You’re sitting there with a pen—or maybe your thumb is hovering over a smartphone screen—and you’ve got three little squares staring back at you. The clue says "change for a ten," and your brain immediately goes to math. You start thinking about fives, ones, or maybe even those gold dollar coins nobody actually uses. But the grid doesn't fit. Crossword puzzles are notoriously cheeky like that. They take a phrase you hear every single day at a deli or a bank and flip the script until you’re questioning your own literacy. Honestly, it’s one of the most common stumbling blocks for people tackling the New York Times Monday or Tuesday puzzles because it relies on a linguistic bait-and-switch that feels like a dad joke.
The answer to the change for a ten crossword clue is almost always ONES.
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Wait, why? It’s simple, yet frustratingly elusive when you’re in "puzzle mode." If you hand someone a ten-dollar bill and ask for change, the most basic way they can break that down into multiple units of the same currency is by giving you ten one-dollar bills. This specific clue has appeared in major publications like the LA Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today hundreds of times over the last few decades. It’s a staple. It’s a "gimme" for seasoned solvers, but for someone just getting into the hobby, it feels like a riddle from a bridge troll.
The Logic Behind the Change for a Ten Crossword Clue
Why do constructors keep using it? Because it’s efficient. In the world of crossword construction, "short fill" (words with 3 or 4 letters) is the glue that holds the big, fancy themed entries together. You need words with common vowels and friendly consonants. "ONES" is a dream for a constructor. It has two high-frequency vowels (O and E) and two of the most used consonants in the English language (N and S). This makes it incredibly easy to "cross" with other words.
But you can't just write "Four-letter word for currency" every time. That’s boring. Readers would get tired of it. So, constructors get creative with the phrasing. You’ll see variations like "Some ATM output," "Wallet fillers," or "Small bills." But "change for a ten" is the gold standard because it plays with the double meaning of "change." It’s not asking for the process of changing money; it’s asking for the result sitting in your palm.
Sometimes, though, the puzzle throws a curveball. If the answer isn't "ONES," you might be looking at FIVES. If you have a five-letter space, that’s your culprit. Two five-dollar bills make a ten. It’s less common because "FIVES" is slightly harder to fit into a tight grid than "ONES," but it happens. If you’re really unlucky and the puzzle is particularly "punny," the clue might be "Change for a ten?" with a question mark. That question mark is a universal signal in crosswords that a pun is afoot. In that case, the answer might be something like SAWBUCK, which is old-school slang for a ten-dollar bill, though that would more likely be the answer to the clue "A ten."
How Crossword Themes Influence Your Guess
You have to look at the surrounding territory. If you’re working on a puzzle where the theme is "Binary Code" or "Solo Acts," then "ONES" is a lock. Crossword puzzles are built on a grid system of interconnectivity. If you have the "O" from "ORAL" and the "S" from "STOW," you basically have your answer.
It's also worth noting the specific "vibe" of the publication you're reading. The New York Times crossword, edited by Will Shortz (and his team), tends to get progressively harder throughout the week. A Monday puzzle will use "change for a ten" to mean "ONES" in the most literal sense. By Saturday, that same clue might be used to refer to something completely different—maybe something related to the Roman numeral X or even a reference to a "ten" in terms of physical attractiveness.
Actually, I’ve seen clues where "ten" refers to a person’s rank or a perfect score in gymnastics. In those cases, the "change" might be an EDIT or a REVISION to a score. But 95% of the time? You’re looking for those Washingtons.
The Evolution of Money Clues in Puzzles
Language shifts. Back in the mid-20th century, you might have seen clues referring to "two fins" as change for a ten. A "fin" was slang for a five-dollar bill, derived from the German/Yiddish word fünf. You don't see that much anymore unless the puzzle is intentionally going for a vintage, "noir" feel.
Nowadays, constructors are more likely to use digital references. But currency remains a universal language. Even as we move toward a cashless society where everyone just taps their phone against a glowing plastic square, the "ten" and its "ones" remain firmly lodged in our collective vocabulary. There's something tactile about the idea of breaking a bill. It's a relatable human experience, which is exactly what a good crossword clue aims to tap into.
Common Variations You'll Encounter:
- Singles: Often used if the answer requires seven letters.
- Lincolns: If the answer is "FIVES" and the constructor wants to be cheeky.
- Sawbuck: Slang for the ten itself, not the change.
- Hamiltons: Usually the answer for "Tens" since Alexander Hamilton is on the bill.
If you are stuck, check the "crosses." If the word going down is OAT, you know the first letter is O. If the word going down is NEST, the second letter is N. It's a self-correcting system. That's the beauty of it. You don't actually need to know the answer to every clue; you just need to know enough to deduce the rest.
Why "ONES" is the King of the Grid
Think about the letters. O-N-E-S. These are what we call "Wheel of Fortune" letters. They are the bread and butter of English. You can put almost any letter before or after them and make a word.
- B-ONES
- C-ONES
- D-ONES
- G-ONES
Because of this versatility, the change for a ten crossword clue will likely never go out of style. It’s too useful for the person designing the puzzle. When they’re stuck in a corner and they need to connect a long horizontal word like "TRANSUBSTANTIATION" to the rest of the grid, they’ll reach for a reliable, short word like "ONES." And "change for a ten" is the most natural way to clue it without being too obvious or too obscure.
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Strategy for Solving Similar Clues
When you see a clue involving money or numbers, your first instinct should be to count the squares.
- If it's 4 letters: ONES.
- If it's 5 letters: FIVES.
- If it's 7 letters: SINGLES.
- If there's a question mark: Think of puns (maybe it's about a "ten-year-old" changing into an "eleven-year-old"?).
Don't overthink it. Most people fail at crosswords because they assume the clue is much more complex than it actually is. They think about inflation or exchange rates. They think about "ten" as a time (10:00). While those are possible in a "Stumper" or a late-week puzzle, the simplest answer is usually the right one.
The history of crosswords is basically a history of reusing these little linguistic building blocks. Learning "ONES" as the answer to "change for a ten" is like learning a basic chord on a guitar. Once you know it, you can play a thousand different songs. Or in this case, solve a thousand different puzzles. It's about building a mental library of "crosswordese"—that specific dialect of English that only exists within a 15x15 grid of black and white squares.
Real-World Examples from Top Puzzles
Let's look at how the pros do it. In a 2023 NYT puzzle, the clue was simply "Ten ones." The answer? A TEN. It's the reverse of our clue. In a Wall Street Journal puzzle from the same year, the clue was "Break a ten, maybe." The answer was GET ONES.
See the pattern? It’s all about the "ones."
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Sometimes, the clue is "Change for a five." The answer there? ONES again, but this time it's four ones and... wait, no, it's usually just "ONES" because the plural covers the quantity. The math doesn't have to be exact in terms of the count; it just has to be the correct denomination. If you have five ones, you have change for a five. If you have ten ones, you have change for a ten.
Moving Toward Mastery
If you really want to get good at this, you should start looking for these "repeater" clues. "Change for a ten" is just the tip of the iceberg. You’ll start seeing "Eire" for Ireland, "Etna" for a Sicilian volcano, and "Aloe" for a soothing succulent. These are the workhorses of the crossword world.
Once you stop being frustrated by them and start recognizing them as old friends, your solving speed will double. You won't even have to think. You'll see "change for..." and your hand will already be writing "ONES" before you've even finished reading the clue.
Honestly, it’s a bit of a rush when that happens. It’s the moment you stop "working" a puzzle and start "solving" it. You’re no longer guessing; you’re speaking the language.
Practical Steps for Your Next Puzzle:
- Fill in the definites: If you see "change for a ten" and it's four letters, pencil in "ONES" lightly.
- Check the vowels: If the crosses don't support an 'O' or an 'E', erase it immediately and look for a pun.
- Look for the question mark: If the clue is "Change for a ten?" (with the mark), consider if "ten" refers to something else entirely, like a rank, a movie, or a perfect score.
- Keep a "crosswordese" journal: Write down these common clues. You'll be surprised how often they repeat across different newspapers.
Next time you’re stuck on this, just remember: constructors aren't trying to beat you. They’re trying to build a bridge. "ONES" is just one of the bricks they use most often. Grab your pencil, fill those squares, and move on to the more interesting long-form answers that actually give the puzzle its personality. The "ones" are just there to help you get where you're going.