Well, I don’t know much about fancy book learnin’ or nothin’, but I heard tell of this “crossword employ” thingy. Sounds like some kinda puzzle where you gotta find words, right? My grandbaby, she’s always fiddlin’ with them things, pencil in her hand, frownin’ like she’s tryin’ to catch a greased pig.
So, what’s this “employ” all about? It’s like when you get someone to do a job for ya, like milkin’ the cows or fixin’ the fence. You hire ’em, pay ’em a little somethin’ for their trouble. That’s employin’ someone, simple as that.
Now, these crossword puzzles, they like to be tricky, don’t they? They ask for “employ” but they want some short little word, three letters, maybe four. Drives me batty! Why can’t they just say what they mean? Like if they want “hire,” just say “hire”!
- But no, they gotta make it all complicated. So, what words could they be lookin’ for?
- Well, there’s “use”. Like, “I use this here hammer to fix the fence.” That’s kinda like employin’ the hammer, right?
- Or maybe “put”. “I put Johnny to work in the fields.” Employin’ Johnny, see?
- And sometimes, they get real fancy and want “hire” itself. But that’s too easy, they usually want somethin’ shorter.
It’s like they’re tryin’ to speak in code, them crossword puzzle folks. They got their own secret language, and us regular folks gotta figure it out. It ain’t easy, lemme tell ya. But I guess it keeps them city folk busy, keeps their minds off… well, whatever city folk worry about. Not like us country folk, we got real work to do, ain’t got time for fancy puzzles.
I reckon if you’re lookin’ to fill in them little boxes, you gotta think sideways, like a crab scuttlin’ on the beach. Don’t just think about the word “employ” itself, think about what it means. Think about all the different ways you can say it, all the different words that are kinda the same, but shorter. That’s the secret, I think.
And if you’re still stuck, well, there ain’t no shame in askin’ for help. My grandbaby, she knows all sorts of tricks. She says there are books and things, even machines, that can help you solve these puzzles. Imagine that! A machine that can think better than me! Well, I guess that ain’t too hard, ha!
Anyways, this whole “crossword employ” thing, it’s just a game, ain’t it? A way to pass the time, a way to keep your brain from turnin’ to mush. And I guess that’s important, even if you ain’t got nothin’ better to do than chase chickens around the yard all day. Keeps you sharp, like a good ol’ axe.
So, if you’re lookin’ for work, that’s like looking to be employed, right? And then the person giving you the work is employin’ you. It’s all connected, see? Like a big ol’ spiderweb, everything’s touchin’ somethin’ else. And that’s true whether you’re talkin’ about words in a puzzle or folks out in the real world.
And sometimes, them puzzles, they want a longer word. Maybe something like “jobseeker”. That’s someone lookin’ to be employed, someone lookin’ for a job. They use big words sometimes, them puzzle makers, just to make it harder on us. But we ain’t stupid. We can figure it out, given enough time and maybe a cup of strong coffee.
Synonyms they call ’em. Words that mean the same thing but sound different. Like “big” and “large” or “quick” and “fast”. They like to play with them synonyms in them crosswords. So, if “employ” don’t fit, you gotta think about what other words mean the same thing. Maybe “engage” or “retain” or somethin’ like that. But those are fancy words, ain’t they? I stick to the simple ones myself.
So, there you have it. My two cents on “crossword employ”. I might not know all the fancy rules, but I know a thing or two about work and words. And if you’re still stuck, well, just keep tryin’. That’s what we do out here in the country. We don’t give up easy. We just keep on pluggin’ away, until we get the job done. Or until we figure out that darn puzzle, whichever comes first.
