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The Crossword Puzzle - A Fascinating And Strange Pastime

A look at the strange attraction and fascination we have with the crossword puzzle ...

Few pastimes can be as satisfying as finishing a challenging crossword puzzle. It doesn’t matter if you like easy, medium, hard or an extremely hard level of crossword puzzle like those from the New York Times. Some people like to do theirs in ink others insist on pencil only. There are even those who prefer to do their crossword puzzle in mechanical pencils so that the answers can still be corrected but the letters looked as neatly formed as those you would write in ink. 

There are different shapes and styles of puzzle books some are laminated so that they won’t get wet from your beverage of choice that you’re sipping while filling in your answers. Some are large and filled with many puzzles designed to give you more bang for your buck. I’ve even seen a crossword puzzle book in the shape of a toilet in a nationally known bookstore. Yes, I admit I bought the book.

These challenging puzzles can be styled in various ways using a wealth of subjects. There are crosswords that have only words for objects you’d see in your kitchen, school, or local public library. When Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince was due to be released in stores The New York Times released a Harry Potter themed crossword puzzle for that Sunday before the books release in stores. 

They also have the power to unify people. I’ve seen people who never speak to strangers see someone they don’t know working on a crossword puzzle in public and offer to help them find a seven lettered word for a mythical Egyptian bird (it’s phoenix by the way).

Many American bathrooms will have one of these puzzle books in them. How many people have used a friend or relative’s bathroom only to find a half finished puzzle and pen or pencil in a convenient spot? How many people have gone on to work on that crossword puzzle during that same bathroom visit?

Few things are as annoying as a puzzle that leaves you stumped for an answer. Here are a few tips that are sure to help you finish that crossword puzzle that’s been nagging at you.

Try leaving it alone and coming back to it. Just giving it time has solved many puzzles. Rely on your tried and true sources: the dictionary, thesaurus, and crossword puzzle dictionary a serious word game enthusiast will have all three in his or her home. The Internet is a valuable tool for looking up very difficult crossword puzzle clues. Type the clue in parenthesis and press enter. Many times your query will be sure to answer your question as well as teach you something you didn’t know before due to the copious additional knowledge you’ll find.

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