Okay, so I was trying to solve the NYT crossword puzzle, and I got stuck on this one clue: “post touchdown attempt.” I was like, what could this be?
First, I brainstormed some possibilities. Touchdown, that’s football, right? So, what happens after a touchdown? I was thinking:
- Extra point?
- Two-point conversion?
- Kickoff? (But that’s not really an attempt, is it?)
I tried fitting “EXTRA POINT” into the puzzle, but it didn’t work. It was too long. Darn.
Then I considered “TWO POINT CONVERSION”. Nope, way too many letters. This was a real head-scratcher.
I took a break, got some coffee, and came back to it. Still nothing. I almost gave up!
Finally, I decided to just start filling in other parts of the puzzle, hoping the cross-letters would give me a hint. And they did! I got a few letters, and suddenly it clicked:
It was “PAT”! I totally forgot that the “point after touchdown” is sometimes abbreviated as “PAT.” I slapped my forehead – should have been so obvious!
I filled it in and boom solved that clue at last.
