Salty and spicy

As a detective trying to solve the mystery of the crossword clue ‘Salty and spicy’, the first thing that came to mind was food. However, after considering the number of letters in the word, the context of the puzzle, and potential synonyms of salty and spicy, my focus shifted to finding a word that fit the description of being both risqué and humorous. This is where the word ‘ribald’ came to mind. ‘Ribald’ is an adjective that describes something vulgar or indecent, yet humorous. This fit perfectly with the clue and made sense in the context of a crossword puzzle. The word ‘ribald’ also has six letters, which matched the number of blank spaces in the puzzle. In the end, my thought process and insights led me to the answer ‘ribald’, which was a satisfying and exciting conclusion to my detective work.