1973 comedy-drama starring Ryan O’Neal and his daughter Tatum: 2 wds.

Cracking the Code: “1973 comedy-drama starring Ryan O’Neal and his daughter Tatum: 2 wds.“

This week’s crossword puzzle threw me for a loop with this particularly tricky clue: “1973 comedy-drama starring Ryan O’Neal and his daughter Tatum: 2 wds.” It’s a classic case of a clue that relies heavily on your knowledge of film history and family dynamics.

At first glance, I was thrown off by the “2 wds” instruction. Is this a double entendre? A play on words? A movie title with an unusual structure? I started jotting down all the Ryan O’Neal movies I could remember, trying to recall if any starred his daughter. The list was long, and I felt the pressure mounting.

The year 1973 immediately made me think of the classic “The Sting,” but that didn’t involve Tatum O’Neal. Then I started digging through my mental library of 70s films, and the pieces slowly began to fall into place.

This particular clue really highlights the importance of understanding crossword puzzle conventions. Often, clues are designed to be deceptively simple, but they rely on a specific type of knowledge to crack the code.

In this case, the clue is straightforward, but it requires you to know the following:

Ryan O’Neal was a prominent actor in the 1970s.

Tatum O’Neal is his daughter.

The two co-starred in a comedy-drama released in 1973.

If you have this knowledge, the answer is practically staring you in the face. But if you’re missing even one of these pieces, the clue can feel impossible to decipher.

Stay tuned for next week’s blog post where I tackle another challenging crossword clue, and hopefully, provide some helpful insights for fellow puzzle enthusiasts. Until then, happy solving!

Available Answers:

Paper Moon.

Last seen on the crossword puzzle: Daily Celebrity Crossword – 8/14/24 Wayback Wednesday