My husband is cheating.
Oh, not in the way you might think. He’s taken to cheating on our shared crossword puzzles.
In the past several months since the USPS “retired” him and I’ve been working entirely from home, we’ve fallen into a little game: I start the Sunday crossword, go great guns with it until I’m stumped, and then he picks up the slack.
Often, we are able to finish them and we crow, flush with a sense of accomplishment, until the next one lands at the end of the driveway. (Cut us some slack; we are middle-aged, after all.)
Some of the puzzles are more challenging than others, and we find ourselves working on them throughout the week. Others fall together in short order.
I thought we were of the same minds on this — a fun way to exercise brain cells. The whole idea, after all, is to figure the clues out on your own.
And then last night I discovered only I enjoy the thrill and satisfaction of a puzzling through a perfectly placed series of letters.
With nary a bit of shame, Basil showed me a couple of apps he’d downloaded on the phone — Crossword Puzzle Helper and Crossword Solver or some equally heinous programs.
And then he proceeded to cheat his way through some of the sticky clues in our latest effort, gleefully calling out the answers I’d filled in wrong or hadn’t yet figured out.
I think I’ll do the puzzles by myself from now on.
Pushing on a Rope 
Oh, this brings back memories. Only difference is that they were the Herald Tribune puzzles in the 60s. My mother and Bill’s Mom both did the Sunday puzzles. My mother would pull me into helping if she got stuck on a science clue (or any other). Then I’d go up to Bill’s for Sunday dinner, and his Mom would have me assist her. When I got home, my mother would want to know how far Mom had gotten, and did she get this clue? or that one?
In their minds, cheating was pulling out the dictionary. Or the encyclopedia. Not sure how they’d feel about electronic assistance… Mom still does puzzles, not quite as accurately as she once did, but it helps keep her brain active.
Posted by Karen Waggoner | March 25, 2014, 11:56 amThat’s a very funny story!
Posted by Terri S. Vanech | March 27, 2014, 8:00 amLOL…I too, am a cheater! Only when I get really stuck….gawd, I feel so dirty!
Posted by Lynn | March 25, 2014, 9:53 am🙂
Posted by Terri S. Vanech | March 27, 2014, 7:59 amWay to go Bill! “Ma” is very proud of you! Imagine all the brain cells you exercised coming up with the idea of utilizing one of those sites.
Terri calls it cheating. I call it resourceful! Thumbs up. Good job. You give us puzzle dummies hope. 🙂
Posted by murphyslaw | March 25, 2014, 9:15 am(ahem)
Posted by Terri S. Vanech | March 27, 2014, 8:00 am