So, today I got stuck on this crossword puzzle, the one from the NY Times, you know? The clue was “pan-fry,” and I was totally blanking. It’s funny how your brain just stops working sometimes, right?
I started by, you know, staring at the puzzle for a good while, hoping the answer would magically pop into my head. Nope, didn’t happen. Then I tried saying “pan-fry” in different ways, like maybe the sound of it would jog my memory. Still nothing.
Next, I went online, started googling stuff like “pan-fry crossword clue” and a bunch of similar searches. Found a few sites that had crossword answers, but they were all over the place. Some had answers from like, last year, others from just a few days ago. I went through maybe five or six different pages, scanning for anything that looked right.
I finally stumbled on a result that seemed promising – it was about a clue from December 22, 2024. Sounded recent enough. And there it was, the answer was right there – “saute”. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before, it’s such a common word! It’s like, you use “saute” all the time in cooking, but when it’s in a crossword, your mind just goes “nope, never heard of it.”
After I got that sorted, I noticed some other clues on the same page. There was one about “handlers,” and the answer was someone good at disc skills. Like, what’s that even about? I guess it’s some sports thing, not really my area.
Then there was another clue, something about a sleep-inducing thing from the “Odyssey.” The answer was “lotus tree.” I vaguely remember that from high school or something. It’s funny how these crossword puzzles bring up all these random bits of knowledge you didn’t even know you had.
So yeah, that was my little adventure with the crossword today. Finally got it solved, though.
Felt pretty good to fill in that last word. Makes you feel like you’ve really accomplished something, even if it’s just a silly word game. Anyway, just wanted to share my little brain teaser story. Maybe someone out there had the same struggle today!
