That Kind of Weird Feeling When…
The crossword bug has bitten again, and today’s puzzle is proving to be a delightful mix of brain-tickling trivia and clever wordplay. One clue, in particular, has me hooked: “Kind of weird.”
It’s deceptively simple, isn’t it? Just two words, yet they conjure up a whole spectrum of sensations and situations. What exactly constitutes “weird,” and what modifies it when it’s only
kind
of so?
Weirdness, in its purest form, is a departure from the norm, a deviation from the expected. It’s the off-kilter painting in a perfectly symmetrical gallery, the mismatched socks on a meticulously dressed individual, the sudden silence in a room filled with boisterous laughter. It’s the unexpected, the slightly jarring, the thing that makes you pause and think, “Huh, that’s… different.”
But “kind of weird” suggests a diluted form of that full-blown strangeness. It’s weirdness with training wheels, weirdness that’s been subtly toned down, weirdness that’s perhaps even a little bit charming. It’s the quirky habit you find endearing in a friend, the odd flavor combination that surprisingly works, the unconventional piece of art that gradually grows on you.
The clue also hints at subjectivity. What one person considers utterly bizarre, another might find perfectly acceptable, or even delightfully eccentric. The “kind of” acts as a buffer, acknowledging that the level of weirdness is open to interpretation. It’s like saying, “This might strike you as strange, but it’s not
that
strange.”
Thinking about it, “kind of weird” often exists in a gray area, a space between the ordinary and the truly outlandish. It’s the awkward silence that isn’t quite deafening, the fashion choice that pushes the boundaries but doesn’t quite break them, the coincidence that’s a little too convenient to be dismissed entirely.
This ambiguity, this nuance, is what makes the clue so intriguing. It invites us to consider the degrees of weirdness that exist in the world, the subtle variations that separate the merely unusual from the downright bizarre. It forces us to delve into our own perceptions of what constitutes “normal” and to examine the thresholds we have for accepting – or rejecting – the unfamiliar.
The crossword constructor clearly knew what they were doing with this one. They’ve presented a clue that is simultaneously straightforward and thought-provoking, a challenge that demands both linguistic precision and a touch of imaginative thinking. Now, to crack this puzzle and find the perfect fit!
Available Answers:
ODD.
Last seen on the crossword puzzle: Washington Post Crossword -Monday’s Daily By Doug Peterson / Ed. Patti Varol