Enjoyed dinner at home, say - NYT Mini-Crossword Clue
Introduction
Today's clue, "Enjoyed dinner at home, say," is a perfect example of a straightforward, conversational phrase that often appears in puzzles like the NYT Mini. It tests your ability to translate a common, everyday scenario into its most concise verbal equivalent.
Clue Analysis
The clue describes a simple action: having a meal at one's own house. Let's break it down:
- "Enjoyed dinner": This points to the act of eating, specifically in the past tense. The verb we're looking for is the past tense of "eat."
- "at home": This specifies the location. Instead of going out, the person stayed in.
- ", say": This is a classic crossword signal. It tells the solver that the clue is providing an example, and the answer is likely a common or colloquial way of expressing that example. It softens the clue, suggesting we're not looking for a formal or obscure term.
Putting it all together, we're looking for a common phrase that means "ate a meal inside one's house."
Thinking Approaches
For a clue like this, a few strategies can lead you to the answer:
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Direct Association: What's the opposite of "eating out"? The most common answer is "eating in." Since the clue is in the past tense ("enjoyed"), we simply change "eat" to its past tense form, leading to the two-word phrase that becomes the answer.
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Deconstruction and Reconstruction: Break the clue into parts. "Enjoyed dinner" becomes ATE. "At home" becomes IN. Combine them, and you get the answer.
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Consider the Grid: In a crossword, multi-word phrases are often condensed into a single entry. If you suspect the answer is a phrase like "ate in," you know to enter it as one continuous string of letters.
Background Context
The distinction between "eating in" and "eating out" is a fundamental part of modern daily life. This phrasal verb (a verb combined with an adverb or preposition) is extremely common in English. Crossword constructors love these types of phrases because they are familiar to most solvers and can be clued in many different ways. Other examples you might see include LOGON, GAVEUP, or RANINTO.
Conclusion
This clue is a great reminder that crossword puzzles often draw from the simple, everyday language we use. By recognizing the past tense, the location, and the function of the word "say," a solver can quickly arrive at this very common and satisfying answer.