So, I was tackling the crossword puzzle from the weekend paper yesterday evening. Just a usual way to unwind, you know? Mostly smooth sailing until I hit this one clue: “very taxing”. Seemed straightforward, but it turned out to be a real head-scratcher.
First thoughts? Easy stuff like ‘HARD’, ‘TOUGH’. But looking at the grid, I needed way more letters. Counted the squares – looked like nine spaces. Okay, so those simple words were out.
My next guess was ‘DIFFICULT’. Nope, still too short. Then ‘DEMANDING’ popped into my head. Nine letters! Perfect. I lightly penciled it in, feeling pretty smart. But then I started working on the clues crossing it, and the letters just weren’t lining up. Had to grab the eraser. Back to square one. That’s always a bit annoying, isn’t it?
I started running through synonyms in my head. What else means “very taxing”?
‘BURDENSOME’? Too long. ‘ONEROUS’? Only seven letters. I stared at those nine blank squares for what felt like ages. Considered if it might be two words, but the clue didn’t suggest that. Just plain “very taxing”.
I put the paper down, went to the kitchen, made myself a coffee. Sometimes you just need to step away, let the brain reset. Came back to it a bit later.
The breakthrough came when I finally solved a couple of the down clues that intersected with my problem word. Suddenly, I had a few letters in place: S _ R _ N _ _ U S. Seeing that pattern, especially the S start and the UOUS ending, it clicked. STRENUOUS. Of course. That fits perfectly for “very taxing” and it’s nine letters.
Filled it in confidently this time. Checked the crossing words again – yup, everything fit like a glove. Felt that nice little wave of relief and satisfaction. Got it!
It’s funny, that whole process reminded me of a situation I had a while back, trying to fix a leaky faucet in the bathroom. Seemed simple enough, right? Just tighten a few things. But it turned into this whole complicated mess. Had to take the thing apart, couldn’t figure out which bit was wrong, almost called a plumber. Stared at the pipes just like I stared at those crossword squares. Then, finally, after fiddling around for ages, found the tiny worn-out washer causing all the trouble. Fixing it felt just as good as finally writing ‘STRENUOUS’ into that grid. Sometimes the most “taxing” problems just need a bit of patience and looking at them from a different angle.
