Hey, you guys, what’s up? It’s your boy here, and today I wanna talk about something that puzzled me for a while but finally made sense. I was working on a crossword puzzle, specifically the NYT Mini Crossword, and I stumbled upon this clue: “Rooms with toilets, in European shorthand.” I was like, “What the heck does that even mean?”
So, I started digging around. First, I looked at the puzzle itself, trying to see if there were any hints in the surrounding clues. Nope, nothing. Then, I googled the phrase, hoping to find some quick answers. I found a bunch of websites talking about crossword solutions and stuff, which was kinda helpful, but not really what I was looking for.
I kept scrolling through the search results, and I noticed a few sites mentioning that the answer was “WCS.” I was like, “WCS? What’s that?” I dug a little deeper, and it turns out that “WC” is a common abbreviation for “water closet” in Europe. You see it on restroom doors all the time over there. Water closet! Who knew?
Then I read something that was quite intersting. There are even credit cards specifically for pay toilets in Europe. They’re called WC credit cards. Can you believe that? A credit card just for using the bathroom! Anyway, back to the crossword.
My Realization
- I realized that the clue was pretty straightforward once you knew the European context.
- It’s just one of those things that you might not know unless you’ve spent time in Europe or you’re a crossword enthusiast.
- I mean, we usually just say “bathroom” or “restroom” here, right?
So, I plugged in “WCS” into the puzzle, and bam, it was the right answer. I felt pretty good about figuring that one out. It was a simple clue, but it taught me something new about language and cultural differences.
It’s funny how these little things can be a window into a different part of the world. I guess that’s the cool thing about crosswords, they make you think and learn, even if it’s just about toilets! So yeah, that’s my little adventure with European shorthand and toilets. Hope you guys found it interesting. Catch you in the next one!
