Crossword Clue: Late-night sketch show, initials
Here's the answer to the Late-night sketch show, initials crossword clue, with an explanation and where it has appeared.
Definition & answer: SNL
"Late-night sketch show, initials" points to SNL, a 3-letter entry that starts with S and finishes on L and carries 0 vowels. Because every square it occupies also belongs to a down or across answer crossing it, you can often back into SNL from the letters around it rather than the clue alone.
Origin & meaning
SNL stands for 'Saturday Night Live,' the sketch comedy show that premiered on NBC in 1975. It has launched the careers of many comedy stars over the decades.
Common usage
Compact, vowel-friendly answers such as SNL are a constructor's staple: they slot into a 3-square space and play nicely in both directions. Solvers who recognize it on sight save real time on the daily puzzle.
Crossword trivia
Snl belongs to the small vocabulary of words that appear constantly in grids. Because it's only 3 letters, editors can drop it almost anywhere, which is why regular solvers know it on sight.
Stuck on this clue?
Stuck on "Late-night sketch show, initials"? Don't force it — solve the clues crossing this slot instead. One or two intersecting letters usually make SNL obvious. Working from the crossings is the single most useful habit for getting faster.
This clue in different puzzles
Setters vary how they clue SNL — 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 3-letter slot and a clue like 'Late-night sketch show, initials'? That's SNL nine times out of ten."
- "I second-guessed it, but the crossing answers confirmed SNL was right."
- "I had the crossing letters, so writing SNL into the grid took no time at all."