Okay, so I was tackling the crossword puzzle this morning, just part of my usual routine, you know? And I hit this one clue: find out if they know.
Seemed simple enough at first glance. But then I started thinking. How do you actually do that? What’s the word they’re looking for?
My first thought went towards more complex actions. Maybe something like:
- INTERROGATE
- QUESTION
- INVESTIGATE
But looking at the grid, I didn’t have nearly enough spaces for those long words. It was clearly something shorter, much shorter.
Thinking Simpler
Alright, back to basics. What’s the most direct way to find out if someone knows something? You don’t need to launch a full investigation. You just… well, you just approach them.
I considered “TEST”. That fits the idea, right? You test their knowledge. I checked the letter count I needed. Let’s say it was three letters for this particular spot.
“TEST” has four letters. Nope, not gonna fit.
What else? “QUIZ”? Also four letters. Still no good.
Okay, what is the absolute simplest action? Forget testing or quizzing. You just walk up and… you ASK.
Three letters. A-S-K. That felt right. Simple, direct, fits the meaning of “find out if they know”. I penciled it in, checked the crossing letters from the words I already had filled in, and yeah, it fit perfectly.
Sometimes the most obvious answer is the right one, but you overthink it. Took me a few minutes, but I got there. Just had to simplify my thinking down to the core action. So, yeah, that was my little puzzle adventure for the day.
