The answer is ALLOW, five letters. CEDE is the usual four letter fill. Grant is one of those clue words that is a verb, a noun and a surname at the same time, and the capital letter at the start of a clue tells you nothing because every clue starts with one.
Giving, conceding, or handing over money
As a verb, grant splits again. To grant a request is to allow or award it, which gives ALLOW, CEDE, AWARD, ACCORD, BESTOW, CONFER and ENDOW. To grant a point in an argument is to concede it, which gives ADMIT, AVOW, OWN and CONCEDE. Those are genuinely different actions and setters clue them differently, so a clue mentioning an argument or an opponent points at the second list every time.
As a noun, grant means money given for a purpose without expectation of repayment, which gives SUBSIDY, STIPEND, AWARD and ENDOWMENT. The noun reading is the one solvers think of first from everyday life and the one grids use least, because the verb senses are shorter and more useful to a constructor.
Verbs, nouns and names, sorted by blanks
Run the whole field against your square count:
| Letters | Answer | Which reading |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | OWN | Concede, as in own up to it |
| 3 | AMY | The singer Amy Grant |
| 4 | CEDE | Give up or give over |
| 4 | AVOW | Concede openly |
| 4 | CARY | The film actor Cary Grant |
| 4 | HUGH | The film actor Hugh Grant |
| 5 | ALLOW | The plain default |
| 5 | ADMIT | Concede a point |
| 5 | AWARD | Works as verb and as noun |
| 5 | ENDOW | Give a lasting source of funds |
| 6 | ACCORD | Formal, as in accord a privilege |
| 6 | BESTOW | Formal, usually of honors |
| 6 | CONFER | Grant a degree or a title |
| 7 | CONCEDE | Concede at full length |
| 7 | STIPEND | A regular payment |
| 7 | SUBSIDY | Money toward a cost |
| 7 | ULYSSES | The president and Union general |
The Grants a grid can mean
Four of them come up often enough to be worth holding in mind. Ulysses S. Grant commanded the Union armies in the Civil War and then served as president of the United States, and his portrait is on the fifty dollar bill, which is a detail constructors use constantly. Cary Grant was the film star, born in England as Archibald Leach. Hugh Grant is the later English actor, and Amy Grant is the singer.
A first name clue wants the first name as the answer, so a clue reading like Actor Grant wants CARY or HUGH depending on the count. Four squares does not separate them, which is exactly why that clue shows up.
Grant works as a first name as well, which doubles the trap. The painter behind American Gothic was Grant Wood, so a clue built on him wants WOOD and not a first name at all. That reversal is the sort of thing a late week grid will spring without any warning in the wording.
Granted is a different word in practice
If the clue reads Granted, check whether it is a past tense verb or the standalone concession word. Granted at the start of a sentence means admittedly or true enough, and it functions as a whole comment on its own. A clue exploiting that will give a conversational surface and want something like TRUE, AGREED, OKAY or ADMITTEDLY rather than a past tense verb. The shift from verb to interjection is invisible in print, which is why Thursday setters reach for this trick so readily.
Taking something for granted
The phrase is old enough that most speakers never think about what it is claiming, which is that a thing has already been given and therefore needs no further attention. Setters who want a long multiword entry will sometimes go after the idiom directly, and phrase entries are always harder to spot than single words because the letter string looks like nonsense until the word breaks land. If a long slot is producing a run of letters that reads like no word you know, try inserting spaces at every plausible point before you assume a crossing is wrong.
Frequently asked questions
What is the four letter answer for Grant?
CEDE for the giving sense and AVOW for the conceding sense. CARY and HUGH also fit four squares when the clue is pointing at an actor.
Does a Grant clue mean the president or the actor?
The clue wording decides. A Civil War or currency hint wants ULYSSES at seven letters, while an acting hint wants CARY or HUGH at four.
What is the difference between the two verb senses of grant?
Granting a request means allowing or awarding it, giving ALLOW, CEDE and AWARD. Granting a point means conceding it, giving ADMIT, AVOW and CONCEDE.
