Okay, so I was messing around with the Newsday crossword the other day, as you do, and I came across this clue that stumped me good: “Outmoded entertainment centers.” It got me thinking, you know?
I started digging around, trying to jog my memory. I went through a bunch of websites and forums. I even read through some old articles about crosswords. It felt like I was searching forever. Lots of people seemed to be stuck on this one, too. I saw a few folks online asking the same question, but the answers were all over the place.

Then, I started thinking about the clue itself. “Outmoded” means old-fashioned, right? And “entertainment centers” – well, that could be a bunch of things. I tried to think of all the old entertainment stuff we used to have. You know, like, what did people do for fun before Netflix and all that? It was a real head-scratcher!
So, I kept at it. I looked at how many letters were in the answer – eight, if I remember right. And then it hit me! I started to consider about the tense and the number of the clues from all the online chatter I’d seen.
- Someone mentioned that if a clue is in the past tense, the answer might end in “-ED”.
- Another person said if it’s plural, it might end in “-S”.
That was a huge help, to be honest. Finally, I saw some tips about the Newsday crossword itself. It gets harder as the week goes on, and apparently, this clue was from a Wednesday puzzle, so it was supposed to be kind of tricky.
I remembered this clue showed up on August 23, 2024. I spent days on this thing! Finally, I cracked it. Can you believe it?
I am not saying what the answer is. But, I’ll give you a hint: it’s something you might find in your grandma’s living room.
Anyway, it was a fun little challenge. I learned a lot about crosswords and a little bit about old entertainment centers along the way. What about you guys? Did anyone else get stumped by this one?