Crossword Clue: Streep of Hollywood
Here's the answer to the Streep of Hollywood crossword clue, with an explanation and where it has appeared.
Definition & answer: MERYL
The answer to "Streep of Hollywood" is MERYL. Meryl runs 5 letters — 1 vowel and 4 consonants — opening with M and closing on L. In a grid it fills a 5-square slot whose letters are each shared with a crossing word, so the intersections do a lot of the heavy lifting when the clue itself is tough.
Origin & meaning
Meryl Streep is an American actress with a record number of Oscar nominations. She won Academy Awards for 'Sophie's Choice' and 'The Iron Lady.'
Common usage
You'll see MERYL in grids regularly — its 5-letter, 1 vowel shape is exactly what setters need to bridge trickier entries. When one intersecting letter is already in place, especially the M or L, MERYL tends to fall fast.
Crossword trivia
Short answers like MERYL are the connective tissue of a crossword. You'll meet MERYL again and again, and recognizing it instantly is one of the quiet skills that separates fast solvers from slow ones.
Stuck on this clue?
The fastest way past a stubborn clue like this one is the grid itself: pencil in the easy crossing answers first, and MERYL will often be the only word that fits the letters you already have.
This clue in different puzzles
Setters vary how they clue MERYL — sometimes with a straight dictionary definition, sometimes with wordplay, a pun, or a fill-in-the-blank — but the answer itself stays the same. Learning to spot the answer behind the disguise is a core crossword skill.
Example sentences
- "I had the crossing letters, so writing MERYL into the grid took no time at all."
- "Meryl is the kind of answer that clicks the moment you spot one letter."
- "Seeing 'Streep of Hollywood' in the clue list, an experienced solver pencils in MERYL almost immediately."