My Usual Morning Grind with the NYT
So, there I was, coffee in hand, staring at the screen. You know how it goes. Part of my morning ritual, trying to get the old brain cogs turning with the New York Times crossword. Some days it’s a breeze, other days, man, it’s like pulling teeth. Today was one of those days where one particular clue just had me scratching my head for a bit longer than I’d like to admit.
The clue in question? “Dim sum dessert.” Sounds straightforward, right? That’s what I thought too. My mind immediately jumped to a few usual suspects. You know, the kind of things you always see on those little carts rolling by. But the squares, they just weren’t having it with my first guesses.
Wrestling with Sweet Treats
I started going through the list in my head. What dessert do I usually get with dim sum? My first instinct was maybe some kind of sweet bun, like those custard ones. But the letters I had from the intersecting words just wouldn’t line up. Nope, not that. Then I thought, okay, what about something more common, like an almond cookie? Still no dice. It’s funny how your brain can get stuck on one track and refuse to budge. I even started thinking about those little jelly desserts, but that felt too niche for a daily crossword, you know?
It actually got me thinking about the last time I had proper dim sum. Went with the family, whole big table, steamers stacked high. My kid, bless his heart, tried to eat a soup dumpling like a regular one and, well, you can imagine the mess. Scalding hot soup everywhere. We all had a good laugh after we made sure he wasn’t actually burnt. Good times. But that memory, as nice as it was, wasn’t helping me fill in those darn squares.
So, I stepped away for a minute. Refilled my coffee. Sometimes you just gotta clear your head, look at something else. I stared out the window, watched the squirrels fight over an acorn. Standard stuff. When I came back to it, I tried to approach it fresh. I focused on the letters I was sure about from the words crossing it. There was an ‘S’ at the beginning, and I was pretty confident about an ‘L’ somewhere in the middle of the second word.
The Lightbulb Moment
And then, it just clicked. Like a switch flipping. Of course! It’s one of those things that’s always there, but maybe not the first thing you think of when someone just says “dessert.” It’s often round, maybe a bit crispy on the outside, sweet filling. You know the ones. SESAME BALLS. That was it!
- I penciled it in. S-E-S-A-M-E.
- Then B-A-L-L-S.
It fit perfectly with all the crossers. Felt pretty good, I gotta say. It’s always satisfying when you finally crack one of those that’s been bugging you. Makes you feel like your brain isn’t completely turning to mush just yet. Now, if you’ll excuse me, all that thinking about dim sum has made me seriously hungry. Might have to make a trip later.
