Alright, let me tell you about my little session with the New York Times crossword today. The title mentioned something about “green booking,” which sounded interesting right off the bat.
So, I settled in, got my usual setup ready – just me and the grid. I started chipping away at the corners, like I always do. Got some of the easier fill, the usual short stuff, you know, three or four-letter words that come quick. Felt like I was making decent progress.
Hitting the Themed Clues
Then I started hitting the longer answers, the ones that usually tie into the theme. And yeah, “green booking” was definitely hinting at something specific. At first, I wasn’t quite sure what the angle was. Was it about money? Environment? Booking shows with “green” in the title?
I got a couple of crossing letters for one of the main theme answers, and it started to click. It seemed like it was leaning towards eco-friendly travel or sustainable choices. Stuff like maybe finding eco-lodges, carbon offsets, that kind of vibe. It wasn’t super obvious immediately, took a bit of staring and maybe a wrong guess or two erased.
Working Through the Puzzle
Once I kind of latched onto that idea – the whole eco-conscious booking thing – the other theme answers started to make more sense. I could anticipate the kind of phrases or ideas the puzzle constructor was going for. It definitely helped unlock a few tricky spots where I was completely stuck before.
Still, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. There were plenty of non-theme clues that gave me trouble. You know how it is:
- That obscure historical figure I’d never heard of.
- Some weird bit of wordplay that took ages to unravel.
- A pop culture reference that was just before my time (or maybe way after!).
I just kept plugging away, moving around the grid, filling in what I knew, and letting the crossing letters help with the tougher parts. Sometimes you just gotta trust the process and wait for the letters to reveal the word.
Finishing Up
Took me a bit longer than some days, but I got there in the end. Filled in that last square, and felt that usual little sense of satisfaction. It’s always good to wrestle with it for a while and come out on top.
Overall, it was a pretty decent puzzle. The “green booking” theme felt relevant, kind of current. Made you think a little while you solved, which is always a bonus. Another day, another crossword done and dusted.
