Working on crossword puzzles can be lots of fun, it keeps the brain working trying to recall different meanings, and some puzzles are harder than others! I enjoy the booklets of crossword puzzles that are supposed to be easy though I wonder sometimes what easy means. A friend of mine, who worked puzzles and was much better than I am, said, "When you do the puzzle with ink, instead of pencil, you have joined the big leagues of crossword puzzling."
I work on my crossword puzzles with ink and when I make a mistake, the page can become a big mess because of the many wrong answers. Sometimes, I cannot understand the connection until I look up the meaning of the word and find that the creator of the puzzle is absolutely right! I have two ways to try and figure out the puzzle. One is to go through all the Across and fill in what I know and then do the same for Down. Sometimes there are enough letters to complete the puzzle. Other times, I begin at the beginning and work my way down the page filling Down and Across at the same time.
The strange thing about crosswords is that I may rack my brain trying to recall an answer and no matter how hard I think, nothing comes to mind to make me fill in the small square. I just do not know the meaning. But, if I set the puzzle down, and pick it up at a later date, the answers come readily to mind. Why, I ask, last night I had no clue and this morning the answers are quite clear. Makes me wonder how that is possible. Either I know the answer or not, yet, when working crossword puzzles a rest can do wonders to open up the brain with a correct answer.
Material I have read implies that working puzzles is good for the brain and may help in not getting dementia or Alzheimer's. I hope this is true and I will continue searching my brain for answers until I finish a puzzle. Sometimes, when I get frustrated because I cannot come up with an answer, I cheat and look up the answer. I hate cheating but sometimes that is the only way to complete the puzzle!
"People who work crossword
puzzles know that if they stop
making progress, they should
put the puzzle down for awhile."
Marilyn vos Savant
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