Okay, so I sat down with the New York Times crossword today, like I usually do with my morning coffee. You know, just to get the brain going. And this one, well, it had a clue that really made me pause: “Bordeaux red”.
Getting Started
First off, I scanned the grid, looking for the easy stuff, the gimmes. You always gotta start there, right? Fill in the things you know for sure. Maybe a three-letter word for “opposite of WSW” (ENE, usually) or a common abbreviation. Got a few of those sprinkled around, felt good, like making a little progress.
Then I landed on that “Bordeaux red” clue. My first thought was, well, wine. Obviously. Bordeaux makes red wine. But what specific word were they looking for? “MERLOT”? Too short for the spaces I had. “CABERNET”? Maybe, but I wasn’t sure. It felt a bit too generic, somehow. Bordeaux blends often use multiple grapes.
Hitting a Snag
I looked at the crossing clues. Sometimes those give you a letter or two, and bam! The answer just pops out. But the crossing clues around this one weren’t immediately obvious either. Drat. So, “Bordeaux red” just sat there, staring back at me, blank spaces mocking my ignorance. I even thought, is it something super specific, like a particular chateau? Nah, the NYT usually isn’t that cruel, especially not on a weekday puzzle (can’t remember if it was a weekday, but felt like it).
I decided to leave it for a bit. Went off and tackled another section of the puzzle. Filled in some answers about state capitals, a movie director I actually knew, the usual crossword fare. Built up some confidence again. Sometimes you just need to walk away from a stubborn clue and come back with fresh eyes.
The Breakthrough
So, I circled back. By now, I had a couple of letters filled in from those crossing words I solved. Let’s say I had _ L _ _ E T. Okay, now what? “Bordeaux red” ending in T. CLARET! That’s it! Claret is the old British term for red Bordeaux wine. It clicked. It felt so obvious once I saw it, but man, it took a while to dredge that one up from the depths of my brain.
- Checked the letter count. Yep, six letters.
- Checked the crossing letters I had. Yep, they fit.
- Did a quick mental check: Is claret specifically associated with Bordeaux red? Yes, historically it is.
Felt pretty chuffed about getting that one. It wasn’t super obscure, but just obscure enough to make me work for it.
Finishing Up
Once CLARET went in, it opened up a few more answers in that corner of the puzzle. The rest fell into place relatively smoothly after that. There was another tricky one in the southeast corner, something about an old philosopher, but eventually, I pieced it together. Finally filled the last square. Always a satisfying feeling, you know? Putting the pen down (or clicking the last letter, if you do it online) and seeing the “Congratulations!” message or just knowing you beat the grid for the day.
So yeah, that was my little tussle with the NYT crossword today, all thanks to “Bordeaux red”. Sometimes it’s just one clue that defines the whole experience. Good fun, though. Keeps the mind sharp, or at least makes you feel like it does. Until tomorrow’s puzzle, anyway.
