The answer is ADAGES, six letters. An adage is a saying that has earned its standing through long use, the kind of line people repeat without knowing who said it first. MAXIMS and MOTTOS fill the same six squares, so confirm a crossing before you commit, and SAWS covers four.
An adage has to be old to count
The American Heritage Dictionary defines an adage as a saying that sets forth a general truth and that has gained credit through long use. Long use is built into the definition, which is why critics have condemned old adage as a redundancy. The dictionary’s own usage note is relaxed about it, listing old adage among expressions that have become fixed and seem harmless enough.
English borrowed adage from French in the 1540s, and the French word goes back to Latin adagium. Beyond that the trail is uncertain. One explanation builds it from ad, to, and the root of aio, I say. A rival account connects it with a Latin verb for driving or forcing, and scholars have not settled between them.
Maxims, mottos and the six-square tie
Three plural nouns share this slot, and their meanings sit close enough that the definition will not choose for you. The letters will. ADAGES starts with A, while MAXIMS and MOTTOS both start with M and split at the second square, A against O. One crossing in either of the first two squares settles it.
They do differ in flavor. A maxim is a rule for conduct, and its history shows it: Latin phrases such as maxima propositio, the greatest or chief premise, were shortened to maxima, and by the 1590s English used maxim for a statement serving as a rule or guide. A motto is a line a person or a group adopts as its own. An adage is simply a saying that has lasted, and that plain, catch-all meaning is why ADAGES suits a one-word clue like Sayings.
Saying words from three letters to eight
Several of the short answers are borrowed plurals, so listen for a learned or legal tone in the wording around Sayings.
| Letters | Answer | What points to it |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | ANA | A collection of someone’s anecdotes or table talk |
| 4 | SAWS | Old, familiar sayings |
| 4 | MOTS | Witty remarks |
| 5 | DICTA | Formal or legal pronouncements |
| 5 | LOGIA | Sayings attributed to Jesus |
| 6 | ADAGES | The default |
| 6 | MAXIMS | Rules for conduct |
| 6 | MOTTOS | Lines a group adopts |
| 8 | PROVERBS | Traditional sayings, or the Bible book |
| 8 | BROMIDES | Stale, trite remarks |
The saw in old saw has nothing to do with the tool
SAWS looks like a pun on the carpenter’s blade, yet saw meaning a saying has a history all its own. Saw in the sense of a saying comes from the Old English sagu, which covered a saying, a speech, a tradition or a tale, and it shares a root with say. It is also a relative of saga, which English borrowed from Old Norse. The specific sense of proverb or maxim was in place by the late 1200s.
The word has picked up an edge along the way. The old Century Dictionary described a saw as a contemptuous term for an expression that is more common than wise, and old saw still sounds faintly dismissive, which makes SAWS a good fit when the clue itself sounds a little weary.
Latin and Greek plurals for learned sayings
DICTA is the plural of dictum, Latin for a proverb or maxim, from the verb meaning to say. English uses it for an authoritative statement, and lawyers know it from obiter dicta, things said in passing: remarks in a judicial opinion on points the case did not require, which are persuasive but not binding. LOGIA is the plural of logion, a saying attributed to Jesus in ancient texts and originally handed down without any narrative around it. ANA, three letters, is a collection of anecdotes or table talk associated with a person, formed from the suffix you see in Americana.
BROMIDES took a stranger route. Bromide compounds were once used as sedatives, and the American humorist Gelett Burgess popularized the word for a dull, conventional person or a trite remark in his 1906 book Are You a Bromide?
Frequently asked questions
What is a four-letter word for sayings?
SAWS is the standard four-letter answer, as in the phrase old saws. It comes from the Old English sagu, a saying or tale, and shares a root with say. MOTS also fits four squares when the clue leans toward witty remarks rather than traditional wisdom.
Is old adage redundant?
Critics have called it redundant, since an adage by definition is a saying that has gained credit through long use. The American Heritage Dictionary treats old adage as a fixed expression that seems harmless enough, so it is fine in conversation, even if a strict editor might trim it.
What is the difference between an adage and a maxim?
An adage is any saying that has lasted through long use. A maxim is narrower, a statement meant to serve as a rule or guide for conduct, from a Latin phrase meaning the greatest or chief premise. Both take six squares in the plural, so a crossing decides.
