Okay, so the other day I was trying to solve the “ooh la la” clue in the NYT crossword, and let me tell you, it was a journey. First, I stared at the clue. Blankly. Like, completely blankly. My brain was just not cooperating. I thought, “Ooh la la… what could that be?”

I tried a few random things, nothing. So I started to move around the crossword. I decided to work on the surrounding words.
- Get some easy ones first!
- Try with another word that seemed simple.
As I filled in more of the surrounding letters, I started to see some possibilities.
I mean, I was just guessing and hoping, you know?
It took some time, seriously, a lot of time.
And there it was, right before my eyes! The right word!

What I finally got!
After some letters were filled, the answer was right there! All my job got paid!