This clue last appeared in the Newsday Crossword on August 10, 2023. You can also find answers to past Newsday Crosswords.
Pond dweller Crossword Clue
We have the answer for Pond dweller crossword clue if you need help figuring out the solution! Crossword puzzles can introduce new words and concepts, while helping you expand your vocabulary.
Approaching a crossword clue can be intimidating, especially if you’re new to solving puzzles. The first step is to read the clue carefully and try to identify any obvious hints or clues. Is the clue a definition, a pun, or a play on words? What tense or part of speech is the answer likely to be? Answering these questions can give you a head start in figuring out the solution.
Another approach is to think about the context of the clue. What is the theme of the puzzle? What category does the clue fall under? These can give you an idea of the direction the answer is likely to take. Sometimes, looking at the surrounding clues can also give you a clue to the solution. For example, if the clue is for a three-letter word and you already have the letters “C-L-E,” you can look at the intersecting words to see if they provide any additional hints or letters that can help you solve the clue. Still stuck? We have the answer for you so you can move onto the next clue in the grid! If you’re still struggling, we have the Pond dweller crossword clue answer below.
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This clue has been used by other publishers in the past, and they have had different answers when published, so the below list is a compilation of all known answers that have been used for this clue.
Clue & Answer Definitions
The Newsday Crossword is a daily crossword puzzle that is published in the Newsday newspaper and on its website. The puzzle is known for its challenging difficulty level and clever clues, and is popular among crossword enthusiasts around the world.
The Newsday Crossword was first introduced in 1995, and has since become a popular source of entertainment and mental stimulation for crossword enthusiasts of all ages. The puzzle is created by a team of experienced crossword constructors, who are known for their skill and creativity in the field of crossword puzzles.
One of the interesting features of the Newsday Crossword is its inclusion of a wide range of topics, from pop culture and current events to science and history. The puzzle is also known for its use of creative themes and wordplay, which can add an extra layer of challenge to the solving experience.
That should be all the information you need to solve for the crossword clue and fill in more of the grid you’re working on! Be sure to check more Crossword Clues, Crossword Answers, and our other Word Game coverage.
Christine Mielke
Christine Mielke has been writing content for the web for over 15 years. She is well-known for concise, informative content and her transparency. Christine is a 2011 graduate of Santa Clara University’s JD/MBA program, after having graduated in 2007 from University of California, Irvine with B.A. in Economics and B.A. in Political Science.
The Evolution Challenge: Abeyana the pond-dweller
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Terpsichore
Guest
Original poster
The Evolution Challenge!
This is a part-game, part-descriptive challenge. We will begin with a very basic creature and then follow its journey of thousands upon thousands of years as it evolves to become the master of its domain. To any of you that have played Spore, it might sound a little similar, and I think I was inadvertently channeling the spirit of Spore’s second stage when I came up with this.
Each person will take a turn to “evolve” the creature in some way. They might decide to add gills, so that it may breathe underwater, or a horn to fend off attackers, or even opposable thumbs so that it can unscrew bottle caps. Every turn marks a step in the creature’s evolution, so whilst we will start off with a small, unassuming little critter, we might end up with a behemoth that can demolish entire mountains with a swing of its herculean tail. The possibilities are almost endless, and only limited to the imagination and creativity of each person taking part.
As this is starting out in the “Creative Challenges” thread, there needs to be an element of creativity and thinking involved, so, at each stage, there needs to be an explanation of our creature’s new body parts/abilities, along with a justification as to why. Our little friend isn’t going to evolve a giant ass for LOLZ, nor is it going to evolve massive wings because massive wings are cool. No, it’s going to evolve a longer neck to help it reach foliage higher up in trees, or it’s going to develop a thicker hide to protect it against predators and extreme temperatures. The reasons for evolution will usually be to give a creature an advantage, either in terms of adapting to its physical environment, e.g. improved low-light vision for cave-dwellers, or by adapting to the other creatures in its environment, e.g. butterflies with brightly patterned wings intended to scare off attackers.
There will be a list of rules below, but the main rule is to apply a bit of common sense. If the creature has no arms at all, then it isn’t suddenly going to sprout eight arms all at once, with each hand consisting of five deadly claws. The creature will develop in stages, so developing eight limbs at once would be a stage in itself. These eight limbs might then become arms on the next turn, and then claws on the turn afterwards. Finally, in the fourth turn, those claws might become very sharp and dangerous.
You can only make one evolutionary change per turn. An evolutionary change would be a new limb, or developing an existing limb into a wing or a fin, or developing a horn. If the change requires the creature to change in shape/size, then this is fully permitted, so long as the change isn’t too extreme. If it requires the creature to completely change its body shape/size, then it’s probably too extreme a change for a single turn anyway.
Anything that has been written before is considered canon. If it develops a second head, then it is now a two-headed creature. That’s just part of the madness.
I’m not an evolutionary biologist. Maybe someone here is, and if they are, I apologise profusely. The “evolutions” our creature will undergo will not be all that realistic. If there’s a good, justifiable reason for it, then that’s all I demand. There’s no need to be breaking out science textbooks to double-check that nature actually works how you want it to, so let’s just say that this is a fictional world where things happen a bit differently to the way that they do in our world.
If the creature evolves enough to change environments, then feel free to have it find a new home. If, for example, we began with a small rodent that lived in a forest, but it developed thicker fur and a layer of blubber, then it could start to move northwards, into a colder, snowier region instead.
Sometimes, evolution may remove a body part. If, for example, our creature had normal eyes, but it moved deep into a pitch-black cave, then its eyesight may deteriorate due to the lack of usage. Removing such body parts does not count as your evolution for a turn, but it may pose challenges further down the line if our creature needs that body part back. Feel free to de-evolve a creature in this way, if you can justify it during your turn.
This is a biological creature. It cannot evolve steel-plating or water cannons or anything like that. It can, however, evolve thick armour, like an armadillo, or the ability to spit water precisely, like an archerfish.
Hopefully, I haven’t gone on too much, or made this idea seem too boring. In my head, it sounds like it could be really fun once it gets going, and, as I came up with it a few hours ago and am now typing it up, there’s plenty of scope for some of the rules to change or be relaxed if they’re stifling the game.
Anyway, I want you to meet a little friend of mine.
See that beautiful little creature? That’s Abeyana, and we’re going to follow her species on their evolutionary adventure. Will she venture away from the pond and into the forest? Will she become a full-time pond dweller? Will she become a dominant carnivore, or a gentle giant herbivore? Anything is possible!
Abeyana begins life as a vague lizard-worm creature that lives in the mud near to ponds. She’s about two inches long, eats algae and leaf mulch, and her main predators are just about anything bigger than her.
So. What’s going to change first? Get writing!
(Pictures are not required in any way whatsoever, and the above represents the full extent of my artistic abilities. If you can draw, and want to draw our creature then please do, and I will love you very much, but there’s absolutely no pressure to do so. This is a descriptive writing challenge, after all.)
Finally, a note to the site staff. It is my intention that this be a writing challenge of sorts, but I concede that it may end up just being a game instead. I ask that you leave the thread here for the time being, to get started, but if, after a few posts, it becomes clear that this is really just being seen as a game, then please move it to the appropriate location. Thank you!
