They’re armed to the gills

As a detective solving the mystery of the crossword clue ‘They’re armed to the gills’, my mind raced with possibilities. At first, I thought of sea creatures like sharks, swordfish, or even eels that have sharp fins, but none of these fit the bill. Then I started to think about creatures that live in the depths of the sea, some of which use camouflage or ink to protect themselves from predators. Suddenly, it hit me – octopi!

These intelligent creatures have eight long arms that are covered in suction cups or “suckers” that help them cling to rocks or catch their prey. In fact, the suction cups could easily be mistaken for “arms to the gills.” Octopuses are truly armed to the teeth, as they have beaks like a parrot’s that can break through the shells of crabs, clams, or snails that they like to eat. With this insight, I confidently filled in the answer to the crossword clue – OCTOPI – and couldn’t help but smile at the cleverness of the riddle. The mystery was solved and I felt like a true detective.