You're sitting there with a lukewarm coffee, staring at a grid that's almost finished, but that one corner is just... blank. It happens to the best of us. Specifically, when you run into a blown away crossword puzzle clue, your brain usually goes in ten different directions at once. Are we talking about a physical gust of wind? An emotional state? A literal explosion? Crossword constructors—the folks like Will Shortz or Brendan Emmett Quigley who actually build these devious little grids—love words with multiple layers. They want you to stumble.
It's frustrating. Truly. But honestly, that’s the whole point of the game.
Decoding the Blown Away Crossword Puzzle Logic
When you see "blown away" in a clue, the first thing you have to do is check the letter count. If it’s four letters, you’re almost certainly looking at AWED. If it’s five, maybe Wowed. But the English language is a mess of synonyms, and constructors exploit that. You might be looking for FLOORED, AMAZED, or even REELING.
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Think about the context of the publication. A New York Times Monday puzzle is going to be straightforward. "Blown away" might just be AWED. But by Saturday? That same clue could lead you to IN A DAZE or NONPLUSSED. The difficulty curve isn't just about the words themselves; it's about how many "degrees of separation" exist between the clue and the answer.
Sometimes, the clue is literal. If the puzzle has a nautical theme, "blown away" could refer to a ship being ADRIFT. If it's a slangy, modern puzzle (think The New Yorker or Crossword Club), it might even be SHOOK. Yes, the youth slang has officially invaded the venerable crossword grid.
The Linguistics of Surprise
Why is this specific phrase so common? Linguistically, "blown away" is a phrasal verb. These are gold mines for puzzle makers because they can function as different parts of speech depending on the surrounding sentence.
Most people get stuck because they commit to one meaning too early. You see "blown away" and you think of a hurricane. You start looking for weather terms. Then you realize the crossing words don't fit. You have to be willing to "murder your darlings," as writers say. If GUSTED doesn't work, pivot immediately to the emotional response.
Real World Examples from Major Puzzles
Let’s look at how the pros handle the blown away crossword puzzle conundrum. In a classic LA Times puzzle from a few years back, the clue was simply "Blown away." The answer? ASTONISHED. That's a long one. Ten letters. It's a "grid-spanner" candidate.
In the Universal Crossword, they might use "Blown away" to lead to LOST. Think about it: if something is blown away, it is gone. It is lost. This is what we call a "lateral thinking" jump. It isn't a direct synonym you'd find in a thesaurus, but it makes perfect sense once you see it in the grid.
- Three Letters: ATE (as in "it ate me up," though rare), WOW.
- Four Letters: AWED, SENT.
- Five Letters: OWING (rarely, in a financial "blown away" sense), WOWED.
- Six Letters: AMAZED.
I’ve seen puzzles where the clue was "Blown away, in a way." That "in a way" is a massive red flag. It means the constructor is being cheeky. They might be looking for ERASED or SLAIN (in the comedic sense, like "you slay me").
The "Aha!" Moment vs. The "Oh, Come On!" Moment
There is a fine line between a clever clue and a bad one. A clever clue for "blown away" makes you feel smart when you solve it. A bad one makes you want to throw your tablet across the room.
The best constructors—people like Liz Gorski or Patrick Berry—use "blown away" to create "cross-references." They might have a clue at 14-Across that says "Blown away," and the answer is AT SEA. Then, at 42-Down, the clue is "Like 14-Across," and the answer is BEWILDERED. This creates a thematic link that rewards you for paying attention to the whole grid, not just individual lines.
How to Solve These Clues Faster
If you're tired of getting stuck, you need a system. Don't just guess.
- Check the Tense: If the clue is "Blown away," the answer must be in the past tense or a state of being. It won't be AMAZE. it will be AMAZED.
- Look at the Crosses: If you have the first letter and it's an 'A', don't immediately write in AWED. It could be ASTOUNDED. Wait for the second or third letter to confirm.
- Say it Out Loud: Sometimes hearing the phrase helps. "I was totally blown away." What else would you say there? "I was totally FLOORED."
Crosswords are essentially a battle of wits between you and the person who wrote it. They are trying to mislead you. They use "blown away" because it's a "chameleon phrase." It changes color based on what's next to it.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
The biggest mistake? Assuming it's a verb.
Sometimes "blown away" is used as a descriptor for a specific object. In a high-level cryptic crossword (the kind they run in The Guardian or The Times of London), "blown away" might be an "anagram indicator." This is where things get really wild. In a cryptic, "blown away" tells you to take the letters of a nearby word and scramble them.
For example: "Blown away, care is shifted (4)."
The answer would be RACE. You took the word "care," blew the letters away (scrambled them), and got "race."
If you aren't playing a cryptic, don't worry about that. But if you are, "blown away" is almost never a synonym—it's an instruction to cause chaos with the letters.
The Cultural Impact of the Crossword
Why do we care so much about a blown away crossword puzzle clue? Because crosswords are one of the few remaining "communal" puzzles. Even though we solve them alone, we're all looking at the same NYT grid on a Tuesday morning. We're all complaining about the same obscure 1950s actress name or the same weirdly phrased clue for "blown away."
It’s a mental workout. It’s also a way to see how language evolves. Twenty years ago, "blown away" would never have resulted in the answer STUNNER in a professional puzzle. Today? It’s fair game.
Nuance in Difficulty Levels
Let's be real: not all puzzles are created equal.
- The Easy Tier: USA Today, Newsday (Monday-Wednesday). Here, "blown away" is almost always AWED or WOWED. They aren't trying to trick you; they're trying to give you a win.
- The Mid Tier: LA Times, Wall Street Journal. This is where you see FLOORED or STUNNED. You might have to think for a second, but the answer is usually right there on the tip of your tongue.
- The Boss Tier: NYT Friday/Saturday, Fireball Crosswords. This is where "blown away" becomes SHELLED (like in a military sense) or OVERWHELMED.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Puzzle
Next time you see this clue, don't panic. Take a breath.
First, count the spaces. Write down the most common synonyms that fit that length on a piece of scratch paper. Don't put them in the grid yet.
Second, solve the "crosses"—the words that intersect with the mystery answer. Usually, getting just two letters is enough to narrow it down. If you have an '_ _ E D', you're looking at AWED or AMAZED. If you have an '_ _ O _ _ E D', it's almost certainly FLOORED.
Third, if you're truly stuck, use a "crossword solver" tool, but use it sparingly. These tools allow you to type in the letters you have (like A_E_) and will give you a list of possibilities. It’s not cheating; it’s learning. You’ll start to see patterns. You'll realize that constructors have "favorite" words they use over and over again.
Next Steps to Master the Grid
- Start a "Clue Journal": Write down the clues that stumped you. You'll notice that "blown away" appears more often than you think, often with the same three or four answers.
- Vary Your Sources: Don't just do the NYT. Try the Washington Post or indie puzzles from sites like puzazz. Each constructor has a different "voice" and different ways they like to use phrases like "blown away."
- Learn the "Constructor's Mindset": Read interviews with people like Andrea Carla Michaels. They often explain why they choose certain synonyms. It’s usually about the "letter count" and how easy those letters are to "cross" with other words.
The world of crosswords is vast and occasionally annoying. But solving that one stubborn clue? That feeling of finally filling in the last square? That’s why we do it. It’s a small, perfect victory in a complicated world. Keep at it, and soon, you won't be the one blown away—you'll be the one blowing through the grid.