The Ultimate Puzzle Frustration: Insult-Softening Words – Can You Solve It?

Once upon a time, in a small village atop a hill, there lived a grumpy old man named Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith had a habit of insulting anyone who crossed his path, be it a child or an adult. No one dared to confront him as he loved arguing, and things would only get worse.

One day, the village decided to teach him a lesson. An anonymous person sent a crossword puzzle to his house, specifically the clue ‘Words that may fail to soften an insult.’ Mr. Smith, being an avid crossword solver, was intrigued and quickly cracked the answer, ‘NOTHING PERSONAL.’

The next day, he went around insulting people as usual. However, whenever someone tried to defend themselves, he would stop them and say, “Oh, don’t take it personally, it’s nothing personal.” Everyone was baffled as to why he suddenly became polite, and no one knew the secret until they found out about the crossword puzzle.

From that day on, whenever anyone in the village acted like Mr. Smith, they would receive the same crossword puzzle. Eventually, the village became a kinder and happier place, thanks to a simple puzzle and its answer.