Single Letters Can Be Tricky, If You’re Not Paying Attention

Sometimes, a single letter can really trick our brains, even if we know the answer.

Rebecca Tulis

By Matt GaffneyPublished Jan 25, 2021 4:55AM EST

Old business: Congrats to Twitter fans @FLBlueBird1 and @Guywriter for correctly identifying the only three-letter element in last week's article. It was TIN. Now you know.

On to this week's recap: did you get thrown by 14-Across in Monday's puzzle? The clue was [With 1-Down, actor who played Martin Luther King in the 2000 miniseries "Parting the Waters"] and the answer, split among two words, was COURTNEYB/VANCE. That middle initial might've thrown you off, even if you knew the actor's full name.

Indeed, ends-in-a-single letter entries like COURTNEY B are some of the trickiest to appear in puzzles. They fool our brains with their one-letter-ness; we're on the lookout as solvers for two- or three-word entries, but a one-letter finale like that -- whodathunkit? Celebs with full stage names who fit this bill include JAY-Z, KENNY G, CARDI B, and LIL NAS X.

It's not just last-letter proper names that are tricky, either -- it happens with standard words and phrases as well. Take a five-letter entry clued as [Backup operation]. Even with PLAN?, it can take a minute to realize it's PLAN B. That NB finish is a surprise for the brain!

Other entries like this have multiple options: you could be a TYPE A or TYPE B personality, for instance, so you might need to get that last letter from the crossing answer.