The Art of Adulting Crossword

One morning, upon waking up with back pain and a pounding headache from caffeine withdrawal, it hits you: You’ve officially reached adulthood. Bygone are the days of carefree McDonald’s runs and all-nighters. High school has been replaced with a nine to five and you don’t vibe with the Top 40 anymore. But you do have your own apartment and no curfew. Being grown up means finally having the freedom you yearned for as a teen, but with hidden responsibilities no one warned you about. Solve the crossword below to have a laugh at the nostalgia and relatable irritants that come with the territory of adulting. See the answers here.

Print the downloadable PDF here.

ACROSS

4. Adult jitter juice

6. Please cancel them

7. Record of professional experience

9. You start feeling it in your 30s

11. Home owner’s bane

12. Socializing

15. Feeling forever alone

18. You dread them every holiday season

21. Arguing pettily

22. Three digit number that rules your life

25. Money management

27. Being an adult means making the tough one

28. Helps save for 56 down

29. Precursor to 32 across

31. Take a __ day

32. Educational move for the adult who doesn’t know what to do with their life

33. Offers a sweet reprieve for caretakers

36. Are you even a millennial if you aren’t in __?

37. “With great power comes great __.”

40. Children substitute

42. Elusive fountain’s promise

45. They pile up fast

46. Keep up with them

48. Constitutional right and responsibility

51. Car dealership option

52. Bad habit

53. Granny’s favorite game

54. Perhaps the most “adulting” of all duties

55. Expensive wrinkle remover

56. Due on the first of the month

57. Common New Year’s resolution for adults

60. Monthly limit

62. Furbabies

63. __ mater

64. Impossible to do when people
are watching

DOWN

1. Wash them at least every
two weeks

2. Your first game system, probably

3. Culture of sitting in a Zoom meeting while wearing dirty sweatpants: abbr.

5. Once every 3,000 miles

8. First thing in the morning

13. Exploitive safety net

14. You find yourself falling asleep while watching this sport (congrats, you’re now your father)

17. Opening line of an
elder’s tale

19. The ’90s to Gen Z

20. Not-your-grandfather’s cash

23. First month’s rent

26. Career chase

30. Busy month for the IRS

31. Get at least eight hours

34. IOU

35. “Nothing is certain except death and __.”

38. Make a pass online

39. “Air one’s dirty __.”

41. All grown up

43. A secret cleaning agent for hardwood floors

44. Impossible to fold

47. Do it once a week and you’ll never argue about what’s for dinner again

48. Nine to five escape

49. Fad diet

50. Another word for “adulting”

56. Reason for a 401(k)

58. Buy now, pay later

59. Attire for your sister-in-law’s cousin’s wedding you’re begrudgingly attending

61. You’ll be a member before you know it: abbr.

Enjoy this piece? Consider becoming a member for access to our premium digital content. Support local journalism and start your membership today.