Crossword Clue: PM Thatcher
Here's the answer to the PM Thatcher crossword clue, with an explanation and where it has appeared.
Definition & answer: MARGARET
"PM Thatcher" points to MARGARET, a 8-letter entry that starts with M and finishes on T and carries 3 vowels. Because every square it occupies also belongs to a down or across answer crossing it, you can often back into MARGARET from the letters around it rather than the clue alone.
Origin & meaning
Margaret Thatcher was the first female British prime minister. Nicknamed the 'Iron Lady,' she led the UK through the 1980s.
Common usage
Compact, vowel-friendly answers such as MARGARET are a constructor's staple: they slot into a 8-square space and play nicely in both directions. Solvers who recognize it on sight save real time on the daily puzzle.
Crossword trivia
Margaret belongs to the small vocabulary of words that appear constantly in grids. Because it's only 8 letters, editors can drop it almost anywhere, which is why regular solvers know it on sight.
Stuck on this clue?
Stuck on "PM Thatcher"? Don't force it — solve the clues crossing this slot instead. One or two intersecting letters usually make MARGARET obvious. Working from the crossings is the single most useful habit for getting faster.
This clue in different puzzles
Setters vary how they clue MARGARET — 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
- "A 8-letter slot and a clue like 'PM Thatcher'? That's MARGARET nine times out of ten."
- "I second-guessed it, but the crossing answers confirmed MARGARET was right."
- "I had the crossing letters, so writing MARGARET into the grid took no time at all."