A specific type of pause occurs when a solver encounters the clue “paltry.” You can practically picture someone hunched over a kitchen table with a pencil hovering over the morning paper and lukewarm coffee. Part of the appeal is that the word itself sounds offensive. It makes a meager, cruel promise that is hardly worth the trouble. Nevertheless, “paltry” has emerged as one of the most dependable little workhorses an editor can use when creating crossword puzzles.
A pattern starts to show up when you look at the data. Over twenty major American puzzles have included the clue, and that is exactly what has been tracked. In 2026 alone, Penny Dell ran it three times, most recently in early May. It was used by the LA Times. Newsday keeps returning to it. This same four-syllable insult has been used by the Guardian Quick, the Evening Standard, the Universal Crossword, and even the WSJ Daily to fill a grid corner. Editors seem to trust it in the same way that cooks trust salt.
MEASLY is by far the most popular response. Six letters, a little Victorian, a little humorous. It’s the kind of term your grandmother might use to characterize a gratuity given by a cheap relative. MEAGER, which has six letters and is a little more formal, is the close runner-up. MERE, PUNY, POOR, SCANT, SORRY, SLIGHT, PITIFUL, and, for the longer grids, the amazing PICAYUNE—a word that hardly anyone uses in conversation anymore but that crossword designers seem unwilling to retire—are the next long tail of substitutes that solvers learn to keep in mental reserve.
In actuality, “paltry” is useful because of its adaptability. Three characters? LOW or TIN will work. Four? Pick one of the following five: MEAN, MERE, PUNY, BALD, BASE, POOR, THIN. SMALL, SEEDY, BROKE, SORRY, AND CHEAP. It’s a clue that can be stretched to fit practically any awkward grid space. Such a utility is uncommon. The majority of clues only allow you to choose one or two solutions. “Paltry” gives you a lot of options, which is why builders continue to use it when they need to work with a challenging corner.
The fact that the alternatives frequently seem like insignificant moral judgments is also subtly humorous. SLIGHT, TRASHY, FEEBLE, AND SHABBY. These descriptors are not impartial. They have a mindset. To dismiss something with a flick of the wrist is to call it paltry. By filling in the blanks, the solver can take part in the dismissal, which is carried out in miniature by the clue. It’s a small joke that the player and puzzle share.
Observing how frequently “paltry” appears in puzzles makes it difficult to ignore the fact that crossword culture favors a particular type of word that is recognizable without being overused outside of the grid, slightly archaic, and vaguely literary. Long after they have faded from everyday speech, words like MEASLY and PICAYUNE continue to appear in crossword puzzles. The grid turns into a sort of preservation chamber for the more subdued aspects of the English language.
Perhaps that’s what makes it appealing. Solvers do more than just look for solutions. They are encountering archaic vocabulary that may have been used by their parents and appears in novels from the middle of the 20th century. The word “paltry” itself seems like it belongs in a Dickens chapter rather than a text message.
The clue will continue to function whether it appears in a Penny Dell grid the following week or in the Sunday Times. Small, trustworthy, slightly critical. A meager hint in the best sense of the word.
