Crossword Clue: Movie, informally
Here's the answer to the Movie, informally crossword clue, with an explanation and where it has appeared.
Definition & answer: FLICK
The answer to "Movie, informally" is FLICK. Flick runs 5 letters — 1 vowel and 4 consonants — opening with F and closing on K. 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
Flick is an informal term for a movie, dating back to the early era of film when the flickering of the projector was noticeable. It remains common casual slang today.
Common usage
You'll see FLICK 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 F or K, FLICK tends to fall fast.
Crossword trivia
Short answers like FLICK are the connective tissue of a crossword. You'll meet FLICK 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 FLICK will often be the only word that fits the letters you already have.
This clue in different puzzles
Setters vary how they clue FLICK — 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 FLICK into the grid took no time at all."
- "Flick is the kind of answer that clicks the moment you spot one letter."
- "Seeing 'Movie, informally' in the clue list, an experienced solver pencils in FLICK almost immediately."