Crossword Clue: Father, informally
Here's the answer to the Father, informally crossword clue, with an explanation and where it has appeared.
Definition & answer: DAD
The answer to "Father, informally" is DAD. Dad runs 3 letters — 1 vowel and 2 consonants — opening with D and closing on D. In a grid it fills a 3-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
Dad is thought to imitate a baby's earliest babbling sounds, which is why similar words appear across unrelated languages. Being a short palindrome loaded with the common letters D and A, it is a favorite crossword filler.
Common usage
You'll see DAD in grids regularly — its 3-letter, 1 vowel shape is exactly what setters need to bridge trickier entries. When one intersecting letter is already in place, especially the D or D, DAD tends to fall fast.
Crossword trivia
Short answers like DAD are the connective tissue of a crossword. You'll meet DAD 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 DAD will often be the only word that fits the letters you already have.
This clue in different puzzles
Setters vary how they clue DAD — 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 DAD into the grid took no time at all."
- "Dad is the kind of answer that clicks the moment you spot one letter."
- "Seeing 'Father, informally' in the clue list, an experienced solver pencils in DAD almost immediately."