Okay, so I was chilling on the couch, Sunday morning, coffee in hand, ready to tackle the New York Times crossword. I usually do pretty well, but sometimes those clues are just…out there. And today, one of them was “unspecified amount.” I stared at it for a good five minutes, totally blank.
I started like I always do, by filling in the easy ones, the ones I know right off the bat. You know, the short words, the fill-in-the-blanks. Got a few of those, felt a little boost of confidence. But that “unspecified amount” clue? Still staring at me. Mocking me, even.
Trying Different Approaches
So, I started going through the possibilities in my head. What words even mean “unspecified amount”? I thought of things like:
- “Some” – Nope, too short.
- “A bit” – Still too short.
- “A lot” – Didn’t fit.
I tried working on the crossing words, hoping that getting some of the letters would give me a hint. That’s usually a good strategy. Got a couple more filled in, but still nothing that clicked for that darn “unspecified amount.”
The “Aha!” Moment
Then, I decided to skip it. Just move on. Maybe if I came back to it later, with a fresh perspective, it would come to me. I worked on other parts of the puzzle, made some progress, felt pretty good. Then I looped back around to that empty space.
This time, something popped into my head. what is a formal word I don’t use it every day? and I thought and combined letters of the word that I filled. It has to be formal and a synonim. What about “a certain.”…wait a minute. “A CERTAIN”! That fits! It’s seven letters, and it totally means an unspecified amount!
I quickly typed it in, and bam! It worked. The crossing words all lined up, and I felt like a total genius. I mean, it’s just a crossword puzzle, but it’s the little victories, right?
So, yeah, that’s how I finally cracked the “unspecified amount” clue. Just took a little patience, some trial and error, and a willingness to step away and come back later. Now, back to finish this coffee…and the rest of the puzzle, of course.
