You’re staring at four empty white boxes. The clue is just one word: Bury. You’ve already tried "hide," but the "D" from the down clue doesn't fit. Then you think of "inter," but that’s five letters. Crosswords are funny like that. They take a word you use every single day and suddenly make it look like a foreign language. Honestly, the bury crossword clue is one of those classic "chameleon" entries that editors at The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal love to toss in when they want to slow you down on a Tuesday or Wednesday. It’s not that the word is hard; it’s that it has too many lives.
Why the Bury Crossword Clue Changes Every Time
Context is everything. If you see "Bury" in a Monday puzzle, the answer is almost certainly INTER. It’s the standard, go-to synonym in the cruciverbalist world. But as the week progresses, the difficulty spikes. Suddenly, the clue isn't asking for a funeral rite. It might be looking for HIDE, CONCEAL, or even something more obscure like PLANT or SINK.
Think about how we use the word in real life. You bury a bone. You bury your feelings. You bury the lead in a news story. You even bury a shot in the back of the net in a soccer match. Because the word functions as both a literal action and a metaphorical one, crossword constructors like Will Shortz or Mike Shenk use it to pivot between categories.
One of the most frequent traps is the "Bury" clue that actually refers to a location. If the clue is "Bury, for one," you might be looking for BORO or TOWN. This refers to Bury in Greater Manchester, England. If you aren't thinking about British geography, you’ll be stuck trying to fit "tomb" into a four-letter space where it simply doesn't belong. It’s a classic misdirection.
The Linguistics of the Grid
English is a bit of a mess. We have synonyms that are almost identical but carry different "weights" in a puzzle. INTER is formal. ENTOMB is dramatic. INHUMES? That’s the kind of word you only see in a Saturday puzzle or a very dusty 19th-century novel. Yet, all of them are valid answers for a bury crossword hint.
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I’ve noticed that solvers often get stuck because they commit to a "theme" too early. If the surrounding clues are about gardening, you’ll be looking for PLANT. If the theme is about secrets, you’ll want MASK or VEIL. But constructors love to break theme patterns to keep you on your toes.
Common Answers for Bury in Crosswords
Let’s look at the literal data. If you’re filling out a grid right now, your answer is likely one of these, depending on the letter count:
The Five-Letter Heavyweight: INTER
This is the "Old Faithful" of crossword answers. If you have five letters and the second is 'N' and the last is 'R,' just type it in. You’re done. It appears hundreds of times a year across various publications because the vowels (I and E) and common consonants (N, T, R) are "grid friendly."
The Four-Letter Options: HIDE or ENURN
"Hide" is the most common four-letter variant. However, watch out for ENURN. It’s a bit of a "crosswordese" word—meaning people don't really say it in conversation, but it shows up in puzzles constantly because of those helpful vowels. It specifically means to place ashes in an urn, which is a form of burying, technically speaking.
The Six-Letter Mystery: ENTOMB
If you have six letters, ENTOMB is your best bet. It’s more permanent. It’s heavier. It’s what you do to a pharaoh.
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The British Connection: STEPPE
Wait, what? Occasionally, "Bury" isn't the verb; it’s part of a wordplay. If the clue is "Bury's place?" the answer could be LANCASHIRE. This is rare in American puzzles but a staple in the Guardian cryptic crosswords.
Cracking the Cryptic "Bury"
Cryptic crosswords are a different beast entirely. In a standard puzzle, the clue is a synonym. In a cryptic, "bury" might be a "container indicator." This means the answer is literally hidden inside other words.
For example, a clue might read: "Bury some fruit in the library (5)."
The answer is BERRY. Why? Because the word "berry" is "buried" (hidden) inside the phrase "library." Or, "bury" could be the definition, and the wordplay leads you to IN-TER. "In" (popular) + "Ter" (half of territory). It gets weird. It gets complicated. But that’s the joy of it.
I remember one specific puzzle where the clue was simply "Bury the hatchet?" The answer was AMNESTY. That’s a brilliant piece of clueing. It moves away from the physical act of digging a hole and moves into the emotional and political realm of forgiveness.
The Evolution of Crossword Clueing
Back in the 1980s and 90s, clues were much more literal. "Bury" would almost always be "Inter." Today, constructors are more playful. They want to evoke an image. They might use "Put away" or "Consign to the earth."
There’s also the "Bury" that refers to sports. "To bury a jumper" means to make a basket in basketball. If you see a sports-themed crossword, the answer might be SINK or MAKE.
How to Solve This Clue Faster Next Time
Don't just guess. Look at the crossing words (the "crosses"). If you have the first letter and it's an 'I', don't immediately assume it's INTER. It could be INHUMES.
- Check the tense. Is the clue "Bury" or "Buried"? If it’s "Buried," your answer must end in -ED or -T (like INTERRED or HID).
- Check the part of speech. Is it a verb or a noun? (A "bury" could be a burrow or a mound in certain dialects).
- Look for "For one" or "e.g." If the clue is "Bury, e.g.", the answer is a category, like CITY or TOWN.
Basically, the bury crossword clue is a test of your mental flexibility. It’s a reminder that one word can mean a dozen things depending on who is asking and what day of the week it is.
The Cultural Impact of the Crossword "Bury"
It’s interesting how certain words become "crossword famous." Words like ETUI, OREO, and ALEE are famous because they have great vowel-to-consonant ratios. "Bury" isn't quite in that hall of fame, but its synonyms are.
Constructors use these words to bridge difficult sections of the grid. If they have a "Z" or a "Q" nearby, they need a simple, flexible word like "Bury" to provide the "E" or "R" that will make the corner work.
Next time you’re stuck, take a breath. Step away from the screen or the paper. When you come back, don't look at the word "Bury" as an action. Look at it as a placeholder for a dozen different concepts.
Actionable Insights for Your Next Puzzle
To master the bury crossword clue and others like it, you should start keeping a "crossword diary" or just a mental note of repeated synonyms.
- Memorize the "Big Three": INTER (5), HIDE (4), ENTOMB (6). These account for about 80% of all "Bury" answers.
- Watch for the British "Bury": If the puzzle has a lot of British spellings (like colour or theatre), the answer is likely geographical (TOWN or BORO).
- Analyze the Grid Position: If the word is in a corner with many vowels, lean toward ENURN or INTER. If it’s in a consonant-heavy area, think MASK or PLANT.
- Practice Cryptics: Even if you prefer standard puzzles, learning how "bury" acts as a container indicator in cryptics will help you spot "hidden" words in standard themes.
Focus on the letters you know are right from the crossing clues. If the second letter is 'N', you’re looking at INTER, ENTOMB, or ENURN. If the third letter is 'D', it’s probably UNDER. Use the process of elimination rather than trying to conjure the perfect synonym out of thin air. Most of the time, the answer is simpler than you’re making it.