Crossword Clue: Ridley Scott's 1979 space horror
Here's the answer to the Ridley Scott's 1979 space horror crossword clue, with an explanation and where it has appeared.
Definition & answer: ALIEN
The answer to "Ridley Scott's 1979 space horror" is ALIEN. Alien runs 5 letters — 3 vowels and 2 consonants — opening with A and closing on N. 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
'Alien' is Ridley Scott's 1979 sci-fi horror film starring Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley. Its tagline was 'In space no one can hear you scream.'
Common usage
You'll see ALIEN in grids regularly — its 5-letter, 3 vowels shape is exactly what setters need to bridge trickier entries. When one intersecting letter is already in place, especially the A or N, ALIEN tends to fall fast.
Crossword trivia
Short answers like ALIEN are the connective tissue of a crossword. You'll meet ALIEN 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 ALIEN will often be the only word that fits the letters you already have.
This clue in different puzzles
Setters vary how they clue ALIEN — 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 ALIEN into the grid took no time at all."
- "Alien is the kind of answer that clicks the moment you spot one letter."
- "Seeing 'Ridley Scott's 1979 space horror' in the clue list, an experienced solver pencils in ALIEN almost immediately."