Crosswords

Yesterday I started to get really picky about my word choice. I ran through synonyms for a word in an e-mail, and then I realized why I was doing this. Too many crossword puzzles. For example, the hint of: "Gardener's vine support" had me making lists like this: trellis, tomato cage, pergola, arbor, arch, lattice... and only after examining my squares of _E_N_OLE did I find that the correct answer was beanpole. Plus, I had an incorrect C right before the OLE. The C was from "scarce", which does mean "scant", but so does "sparse". 

We have the New York Times 2009 desk calendar of crosswords. I like to think it is good for my brain, but sometimes it seems like a huge waste of time. I've only completed 2 Monday puzzles, and just yesterday I almost finished a Tuesday. There were 3 blank squares that I had no idea what the letter should be. That is why I try and work them with Matt, because his areas of knowledge compliment mine, and we get a lot further on a puzzle together than separately. 

One funny thing about the puzzles is the answers that show up often. If you are a crossword person, you'll know "Riga", "ore", "imam", and that humorist Bombeck's name is Erma. I feel like I joined a secret club!