Tackling “So Very Long” in Today’s Crossword Puzzle
Greetings fellow crossword enthusiasts! Today’s puzzle presented a delightful array of clues, some straightforward, others requiring a bit more mental gymnastics. But the one that seemed to have everyone scratching their heads, or at least pausing for a thoughtful moment, was “So very long.”
“So very long.” It sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? Two words, a familiar phrase. Yet, in the context of a crossword, familiarity can be deceptive. The beauty, and sometimes the frustration, of these puzzles lies in the clever misdirection and the nuanced meanings that lurk beneath the surface.
My initial instinct was to consider words synonymous with “long,” but the possibilities felt endless. Years? Eons? Ages? Each held a degree of plausibility, but none quite felt right. They lacked a certain…oomph. The “so very” part of the clue hinted at something more emphatic, a word or phrase that conveyed not just length, but an
extreme
length of time.
Then, the length of the required answer started playing on my mind. Was it a short and punchy word? Or something a little more drawn out? The number of spaces always acts as a silent collaborator, offering subtle hints. I began counting the squares, a ritual familiar to any seasoned solver. This immediately helped narrow the playing field.
Next, I thought about common phrases that express a sense of protracted duration. Expressions like “forever and a day” came to mind, but these were clearly too long. The key, I realized, was to think about synonyms that could be amplified by the “so very” qualifier. Think about the feeling one is aiming for.
I started exploring less literal interpretations of “long.” Could it be referring to a drawn-out process? A seemingly endless task? Perhaps it was alluding to something tedious, something that
felt
exceptionally long, even if it wasn’t objectively so.
The context provided by the intersecting clues is the solver’s best friend. Examining the surrounding answers helped refine my approach. Did any of the letters I already had placed suggest a particular starting or ending consonant? Did the theme of the crossword, if there was one, offer any clues or parallels? These subtle connections can often act as catalysts, sparking the correct answer from the depths of your vocabulary.
“So very long” is one of those clues that makes you appreciate the ingenuity of crossword constructors. They possess the remarkable ability to distill complex ideas into concise, often deceptively simple, phrases. It requires a knack for wordplay and a deep understanding of language.
Ultimately, solving this clue became a process of elimination, combined with a healthy dose of lateral thinking. It’s a reminder that the best approach to a challenging crossword clue is often to step back, reassess, and consider all the possibilities before settling on a final answer. The sense of accomplishment when that final letter clicks into place is, of course, the reward for perseverance. Hopefully, these hints will help you along your journey of discovering the answer to this “So very long” crossword clue. Happy solving!
Available Answers:
EONS.
Last seen on the crossword puzzle: Washington Post Crossword -Friday’s Daily By Dan Schoenholz / Ed. Patti Varol