Okay, so today I was trying to solve the NYT crossword, and I got totally stuck on this one clue: “word with good or blood.” I was like, what?! My brain was spinning. I mean, “good” and “blood” don’t really seem to have much in common, right?
Brute-Force Thinking
First, I started just throwing out words that could follow “good.” You know, like “good morning,” “good day,” “good grief” (thanks, Charlie Brown!). None of those seemed to fit with “blood” at all. Total dead end.
Then I switched to “blood.” “Blood type?” Nope. “Blood pressure?” Still nothing. “Blood oath?” Getting warmer, maybe, but it didn’t feel quite right.
Looking for Patterns
I stepped back and looked at the spaces I had filled in already. I noticed a that it needs a four letter words,Ok, that helped narrow it down a little.
The “Aha!” Moment
Then, it hit me. Sometimes these clues are about words that can go before or after the given words, not just after! So I started thinking, what could go before “good” and “blood”?
- Something “good”…
- Something “blood”…
And then…BINGO! The word “for” works. for good and blood *’s so simple!
Putting It All Together
I quickly filled in the answer, “for” and, boom, I was able to finish a few more connecting words. It’s amazing how one little word can unlock a whole section of the puzzle.
So yeah, that’s my crossword adventure for today. A bit of a rollercoaster, but hey, that’s what makes it fun, right?
