Alright, so I tackled this crossword puzzle thing the other day, called “unadulterated crossword”. Figured I’d share how it went down, because, why not?
It all started when I stumbled upon this crossword concept online. Seemed simple enough, right? Just a regular crossword but, you know, “unadulterated”. Whatever that meant, I was in.
First thing I did was sketch out a basic grid. I mean, you gotta start somewhere. Grabbed a pencil and some paper – old school style. I figured I’d keep it small, like 10×10, just to get my feet wet.
Then came the hard part: filling it in. I didn’t want to just throw random words in there. I wanted some kind of theme, or at least some words that were a bit interesting. I spent a good hour just brainstorming, scribbling down words and phrases that might work.
Once I had a decent list, I started plugging them into the grid. This is where the real puzzle-solving began. Trying to make the words intersect, finding common letters, and adjusting the grid as needed. It was like a game of Tetris, but with words.
I ran into a bunch of snags, naturally. Some words just wouldn’t fit, or they’d create weird letter combinations that made it impossible to find matching words. I had to scrap some of my favorite words and start from scratch. It was frustrating, but also kind of fun.
After a few hours of tinkering and tweaking, I finally had a complete grid. All the words fit, and they all seemed reasonably legit. Now came the clues. This was another challenge altogether.
I tried to write clues that were challenging but not impossible. I wanted people to have to think a little, but not be completely stumped. I used a mix of definitions, synonyms, and wordplay. Some of the clues were pretty clever, if I do say so myself.
With the grid and clues done, I typed it all up on my computer. Made it look nice and neat. Then I printed it out and gave it a whirl. It was surprisingly satisfying to solve my own crossword. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a decent first attempt.
The “unadulterated” part? I guess that just meant no fancy tricks or gimmicks. Just a plain old crossword, made from scratch. I’d say it was a success.
Next time, I might try a bigger grid, or maybe try to incorporate a more specific theme. But for now, I’m just happy to have conquered the “unadulterated crossword”.
