You know how it is with business letters, right? All those little abbreviations. ‘cc’, ‘enc’, ‘attn:’. They’re just there. Most of the time, you know them. But then one pops up, and you’re scratching your head. Or you need to use one and your mind just goes blank. Happens to the best of us.
So, I thought, why not make it a bit less like homework? A crossword. Yeah, a business letter abbreviation crossword. Not some highbrow cryptic thing, just basic recall. Seemed like a decent way to hammer them in. For me, maybe for someone else too.
First up, getting the darn abbreviations. I just started writing down what I could pull from memory. Standard stuff mostly.
- PS – Can’t go wrong with Postscript.
- ASAP – Everyone’s favorite deadline.
- ATTN – For when you need it to reach a specific person.
- ENC – That thing you say when you’ve stuffed more paper in the envelope.
Then I thought, better check I haven’t missed anything obvious, or worse, got ’em wrong. A quick search. Pulled in a few more like ‘RSVP’ – the fancy French one – and ‘PTO’, which is just ‘Please Turn Over’, nothing exciting.
Alright, list done. Now, building the actual puzzle. I’m not messing with software for this. Give me graph paper and a pencil any day. Started trying to make the words cross. ‘ATTN’ this way, ‘ASAP’ that way. It’s a bit of a fight, honestly. Like trying to pack a suitcase that’s too full. You shift things, try a different angle. Lots of erasing. That’s just how it goes when you’re doing it by hand. But there’s something satisfying about it too, seeing it take shape.
Clues were the easy part, thankfully. No clever wordplay needed. ‘ENC’? Clue: ‘Enclosure’. ‘ASAP’? Clue: ‘As Soon As Possible’. The puzzle is just remembering the abbreviation, not cracking a code. Kept it simple. That was the whole idea.
Once I had a grid that looked okay, I ran through it myself. You know, solve your own puzzle. It’s the best way to catch if you’ve made something impossible or just plain confusing. Found a couple of spots that needed a nudge. Fixed them up. Made sure it flowed alright.
And that’s the story of my little crossword project. No big mystery to it. Sometimes you just want to tackle something small, make something with your hands, even if it’s just a word puzzle on paper. Good way to switch gears from the usual screen time. And hey, I definitely refreshed my memory on a few of those abbreviations. Probably won’t mix up ‘cc’ and ‘bcc’ for a while now. That’s a win, right?
