Okay, so today I stumbled upon this New York Times puzzle called "Okay Sure You Did" and thought, what the heck does that even mean? Looked like nonsense at first glance, but hey I love cracking these things. Grabbed my coffee, fired up the NYT app, and started poking around.
First Step: Total Confusion
Scrolled through the clue list and spotted "Okay Sure You Did" sitting there like some inside joke I wasn't getting. Tried reading it out loud - "okay sure you did" - nope, still made zero sense. Started scribbling on scrap paper: broke it into separate words, tried finding puns or homophones. Nothing clicked. Felt like I was translating alien language.
The Lightbulb Moment
Almost gave up when suddenly it hit me while humming in the shower (true story!). The phrase sounds exactly like "OK/CU/R U D?" when you say it fast. Mind blown! Rushed back dripping wet to check the grid. Sure enough, the puzzle had boxes that fit "OK" for okay, "CU" for see you, "R" for are, and "U D" for you did. Finally saw the pattern - it was all about text speak abbreviations crammed together!
Testing the Theory
Started dumping common abbreviations into the grid slots: LMAO, BRB, IDK, the whole gang. But "Okay Sure You Did" needed specific splits. Tried different combos:
- "OKAY" alone? Too long.
- "SURE" as SR? Nope.
- Then bam! Split it as "O-K-S-U-R-E-U-D" to match text lingo. Worked perfect for "OK" (O-K), "CU" (C-U? Wait no...)
Scratched that. Realized "C U" sounds like "see you" but spells different. Took three coffee refills before noticing adjacent clues hinted at abbreviations too. Revised the split to OK / C U / R U / D for "okay see you are you did" – still awkward but closer. Added punctuation mentally: "OK, C U, R U D?" meaning "Okay, see you, are you done?" Felt janky but fit the boxes!
Locking It Down
Cross-referenced with vertical answers. Checked "O" column against other clues - synced up. "K" box matched "okay" in another spot. High-fived my cat. Final split was just accepting the phonetic madness: OK (for "okay"), C U (for "see you"), R U (for "are you"), D (for "did"). Puzzle designers are sneaky with these speech contractions!
Bottom line? Don't overthink it. When NYT clues sound like nonsense, say 'em out loud repeatedly until your brain short-circuits into text-speak mode. Works every time. Now excuse me while I explain "ICYMI" to my grandma...
