Crossword Clue: ___ and cheese
Here's the answer to the ___ and cheese crossword clue, with an explanation and where it has appeared.
Definition & answer: MAC
The answer to "___ and cheese" is MAC. Mac runs 3 letters — 1 vowel and 2 consonants — opening with M and closing on C. 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
Mac is short for macaroni, itself borrowed from the Italian "maccheroni." The word does double duty in crosswords, cluing the comfort food, a raincoat, an Apple computer, or the informal address "hey, Mac."
Common usage
You'll see MAC 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 M or C, MAC tends to fall fast.
Crossword trivia
Short answers like MAC are the connective tissue of a crossword. You'll meet MAC 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 MAC will often be the only word that fits the letters you already have.
This clue in different puzzles
Setters vary how they clue MAC — 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 MAC into the grid took no time at all."
- "Mac is the kind of answer that clicks the moment you spot one letter."
- "Seeing '___ and cheese' in the clue list, an experienced solver pencils in MAC almost immediately."