CBS: Happy 100th birthday to the crossword puzzle

Here you fill in another 15-letter word for 'felicitations'. Did you get it? Good job. Congratulations and a 5-letter word indicating a formal expression of praise to you. The latter may not have popped up in your mind so quickly, but if you came up with it then kudos.

I always enjoyed crossword puzzles, since you learn a lot from them. They also require you to reach deep into your think-tank and you keep your fingers crossed being able to solve them. I managed to do that on several occasions. Yes, without taking a peek at the answers.

It is always exciting when you find a word and can cross it off the list, especially when it turns out to be the right word. It is equally frustrating when you come to the conclusion it wasn't the correct answer. This usually occurs to you several words and half an hour later.

There is no reason to get all discouraged and anxious about that. When you would have solved the puzzle in record time you would have spent the remainder of it being bored. That could be one explanation why the crossword puzzle still exists after an entire century.

I suspect however that the main cause is the fact that it presents something hardly anyone can resist and that is a 9-letter word for a test of one's abilities.

Are you ready to take up the challenge?