Stephen Sondheim, one of America’s greatest composers famously said: “The nice thing about doing a crossword puzzle is, you know there is a solution,” he was only half-right. While it’s assuring to know that all those cups of coffee gone cold because you were too busy racking your brain for something that most definitely has a solution, what Sondheim didn’t capture was the fact that apart from the instant satisfaction of completing a crossword, one stands to gain a lot more IF one keeps at it.
Without further ado, we present to you a bunch of good things that are already happening to you if you’ve made solving crosswords a sweet habit.
- You may not know it yet but your vocabulary is most definitely progressing faster than your child’s lego castle – Each crossword packs in an average of 3-4 new words or phrases that you can start dropping immediately.
- You’re probably using “Ummm…I’m not sure” lesser than you used to – It’s all about the decisions when it comes to crosswords. Would “Your commute to work” be CAB or a BUS? or “Affirmative” be YES or YEA or YUP, what’s it gonna be? Make these tiny decisions every day and we bet making other decisions is going to take you lesser time too.
- You’re busier than ever – It’s hard to get bored if you have your plate stocked with crosswords. Subway ride, lunch hour, hell even a bathroom break is good enough time to squeeze in a clue or two.
- You’re a solver, not a quitter – Crosswords are a true metaphor for life, no, hear us out. Next time life presents a problem, ask yourself what you’d do if this was one of those crazy clues that seem unsolvable at first but eventually, after a revisit or two, you get it and you not only type in the trophy word, you realize it hides the key to many other words erm problems. Try it, we urge you.
- You are more creative with the way you approach things. – A good crossword solver always tries to join the dots, the barely known references that add up to something or the additional hint that leads to the lesser-known spelling of a fairly common word. This knack for fishing out what’s less obvious will give you a good practice to get creative with your life for there’s always more than meets the eye.
So there you have it, our top-five positive effects that solving crosswords can have. There’s a reason why it has been the most well-loved puzzle type for people of all age groups throughout the years. Go ahead, grab yourself a cozy spot and get cracking!