# Explain these crossword puzzle clues/answers **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** board-card-word-game\ **Created:** [October 9, 2024, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-these-crossword-puzzle-clues-answers/1008602 "2024-10-09T13:20:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2024, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-these-crossword-puzzle-clues-answers/1008602/1 "2024-10-09T13:20:51Z")
For reference, this was probably published in 2019. The title is “Words of Introduction” by Brendan Emmett Quigley, edited by Will Shortz. 84 Across Clue: _A brace_ Answer: Two 72 Down Clue: _Have way too much of._ Answer: Odon ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2024, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-these-crossword-puzzle-clues-answers/1008602/2 "2024-10-09T13:23:16Z")
Have way too much of: OD on (i.e., OverDose on) I don’t know about the “a brace” one. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2024, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-these-crossword-puzzle-clues-answers/1008602/3 "2024-10-09T13:28:48Z")
When I Googled ‘brace definition’, it responded that it was either a noun or verb. In the list of noun definitions, the third entry was: > a pair of something, typically of birds or mammals killed in hunting. > “thirty brace of grouse” I’ve never heard _brace_ used that way, but it can mean _two_. I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2024, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-these-crossword-puzzle-clues-answers/1008602/4 "2024-10-09T13:30:35Z")
From _A Night at the Opera_: > It’s none of my business, but I think there’s a brace of woodpeckers in the orchestra. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2024, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-these-crossword-puzzle-clues-answers/1008602/5 "2024-10-09T13:34:05Z")
Well, thanks, gang! ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2024, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-these-crossword-puzzle-clues-answers/1008602/6 "2024-10-09T13:36:45Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > I’ve never heard _brace_ used that way, but it can mean _two_. I’ve always heard it used for old-timey muzzle loading pistols, they’d always have a “brace of pistols”, so they could get more than one shot off before reloading. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2024, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-these-crossword-puzzle-clues-answers/1008602/7 "2024-10-09T13:54:17Z")
It’s a bit old-timey, but I’ve always heard brace in regards to “a brace of birds,” meaning two. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2024, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-these-crossword-puzzle-clues-answers/1008602/8 "2024-10-09T13:55:05Z")
I thought a brace of pistols were for dueling. ---
**Author:** ![Quondam\_Mechanic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quondam_mechanic/32/3404_2.png) [@Quondam\_Mechanic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quondam_Mechanic)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2024, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-these-crossword-puzzle-clues-answers/1008602/9 "2024-10-09T14:02:37Z")
I think the origin of the term is two oxen yoked together for plowing. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2024, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-these-crossword-puzzle-clues-answers/1008602/10 "2024-10-09T14:12:47Z")
Brace for two is used in sporting contexts in UK English quite commonly (“brace of goals just before halftime” or “brace of wickets upon resumption after tea”) ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2024, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-these-crossword-puzzle-clues-answers/1008602/11 "2024-10-09T15:51:22Z")
Two dogs on one leash is called a “brace”. Usually the same breed. “A brace of bloodhounds were tracking …” They have brace leashes you can buy. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2024, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-these-crossword-puzzle-clues-answers/1008602/12 "2024-10-09T17:09:30Z")
“A brace of” comes up in Shakespeare quite a bit. In R&J, as I recall, the Prince, in his final speech, refers to having lost “a brace of kinsmen.” ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2024, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-these-crossword-puzzle-clues-answers/1008602/13 "2024-10-09T17:17:47Z")
> [@](#): > > Middle English (as a verb meaning ‘clasp, fasten tightly’): from Old French _bracier_ ‘embrace’, from _brace_ ‘two arms’, from Latin _bracchia_ , plural of _bracchium_ ‘arm’, from Greek _brakhiōn_ . The origin of _brace_ implies a pair of items as well as the concept of a strengthing device. Similar to pliers and breeches (trousers) that come in pairs. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2024, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-these-crossword-puzzle-clues-answers/1008602/14 "2024-10-09T18:25:28Z")
I very recently heard the term “brace” used in that way, in a BBC report on a soccer match where it said that a player “scored a brace.” I am under the impression that it’s mainly a British/Australian usage, the way that the clue “French, to British” would be the word snog. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2024, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-these-crossword-puzzle-clues-answers/1008602/15 "2024-10-09T18:31:20Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > I’ve always heard it used for old-timey muzzle loading pistols, they’d always have a “brace of pistols”, so they could get more than one shot off before reloading. And shot a brace of partridge. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2024, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-these-crossword-puzzle-clues-answers/1008602/16 "2024-10-09T21:50:36Z")
At one point in _The Two Towers_ Sam tells Frodo he’s cooked up “a brace of stewed coneys” - if my memory is correct. Two rabbits plus lembas. Breakfast of champions. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2024, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-these-crossword-puzzle-clues-answers/1008602/17 "2024-10-09T22:27:19Z")
Is there an implication that the birds have had their necks tied together so that one can be thrown over your shoulder for easier carrying? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2024, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-these-crossword-puzzle-clues-answers/1008602/18 "2024-10-09T23:26:41Z")
In Doonesbury, way back when, Zonker was shown to be a British lord or some such. He has the butler fetch a brace of quail for dinner. That’s when I was introduced to the term. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2024, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-these-crossword-puzzle-clues-answers/1008602/19 "2024-10-09T23:50:07Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Zonker was shown to be a British lord or some such He started behaving like a British lord after he won the lottery. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2024, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-these-crossword-puzzle-clues-answers/1008602/20 "2024-10-09T23:53:08Z")
> [@SunUp](#): > > At one point in _The Two Towers_ Sam tells Frodo he’s cooked up “a brace of stewed coneys” - if my memory is correct. > > Two rabbits plus lembas. Breakfast of champions. This is what I came in to post but you beat me, damnit. I bet a LOT of people heard that line and didn’t know what it meant. This is where I first heard it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-these-crossword-puzzle-clues-answers/1008602.md?page=2)