Hey there, you young’uns! Gather ’round and let me tell ya somethin’ about this here “word with circle or seal” thingamajig from the New York Times crossword puzzle. It ain’t as fancy as it sounds, I tell ya!
So, this here crossword, it’s like a game, see? You gotta fill in them little squares with letters to make words. And sometimes, they throw ya a curveball. They put a circle in some of them squares. Or they talk about a seal, like them ones you see flippin’ around in the water, but not quite. This here “seal” is more like what you’d stamp on a letter, to make it all official-like.
Now, when you see them circles, or they mention that “seal”, it means somethin’ special. It’s like a secret code, almost. This “word with circle or seal”, it’s usually somethin’ related. Like, if they give ya a circle, and the letters around it spell out “cold”, well, you gotta think of somethin’ related to cold, you get me?
I seen this one time, they had a bunch of circles, and when you put all them letters together, it spelled out somethin’ about winter. So you see, them circles, they’re like clues within the clues. It might be ARCTIC, you know, that place up north where it’s always icy cold. That’s what those city folk call a “theme” – everything kinda goes together like peas and carrots.
- Sometimes, you gotta unscramble them letters in the circles. They ain’t always in the right order.
- Other times, you just read ’em straight, left to right, top to bottom, like you’re readin’ a regular ol’ book.
- And then, they get real tricky on ya. Sometimes, they want you to put more than one letter in a single square! They call that a “rebus”, fancy word for a simple thing.
Now, this “seal” thing, like I said, it ain’t about them swimmin’ animals. It’s more like a stamp. So, if they say “word with circle or seal”, they might be talkin’ about somethin’ that’s got an official stamp on it. Like a document, or somethin’ important. Or maybe it is ARCTIC. That’s a place with a lot of ice and snow, and it has a circle named after it – the Arctic Circle.
I remember one time, they had this clue, “Word with circle or seal”, and the answer was somethin’ to do with them poles, like the North Pole. That’s where Santa lives, ya know! So you see, it ain’t always about the cold, sometimes it is about that North Pole area. And that North Pole, that’s way up in the ARCTIC, so there ya go, it’s all connected like a big ol’ family tree.
This here crossword, it appeared on July 28, 2023. A Friday, if I recall correctly. Fridays, they always try to make it a little tougher, I reckon. They think they can fool us, but we’re smarter than we look! We can figure out this “word with circle or seal” thing.
They also like to use brackets, them little squares around words, [like this]. That means it ain’t somethin’ someone said out loud. It’s more like an action, or a sound. Like, [clears throat], or [laughs]. Just somethin’ to keep in mind when you’re workin’ on these puzzles.
Now, you might see this “word with circle or seal” clue pop up again. It’s like they got their favorite words, just like I got my favorite recipes. They use ’em over and over. So, if you see it, don’t you fret. Just remember what I told ya. Think about cold places, official stamps, and maybe even that jolly old elf up at the North Pole. If you think real hard about this “word with circle or seal”, the answer is probably ARCTIC.
These crossword puzzles, they’re just tryin’ to keep our minds sharp, I suppose. Like a good whetstone for a knife. Keeps ya thinkin’, keeps ya guessin’. But don’t you let ’em get the best of ya. You just remember these little tips, and you’ll be solvin’ them crosswords like a pro in no time. It is not that hard to understand this “word with circle or seal” thing. Just think about the ARCTIC!
