Alright, let me tell you about tackling the NYT crossword the other day. I try to do it most days, keeps the old brain ticking over, you know? So I settled in, got my usual cup of tea, and started working through the clues.
Hitting a Rocker Clue
I was making decent progress, filling in a few here and there, getting into the rhythm. Then I came across this one: ‘one of two motley crue’. That stopped me for a beat. Mötley Crüe, okay, I know them. Big hair, loud music, all that stuff from back in the day. But “one of two”? That felt specific.
My first thought went straight to the band members. Who were the main guys?
- Vince Neil, the singer.
- Nikki Sixx, the bassist.
- Tommy Lee, the drummer.
- Mick Mars, the guitarist.
So, four of them. Why “one of two”? Maybe they meant the most famous pair? Tommy Lee and Nikki Sixx always seemed to be partners in crime, right? Or maybe the clue was just trying to be a bit clever, not too obvious.
Figuring It Out
I glanced at the grid. Always gotta check the number of squares. Okay, this one was short. Just three letters needed. That narrowed it down considerably. Looking back at my mental list:
Neil? Nope, four letters. Sixx? Four letters too. Mars? Four letters again. That left LEE. Tommy Lee. Three letters. Fits perfectly.
To be sure, I checked the crossing clues. Did any letters match up? Yeah, I already had the final ‘E’ filled in from another word going across. So, blank blank E. L-E-E. Bingo. It had to be LEE.
So I wrote it in. Felt pretty solid about that one. Didn’t take too long once I broke it down.
Quick Thought on That
Still, that “one of two” phrasing stuck with me for a second. Why not just “Crüe drummer” or something simple like that? Maybe the puzzle maker just liked that particular wording. Maybe they saw Lee and Sixx as the main duo, or Lee and Neil. Who knows how their minds work when they build these things? Sometimes it’s straightforward, sometimes it’s a bit quirky.
Anyway, got the answer filled in, that square was done. Time to move on to the next challenge on the grid. Just another day wrestling with the crossword, you know how it is.
