Extremely happy.” Ugh. Stumped again.
Time for some googling!
I hate to do it, but sometimes you gotta cheat a little. I searched for a few of the clue snippets I had, hoping to jog my memory or get a lead. Found a couple of possible answers on some crossword forums, but they didn’t quite fit with the letters I already had. Grrr.
Decided to take a break. Stepped away, made a sandwich, walked the dog. Sometimes you just need to clear your head. Came back to it fresh. And wouldn’t you know it, the answer to “Extremely happy” popped into my head: “ECSTATIC.”
From “ECSTATIC,” the whole thing just started to unravel. It was like dominoes falling. I filled in one answer, and it gave me two more. Then three more. Before I knew it, I was down to just a few empty squares. Those last few are always the hardest, right?
The final clue that held me up was something about a “Classical pillar.” I knew it had to be either “IONIC” or “DORIC.” Tried “IONIC” first. Didn’t quite work. Erased it. Put in “DORIC.” Boom! That was it. The whole damn thing was done!
I gotta say, it was a tough one. But damn, it felt good to finish it. The Opulent NYT Crossword is officially conquered. Time for a beer!
