# Please explain this crossword puzzle answer to me **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 18, 2015, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-crossword-puzzle-answer-to-me/728195 "2015-08-18T18:12:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-crossword-puzzle-answer-to-me/728195/1 "2015-08-18T18:12:21Z")
The clue was “4, for Be” and the answer was “atno.” I have no idea what either one means. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-crossword-puzzle-answer-to-me/728195/2 "2015-08-18T18:17:48Z")
“Be” is the symbol for the element Beryllium, which has atomic number 4 - so I think the answer “atno” is an abbreviation for “atomic number.” No, I wouldn’t have gotten this answer either… ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-crossword-puzzle-answer-to-me/728195/3 "2015-08-18T18:18:13Z")
4 is the atomic number (atno) of beryllium (Be). ---
**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:** [August 18, 2015, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-crossword-puzzle-answer-to-me/728195/4 "2015-08-18T18:24:07Z")
Tough one using ‘Be’. I hate that clue for any element. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-crossword-puzzle-answer-to-me/728195/5 "2015-08-18T18:52:30Z")
To Be or not to Be. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-crossword-puzzle-answer-to-me/728195/6 "2015-08-18T19:02:25Z")
Note that the clue gives Be, the chemical abbreviation for beryllium, rather than spelling it out. That is an indicator that the answer will also be an abbreviation. However, abbreviating atomic number at atno is very tortured and I bet the puzzle creator was wracking his brains over a clue for that one. ---
**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:** [August 18, 2015, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-crossword-puzzle-answer-to-me/728195/7 "2015-08-18T19:09:06Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > However, abbreviating atomic number at atno is very tortured and I bet the puzzle creator was wracking his brains over a clue for that one. Actually it’s fairly common. Any word with at least 50% vowels will show up in crosswords a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-crossword-puzzle-answer-to-me/728195/8 "2015-08-18T19:14:57Z")
Since that’s been answered, can someone explain this one to me: “esualcrotalacse” The clue was “Contract’s inflation adjustment”, but every link I goto when I google that is just a crossword puzzle helper site. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-crossword-puzzle-answer-to-me/728195/9 "2015-08-18T19:15:35Z")
In my experience ATNO is an example of “crosswordese”; words, phrases and abbreviations that are often used in crossword puzzles. For example, crossword puzzle writers are just about the only people who refer to margarine as “oleo.” ---
**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:** [August 18, 2015, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-crossword-puzzle-answer-to-me/728195/10 "2015-08-18T19:19:42Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Note that the clue gives Be, the chemical abbreviation for beryllium, rather than spelling it out. That is an indicator that the answer will also be an abbreviation. > > However, abbreviating atomic number at atno is very tortured and I bet the puzzle creator was wracking his brains over a clue for that one. Yes, the “Be” gives us two clues: 1) the capital “B” should trigger the brain of an experienced American-style crossword solver that we’re looking for a proper noun usage of the word “Be” or something similar (in this case, the abbreviation for beryllium, which is capitalized like all chemical element abbreviations). 2) Once we come to the idea that an abbreviation for “beryllium” is a possibility, the fact that it’s an abbreviation normally means the answer will be an abbreviation. Abbreviations in clues typically (or exclusively, in my experience) mean an abbreviation in the answer. That said “at. no.” is a somewhat strained answer, although [this webpage](http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0775271.html) lists it under “common abbreviations,” so perhaps it’s not as strained as I thought at first glance. ---
**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:** [August 18, 2015, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-crossword-puzzle-answer-to-me/728195/11 "2015-08-18T19:24:16Z")
> [@Turek](#): > > Since that’s been answered, can someone explain this one to me: > > “esualcrotalacse” > > The clue was “Contract’s inflation adjustment”, but every link I goto when I google that is just a crossword puzzle helper site. Maybe the etymologists can find a source for that. It seems to have lost it’s usage outside of crosswords, if it ever had one. ---
**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:** [August 18, 2015, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-crossword-puzzle-answer-to-me/728195/12 "2015-08-18T19:30:22Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Maybe the etymologists can find a source for that. It seems to have lost it’s usage outside of crosswords, if it ever had one. FWIW, if I’m not stating the obvious, that’s “Escalator clause” spelled backwards. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-crossword-puzzle-answer-to-me/728195/13 "2015-08-18T19:38:25Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > FWIW, if I’m not stating the obvious, that’s “Escalator clause” spelled backwards. I just realized that after 10 min and was coming back to post my amazing discovery. :rolleyes: I don’t know how you would get “write it backwards” from the clue, though. ---
**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:** [August 18, 2015, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-crossword-puzzle-answer-to-me/728195/14 "2015-08-18T19:42:06Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > FWIW, if I’m not stating the obvious, that’s “Escalator clause” spelled backwards. Well I didn’t catch it. I was looking for some combination of words in there and didn’t try it simply backwards. I wonder if this started in a theme puzzle with reverse spellings, or is it some kind of contract joke? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-crossword-puzzle-answer-to-me/728195/15 "2015-08-18T19:42:32Z")
Not from that clue, but it might be from a gimmick to the entire puzzle. ---
**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:** [August 18, 2015, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-crossword-puzzle-answer-to-me/728195/16 "2015-08-18T19:46:18Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Not from that clue, but it might be from a gimmick to the entire puzzle. That’s what I’m wondering, especially if it’s a Thursday NY Times puzzle, which often has gimmicks in them. ---
**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:** [August 18, 2015, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-crossword-puzzle-answer-to-me/728195/17 "2015-08-18T19:51:04Z")
Looks to me like it’s from a [Newsday puzzle](http://crosswordpuzzle-solver.blogspot.com/2014/08/newsdaycom-crossword-answer-aug-22-2014.html) that has a theme of conveyances that move between floors. I’m not exactly sure how the backwards part comes into it. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-crossword-puzzle-answer-to-me/728195/18 "2015-08-18T20:05:02Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Looks to me like it’s from a [Newsday puzzle](http://crosswordpuzzle-solver.blogspot.com/2014/08/newsdaycom-crossword-answer-aug-22-2014.html) that has a theme of conveyances that move between floors. I’m not exactly sure how the backwards part comes into it. If it’s a “down” clue and it’s written backwards, then it ascends. Get it? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-crossword-puzzle-answer-to-me/728195/19 "2015-08-18T21:00:45Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > That said “at. no.” is a somewhat strained answer, although [this webpage](http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0775271.html) lists it under “common abbreviations,” so perhaps it’s not as strained as I thought at first glance. **TriPolar** is right, it is quite common. It probably shows up once a week in the Times puzzle. The way the clue is written makes me think it was a Thursday, Friday or Saturday puzzle. If you do enough of them, you’ll see that the answers are often the same across days, it is the clues that get trickier. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-crossword-puzzle-answer-to-me/728195/20 "2015-08-18T21:07:19Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > In my experience ATNO is an example of “crosswordese”; words, phrases and abbreviations that are often used in crossword puzzles. For example, crossword puzzle writers are just about the only people who refer to margarine as “oleo.” That used to be much more common. My grandmother always called margarine oleo. TV ads used to call the stuff oleo-margarine. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-crossword-puzzle-answer-to-me/728195.md?page=2)