The Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday puzzles are do-able. Come Thursday, most clues are about obscure movies and old television shows. Last Saturday was this clue: “Fifth in a series of seven old comedy films”. ?? For a late 80s immigrant, it is quite a struggle to get those answers. (btw, the answer to that question is Road to Rio)
Then I begin cheating…I go to Google for help. I discovered in my surfing two websites that take all the fun out of doing the crossword. One is www.crosswordheaven.com– it’s a site that allows you to enter the clue and it just spits out the answer. It is always a temptation to go to it. The other is http://rexwordpuzzle.blogspot.com/ — the blogger is a Rex Parker who says of himself “I am the 31st Greatest Crossword Puzzle Solver in the Universe!” Don’t ask me who the other 30 are!! Rex Parker takes 2 minutes to do the NY Times crossword and by the time I solicit Google for help at about 9 a.m., HE is there – on top of the search list. All smug and done, the fastest pencil in the east.
And, of course, I follow his blog.