Crosswords are a special kind of torture. You’re sitting there, coffee getting cold, staring at four blank squares for the put out crossword clue and your brain just stalls. Is it an emotion? An action? Did someone leave the lights on?
The English language is messy. "Put out" is what linguists call a phrasal verb, and it’s arguably one of the most overworked phrases in our vocabulary. Because it has so many definitions, crossword constructors—the folks like Will Shortz or Brendan Emmett Quigley who design these grids—love using it. It is a chameleon. It can mean you're annoyed, or it can mean you're literally placing a trash can on the curb.
The Most Common Answers You’ll See
If you’re staring at a New York Times grid or the LA Times daily, the answer usually depends on the letter count. Let’s look at the heavy hitters.
EVEST isn't a word, but EJECT is. Wait, that’s not right. If the clue is looking for a four-letter word, you’re almost certainly looking for OUST or EMIT. But if the grid asks for five letters? Then you’re likely looking at ANNOY or EXTINGUISH—though obviously, extinguish is way too long for a five-letter spot. For five letters, the gold standard is often INCONVENIENCE (too long) or UPSET.
Actually, let's get specific. ANNOY is a frequent flier. If you’re "put out" by someone’s behavior, you’re annoyed. But if you’re putting out a fire, the answer is SLAKE or QUENCH, though those are rarer. The most common four-letter answer for extinguishing a flame in a crossword is DOUT. It’s an old-fashioned contraction of "do out," and honestly, nobody uses it in real life anymore, but crossword constructors treat it like gold.
Why This Clue is a Shape-Shifter
Context is everything. In a cryptic crossword, "put out" might be a signal for an anagram. In a standard American-style crossword, it’s all about the synonym.
Think about the physical act of putting something out. You might ISSUE a statement. That’s five letters. A magazine might PUBLISH an edition. If the clue is "Put out, as a magazine," and you have seven spaces, PUBLISH is your winner. If you have five, try ISSUE.
Then there’s the emotional side. If someone is "put out," they are VEXED. That’s a great five-letter word that appears constantly because that "X" helps constructors bridge difficult sections of the map. If you see an "X" in the middle of your word, VEXED is almost certainly the answer for a "put out" clue.
The Baseball Factor
Crosswords love sports. If you see the put out crossword clue and the theme of the puzzle seems vaguely athletic, you’re not looking for an emotion. You’re looking for a defensive play.
In baseball, a putout (often written as one word in the rulebook but two in clues) happens when a fielder handles the ball to result in an out. Sometimes the answer is simply TAGGED or RETIRED. If the clue is "Put out at first," the answer might be THREW.
It’s these little pivots that make crosswords either a joy or a reason to throw your tablet across the room. You have to be willing to abandon your first instinct. If you’re convinced it’s "annoy" but the "A" doesn't work with the "down" clue, it’s time to pivot to the physical. Maybe the answer is EXERT. You put out effort, right? You EXERT yourself.
Breaking Down the Letter Counts
Sometimes you just need a list to scan while you’re mid-puzzle. I get it. No judgment.
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For three letters, you might see OUT. It's redundant, but it happens. Also, look for ERR, as in to be "put out" or mistaken, though that's a stretch.
Four letters is where it gets interesting.
- EMIT: Like a lamp putting out light.
- OUST: To put someone out of office.
- VAMP: This is a deep cut. In jazz, to "vamp" or "put out" a simple introductory phrase.
- ALIT: To have put out or landed (mostly used for birds).
Five letters:
- ANNOY: The classic "I'm bothered" vibe.
- ISSUE: Like a stamp or a decree.
- VEXED: The higher-vocabulary version of annoyed.
- ERASE: To put out of existence on a page.
Six letters and up:
- OFFEND: If you put someone out, you’ve offended them.
- PUBLISH: The media angle.
- EXPEND: Like putting out energy.
- EXTINGUISH: The fire-fighter’s version (10 letters).
The Cruel World of "Crosswordese"
There is this sub-language called "crosswordese." These are words that exist almost exclusively in the world of the 15x15 grid. IRE is a big one. While "ire" doesn't mean "put out" directly, "put out" can be the clue for IRED. Is "ired" a word you've ever used in a sentence? Probably not. You’d say "angered." But in a crossword, IRED is a perfectly legal way to fill a four-letter gap.
Another one is EVICT. If a landlord puts out a tenant, they evict them. It’s a clean, five-letter word with a high-value "V."
Strategies for Solving When You're Stuck
When you see "put out," don't ink it in immediately. Look at the cross-references.
- Check the Tense: If the clue is "Put out," the answer could be "annoy" (present) or "annoyed" (past). However, "put" is one of those annoying English words where the past tense is the same as the present. "Yesterday I put out the fire." "Today I put out the fire." This means the answer could end in "-ED" or it might not. Look at the surrounding clues to see if there’s a consistent tense in the puzzle.
- Look for a Question Mark: If the clue is "Put out?", the question mark is a giant red flag. It means there’s a pun involved. It’s not a literal definition. It might be "STRIKE" (as in a baseball player being put out) or even "SNORE" (as in someone who is "put out" or asleep).
- Count Your Vowels: If you have a lot of vowels in your crossing words, look for consonant-heavy answers like VEX or OUST.
Real-World Examples from Major Puzzles
In a 2023 New York Times puzzle, the clue "Put out" led to the answer EXTINGUISH. In a 2024 USA Today puzzle, the same clue resulted in ANNOY. This happens because different editors have different "vibes." The NYT tends to skew a bit more academic or literal, while the LA Times or Newsday might go for more conversational or slangy interpretations.
The Wall Street Journal crossword often uses "put out" to mean EXPEND or OFFER. They like the business-adjacent definitions. If you’re doing the WSJ, think about resources, money, or effort.
How to Get Better at Identifying These Clues
The best way to stop getting tripped up by the put out crossword clue is to start thinking in synonyms as a daily habit. When you see a word, ask yourself: "How many ways can this be used?"
"Put out" can mean:
- Displaced (as in a bone)
- Publication (a book)
- Fire suppression
- Irritation
- Physical placement
- Sports outs
- Production (factory output)
Honestly, it’s a lot to keep track of. But that’s the game. The "put out" clue is a classic because it forces the solver to keep an open mind. It’s a gatekeeper. Once you get that word, the rest of the corner usually falls into place.
Final Tactics for Your Grid
Next time you're stuck, try this: stop looking at the clue as a verb. Try looking at it as an adjective. If a person is "put out," they are PEEVED. That’s six letters. If they are IRKED, that’s five.
If you are absolutely hitting a wall, look at the letters you already have. Do you have an "X"? It's VEXED or EXERT. Do you have a "J"? It might be EJECT. Do you have a "U"? Think OUST or ISSUE.
Crosswords aren't just about what you know; they're about how you can manipulate what you know to fit a geometric pattern. The put out crossword clue isn't there to beat you. It’s there to make you think around the corner.
Next Steps for Your Solving Journey
- Keep a "Cheat Sheet": Start a small note on your phone for common crosswordese like DOUT, IRE, and ALIT. You'll start seeing them everywhere.
- Check the Editor: Learn the style of the puzzle you’re solving. Shortz (NYT) loves wordplay; Stanley Newman (Newsday) likes tough, literal definitions.
- Work the Crosses: If a clue has more than five possible meanings, don't even try to solve it first. Solve the words going the other way to give yourself a "skeleton" of the answer.