So I woke up today thinking about yesterday’s crossword puzzle. That clue “meal in a tortilla” was buggin’ me all night. Grabbed my coffee – cold by this point – and the crumpled newspaper page was still on the kitchen table.
The Stare Down Phase
Honestly, I just stared at it for like ten minutes. Coffee wasn’t helping. Blank spaces mocking me. I started writing down every dang thing I could think of that fit in a tortilla:
- Breakfast burrito (too long!)
- Taco (seemed too obvious?)
- Fajita (maybe…)
- Quesadilla (ugh, also long)
- Some weird wrap thing? (Hopeless)
Wasn’t feeling it. My gut said “taco” but my brain argued “too simple, probably a trick”. Crosswords love messing with you like that.
Time to Get Dirty (Literally)
Gave up staring. Decided to get practical. Headed to the kitchen. Pulled out tortillas – corn and flour. Started actually MAKING stuff that fit the clue. Sometimes you gotta do the thing to remember the thing.
- Attempt One: Scrambled eggs, cheese, salsa. Folded it. Stared at it. “Is this… breakfast?” Crosswords usually want one word. “Burrito” was definitely too many letters. Struck out.
- Attempt Two: Grilled some chicken strips, peppers, onions. Threw it on a warm tortilla. “Fajitas!” Okay, that felt better. But was it the meal? Fajita refers more to the filling, the tortilla’s separate? My crossword brain got confused. Put it down.
- Attempt Three: Got lazy. Slapped cheese between two small corn tortillas and grilled it. “Quesadilla.” Again, letters didn’t seem right for the grid I was picturing yesterday.
This wasn’t working. Counter was a mess now.
The Lightbulb Moment (And Dusting Off Old Notes)
Wiped my hands and thought: “Okay, real talk. What do people ALWAYS call it?” Suddenly remembered a picnic photo album from last summer. Dug out my phone, scrolled through it. Found pics from that taco truck near the park. Just labeled them “Taco Day”. Duh. Pure and simple.
But I wasn’t convinced. Crosswords often pull out the less common stuff. I dragged my dusty old crossword puzzle notebook off the bookshelf. Flipped through pages full of terrible handwriting and coffee stains. Searched for “tortilla” clues.
Found it! A page where I’d scribbled answers for similar clues. Alongside “taco” and “fajita”, I’d written:
- Taco (Obviously)
- Burro (Heard this somewhere? Short for burrito?)
- Wrap (Super generic, but it fits)
- Rollo (Was this it? Or did I make it up? Looked familiar)
- Fajita (Still clinging to this one)
My past self had actually jotted down five possibilities! Guess I’d solved this before and forgotten. Typical.
My Final Five (Forgetful Brain Edition)
Right, so based on my kitchen chaos and that messy notebook evidence, here’s the list I finally settled on for that “meal in a tortilla” clue. The top contenders people actually use:
- Taco (King of the tortilla meal, simple as that)
- Fajita (The whole shebang, tortilla included in the idea)
- Wrap (Broad term, but absolutely valid)
- Burrito (Gotta include the full name sometimes)
- Taquito (That rolled-up fried version!)
(Past me had “Burro” and “Rollo” – maybe local slang or mishearing? I’m sticking with these five solid ones.)
So yeah, that was my Wednesday morning adventure. From cold coffee frustration, to making a kitchen mess, to digging up ancient notes. The answer felt obvious looking back – it’s usually Taco. But hey, sometimes you gotta confirm things the hard way. Now excuse me, I need to clean up my tortilla experiments!
