GET A CLUE

The Curious Case of Egg Nog (or Eggnog?)

Real life and dictionaries can’t agree how this classic holiday word is spelled.

Last week, a prominent member of the crossword community emailed me: "Isn't eggnog one word in your dictionary?"

He was referring to 8-Down in Thursday's puzzle, where EGG was clued as [___ nog (Christmas drink that 22-Across tried for the first time on Fallon's show; she winced and said "Maybe with rum it's better"]. That was the one where Israeli actress Gal Gadot tried certain American foods for the first time and gave fans her reactions to them on the Tonight Show.

And he's right -- Webster's lists it as one word, as does Cambridge.

But, I wrote my e-mailer back, "Fallon & co. spelled it EGG NOG on-screen during the segment so who am I to disagree?"

And indeed, most major producers of the stuff spell it with two words. Take this photo of many brands, where the score is 8-3 in favor of EGG NOG, two words, among the visible labels --

an intriguing case of dictionaries and real life disagreeing. Of course, we crossword writers will side with the two-word people, since NOG is so useful for our grids.

Had any good EGG NOG lately? Take a pic of the container and tweet it to #beastxword so we can settle this once and for all.

Play today’s puzzle and sign up for our weekly crossword newsletter on the bottom of the puzzle page.

READ MORE ON CROSSWORDS

GET A CLUE

The Greek Alphabet Makes For a Plethora of Puzzle Clues

Matt Gaffney

GET A CLUE

How Puzzlers Balance Tricky Clues and Fun Words

Matt Gaffney

GET A CLUE

What Makes a Great Crossword Puzzle Title?

Matt Gaffney

See more of our coverage in your search results.

ADD THE DAILY BEAST ON GOOGLE

Matt Gaffney

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.