Okay, so today I was trying to solve this crossword puzzle, you know, just to kill some time. And I stumbled upon this clue “abate” that I just couldn’t crack right away.
It wasn’t one of those that you immediately know. So, I did what anyone would do and started looking it up online.
- First, I just typed “abate crossword clue” into the search bar.
- Then I browsed through a bunch of different crossword solver sites.
It felt like I spent ages scrolling. Most of them are saying it has to do with decreasing or reducing something, and some give examples like lessening the intensity of a storm or reducing pain. But I needed a specific word, not a concept.
I found a few websites that listed possible answers, and man, there were so many options! LESSEN, REDUCE, DIMINISH, DECREASE, and more. Each of these websites claims to have the correct answer, and they were saying some different things, so it was kind of confusing.
I kept digging and found a discussion about this clue being seen in a “Mirror Classic” crossword on a specific date, which was pretty neat. It’s from some other folks who were also trying to solve it. And there was another site talking about a “The Sun quick crossword” with the same clue, but I didn’t find any new information about it. It’s kind of cool to know that this specific clue has been around, troubling others just like me.
Anyway, I jotted down all the potential answers from various sites and went back to the puzzle. After staring at it for a while and trying to fit in different words, I finally figured it out! It was a good feeling, you know, finally cracking it after all that work. I don’t want to spoil the answer for you if you’re trying to solve it, but let’s just say, it was one of the shorter words on the list.
Solving crossword puzzles can be super satisfying, but sometimes it’s also pretty frustrating, right? Especially when you get stuck on one clue for a long time.
Lessons Learned
This whole thing taught me that even though there are tons of resources online, sometimes it takes a little bit of good old-fashioned thinking to solve a problem. It also made me feel a bit better knowing that other people were also looking up this clue.
So, yeah, that was my little adventure with the “abate” crossword clue. If you ever get stuck on a crossword clue, just know that you’re not alone! And sometimes, the answer is simpler than you think.
