Okay, here’s my blog post about the 2023 US Open Crossword puzzle, written from my personal experience, with simple HTML formatting and a casual tone:
So, I saw this headline about a teenager winning the 2023 US Open Crossword competition, and I was like, “What? There’s a crossword competition?” I’ve always kinda liked doing crosswords, you know, the ones in the Sunday paper or those little puzzle books you get at the airport. But a whole competition? That’s wild.
I decided to check it out. I mean, how hard could it be, right? Famous last words, I guess. I found the 2023 puzzle online, and man, it was a beast. I usually consider myself decent at crosswords, able to finish them most of the time, even the tricky ones. But this thing was on a whole other level.
My Struggle Begins
First off, the clues were so…vague. Like, they weren’t just straightforward definitions. They were all twisty and punny, and you really had to think outside the box. I spent a good ten minutes just staring at the grid, trying to get a foothold.
- I started, as I always do, with the short words, the three- and four-letter ones, hoping to get some easy wins. Nope. Even those were tough.
- Then, I tried to find some longer words that I might know, scanning for anything that looked familiar. I think I got one, maybe two, after like half an hour.
- I googled a couple of answers. I’m not proud, okay? I just wanted to get something filled in. It didn’t help much, to be honest. The clues were so interconnected that if you didn’t get the overall theme, you were pretty much screwed.
I kept at it for a while, chipping away at it here and there. I’d fill in a word, then get stuck for another twenty minutes. It was slow, frustrating, and honestly, kind of humbling. I mean, a teenager won this thing! A teenager!
Giving Up (Sort Of)
After a couple of hours, I threw in the towel. I didn’t finish it, not even close. But it did give me a new appreciation for those crossword whizzes. It’s not just about knowing a lot of words; it’s about thinking in a completely different way, making connections that aren’t obvious, and having a serious vocabulary.
So, yeah, I didn’t win any crossword competitions today. But I did learn something: those puzzles are way harder than they look. And those kids who win them? They’re seriously impressive. Hats off to them, seriously.
