Okay, so, the other day, I was trying to solve the New York Times crossword, as usual. You know how it gets harder throughout the week. It was a Saturday puzzle, so it was supposed to be tough.
I was doing pretty okay, but then I got stuck on this clue: “Current influencer.” I stared at it for what felt like forever. My mind was totally blank. I tried to think of people who are, like, big deals right now, but nothing fit the six-letter space.
Then, I started looking around for some help. I mean, everyone needs a little hint sometimes, right? I’m not claiming to be a crossword genius. So, I started flipping through some articles and stuff online. I found a few that mentioned this clue from a puzzle on September 28, 2024. I guess that was the day this clue stumped a lot of people.
One article was like, “We solved this clue, that last appeared on September 29.” Another one said, “The answer to ‘Current influencer’ in the NYT crossword for September 28, 2024 is ELNINO (Across 55).” Bingo! That had to be it. It was six letters, and it was definitely a “current” influencer, in the weather sense. That’s kind of tricky, right? Playing on the different meanings of “current.”
I saw some other sites mentioning this clue too, some with even more possible answers. Like, one of them said there were 40 possible answers in their database! Can you believe that? 40! But “ELNINO” seemed like the most likely one, and it fit with the other words I already had.
Then I remembered, the whole point of the crossword is to fill in the squares with letters to make words, and the clues in the Across and Down columns help you figure them out. This “Current influencer” clue was in the Across section, number 55. And the puzzle gets harder from Monday to Saturday, so this being a Saturday puzzle meant it was designed to be a real brain teaser.
I plugged in “ELNINO,” and it worked! It made sense with the other clues around it, and I felt that sweet sense of accomplishment. It’s funny how these puzzles can be so frustrating but also so satisfying when you finally crack them.
I saw somewhere that if you solve the puzzle without any help before the end of the day it’s released, you get a gold star. I definitely didn’t get a gold star this time. Ha! But hey, I finished it, and that’s what counts, right?
Anyway, just wanted to share my little crossword adventure. It’s these little challenges that keep things interesting, you know? And it’s always fun to learn something new, even if it’s just a six-letter word that means a weather phenomenon.
- Date encountered: September 28, 2024
- Clue: Current influencer
- Answer: ELNINO
- Number of letters: 6
- Puzzle Difficulty: Saturday (Hardest)
Learnings
Crosswords are designed to increase in difficulty throughout the week. The clues can sometimes be tricky, playing on multiple meanings of words. There are resources available online to help you solve them.
