Alright, let’s talk about today’s little adventure with the NYT crossword. You know how it is, you grab your coffee, sit down, and prepare to wrestle with words. Some days it flows, other days it’s a real head-scratcher.
My Morning Puzzle Ritual
So, I was going through the clues, and one popped up: “eats between meals.” My brain immediately went, “Okay, simple enough.” First things first, I always try to picture what that means in plain English. It’s that stuff you munch on when it’s not quite lunchtime or dinnertime. We all do it, right?
My initial thoughts immediately jumped to the most common word for this. SNACKS. It’s a classic, fits the description perfectly. But you can’t just slap the first word that comes to mind into a crossword. You gotta check the boxes, literally.
Checking the Grid and Letter Count
I looked over at the grid to see how many letters I was working with for this particular answer. This is super important. Let’s say, for the sake of this story, it was a five-letter word. “S-N-A-C-K-S”. Well, shoot, that’s six letters. My first guess is already out the window if the space is for five letters! This happens all the time. You get an idea, and then the grid says, “Nope, try again!”
So, if “SNACKS” with an ‘S’ at the end didn’t fit, what then? I’d have to rethink. What’s a five-letter word for “eats between meals”? My mind would start racing through alternatives.
- Could it be a verb? Like “NIBBLE”? That’s six letters too, usually. “BITES”? Possible, but a bit generic.
- Maybe a more specific type of food? But the clue is “eats,” plural, or the act of eating.
This is where having some crossing letters already filled in is a lifesaver. If I had, say, the second letter as ‘N’ and the fourth as ‘C’, and it was a five-letter word… then “SNACK” (singular) could be a strong contender. The clue “eats between meals” could imply the food items themselves (snacks) or the act of eating them. The NYT can be tricky like that.
The Breakthrough Moment
Let’s imagine the grid actually did point to “SNACK” (singular, five letters) or perhaps a different five-letter word. I’d try to fit “SNACK” in. If the clue was maybe a Monday or Tuesday, they often go for the most straightforward interpretation. “Eats between meals” could very well just be “SNACK” if they’re talking about one such item, or if the clue is a bit loose with pluralization sometimes for brevity.
But, if “SNACKS” (plural, six letters) was the length, then my initial instinct would have been spot on. I’d then look for any crossing letters to confirm. If the ‘S’ at the beginning lined up with another word, and the ‘K’ in the middle also fit, I’d start feeling pretty confident.
For this particular clue, “eats between meals,” the most common answer that usually comes up in crosswords, if the letter count allows, is indeed SNACKS. It’s one of those familiar phrases. So, I’d pencil it in lightly at first.
Confirmation and Moving On
Then, as I solved the clues around it, and the letters started to lock in, that “S”, then “N”, then “A”, then “C”, then “K”, then “S” would get darker and darker in my mental grid, and on the paper too. It’s a good feeling when the pieces click together.
It’s not always a direct path. Sometimes I’ll put something in, be super sure, and then a crossing word makes it totally impossible. Then it’s back to the drawing board, erasing, and rethinking. But for “eats between meals,” if the space is there for it, “SNACKS” is usually a pretty safe bet. It’s a common enough activity and a common enough word that it just fits the crossword vibe.
And that was my little journey with that clue today. Nothing earth-shattering, just the usual process of elimination, intuition, and a bit of luck with the letter count. Now, onto the next one!
