Okay, so today I decided to tackle the New York Times crossword. I’ve been doing them on and off, and I always get stuck on the weirdest clues. Today, it was “international date line” that threw me for a loop.
First, I googled “international date line nyt crossword” just to see what would pop up. I figured maybe there were some common answers associated with that clue. I saw some discussions on forums and crossword solver sites, but nothing immediately clicked.
Then, I started brainstorming. I knew the International Date Line had something to do with time zones, and that crossing it meant going forward or backward a day. I tried to think of related words: “calendar,” “time,” “day,” “change”… nothing seemed to fit the crossword grid.
I went back to the puzzle and looked at the crossing words. Maybe the letters I already had filled in would give me a hint. I had a few letters, but they weren’t helping much.
- I spent 10 miniutes thinking.
- I looked for other clues.
Feeling a bit frustrated, I decided to take a break. I got up, walked around, and refreshed my coffee. Sometimes stepping away from a problem helps me see it with fresh eyes.
When I came back, I had a new idea. I thought about how the date line is an imaginary line. What if the answer was something metaphorical, not literal? I then started fiddling the letters I had with words for line types.
Success!
After all that head-scratching, finally I got it.I love NYT crossword!
