Okay, so yesterday I was totally zoning out, you know, just chilling after work. I decided to tackle the LA Times crossword. I’m not like, a pro or anything, but I enjoy messing around with them to keep my brain from turning into complete mush.
I started going through the clues, and bam! I hit one that was stumping me: “avoids injury”. I stared at it for a solid five minutes. My first thought was “heal,” but that’s definitely not avoiding injury, that’s after the fact. I tried to think of preventative measures, like “stretch” or “warmup,” but the letters weren’t lining up.
My usual strategy is to just fill in the easy ones first and hope the crossing letters give me a clue. I did that for a while, knocking out some sports trivia and state capitals. Still nothing on “avoids injury.”
Frustrated, I grabbed a beer and started thinking more broadly. What are ways to literally avoid injury? Maybe something about safety equipment? Like, “helmet” or “pads”? Nope, still not enough letters showing up.
Then it hit me! It was one of those duh moments. The answer was PLAYSITSAFE. It’s all one word, kind of a mouthful, but it fit perfectly with the crossing letters I already had. I wrote it in, and the crossword puzzle gods smiled upon me. Everything clicked into place after that.
It just goes to show, sometimes you gotta step back, take a breather, and think about the obvious. I was so focused on medical terms and workout routines that I completely missed the simple, straightforward answer. Anyway, another crossword conquered! Back to reality.
