Hello fellow word wranglers and puzzle enthusiasts!
There are some crossword clues that just sit there, staring back at you with an almost mischievous glint, daring you to unravel their layered meaning. This week, one particular crossword clue had me doing a delightful dance around my brain cells, a true testament to the cleverness of cryptic constructors. It’s the kind of crossword clue that makes you pause, smile, and then dive deep into the fascinating world of language.
The clue in question? “Toys that are quite hip, literally.”
Oh, the joy of a perfectly crafted crossword clue! My first instinct, like many of you, I’m sure, was to immediately jump to the modern usage of “hip” – stylish, trendy, cool. What toys are currently all the rage? Fidget toys, collectible cards, perhaps certain video game consoles? But then, that crucial, game-changing word: “literally.” It’s a word that demands precision, a word that pulls you back from the figurative and grounds you firmly in the concrete. And that, my friends, is where the real fun of this crossword clue began.
“Literally” means we’re not talking about cool factor, or what’s currently fashionable on the playground. We’re talking about actual, physical hips. So, the mental gears shifted from “What’s popular?” to “What toys possess anatomical hips?” This immediately narrows the field considerably, doesn’t it? We’re looking for things that mimic the human (or perhaps animal) form, specifically with that crucial joint connecting the leg to the torso.
My mind started to race through a toy box of possibilities. Dolls, of course, were front and center. From classic baby dolls to fashion icons, many feature articulated limbs, including those essential hip joints that allow for sitting, standing, and striking a pose. But is it
just
any doll? The “quite hip” part of the crossword clue suggests more than just the basic articulation. Is it about the prominence of the hips? The flexibility? The design?
Then there are action figures. The more sophisticated ones, especially those marketed to collectors, often boast an impressive range of articulation points. Their designers go to great lengths to ensure dynamic posing, and hip joints are absolutely critical for achieving those heroic stances or epic battle scenes. Think about the complexity of a superhero figure, able to kick, lunge, and sit – all thanks to those meticulously engineered hips.
Beyond dolls and action figures, I mused about other possibilities. Building sets, perhaps? Could certain construction toys, when assembled, form figures with noticeable hip joints? Or what about puppets, with their string-controlled movements that often rely on a foundational, jointed structure? The beauty of a challenging crossword clue is how it forces you to explore every nook and cranny of your knowledge base, pushing you to think laterally and then pull back to the literal.
The journey to solve such a specific crossword clue is half the fun. You start broad, narrow it down, then scrutinize the remaining options against every single word in the clue. “Quite hip” isn’t just “hip”; it implies a certain degree, a noticeable quality. It suggests that the hip articulation is a significant or defining feature of these toys, making them distinct. This level of detail in a crossword clue is what separates the good from the truly great. It forces you to consider not just
what
has hips, but
how
those hips are presented or function within the toy’s design.
Ultimately, the ‘aha!’ moment for this crossword clue came from fully embracing the “literally” and then letting “quite hip” guide the specifics. It’s a fantastic example of a clue that initially misdirects with a common idiom, only to reveal its ingenious simplicity once you commit to the precise definition of its terms. If you love dissecting a clever crossword clue, this one definitely delivered.
What are your go-to strategies for tackling a crossword clue that plays with literal and figurative meanings? Share your thoughts below!
Available Answers:
HULA.
Last seen on the crossword puzzle: Washington Post Crossword -Friday’s Daily By Jeffrey Martinovic / Ed. Patti Varol