You’re staring at a Tuesday New York Times grid. The clue for 42-Across is "You can say that again!" and it’s five letters long. You immediately think AMEN. Or maybe TRUE. But wait, it could be DITTO. Or even I'LL SAY. Suddenly, a simple idiomatic expression becomes a logistical bottleneck that ruins your personal best time.
Crossword construction is an art of misdirection. When an editor like Will Shortz or Patti Varol approves a clue like you can say that again crossword, they aren't just looking for a synonym. They are looking for a vibe. This specific phrase is what we call a "conversational fill." It represents a spoken reaction, and because humans have about a hundred ways to agree with each other, the possibilities are maddeningly broad.
It’s frustrating. Truly. You think you’ve nailed the corner, but then a crossing down clue for a 1950s opera singer makes you realize your "Amen" should have been "I agree."
The Linguistic Trap of Modern Puzzles
Why is this phrase so common in the LA Times, WSJ, and NYT? It’s all about the vowels. Phrases of agreement like "Amen," "I'll say," and "I do" are vowel-heavy. In the world of grid construction, vowels are the grease that keeps the wheels turning. If a constructor is stuck in a corner with a lot of consonants, they’ll reach for a "You can say that again!" variation to open things up.
But for us, the solvers, it creates a "Schrödinger’s Clue" situation. The answer is simultaneously multiple things until the crossing letters force it to be one.
The Most Common Culprits
Let’s look at the data. If you’ve played enough, you know that "Amen" is the king of this clue. It’s short, it’s punchy, and it fits almost anywhere. But "Amen" usually carries a slightly more formal or religious undertone in real life, whereas in a crossword, it’s just a generic "I agree."
Then you have AMEN (4 letters), TRUE (4 letters), DITTO (5 letters), I'LL SAY (6 letters), SO TRUE (6 letters), and the dreaded YOU SAID IT (9 letters).
I remember once hitting a Friday puzzle where the clue was "You can say that again!" and the answer was AND HOW. Talk about an old-school vibe. Nobody under the age of 80 says "And how!" in regular conversation anymore, yet it lives on in the black-and-white squares of the daily paper. It’s a linguistic fossil.
Context Clues and Punctuation Tricks
You have to look at the punctuation. It’s the only way to survive. If the clue is "You can say that again!" with an exclamation point, the answer is likely to be something emphatic. Think I'LL SAY or INDEED. If it’s "You can say that again?" with a question mark, the constructor is being cheeky. They might be looking for something like ECHO or REPLAY.
Crossword veterans know that a question mark at the end of a clue is a warning. It means "I'm lying to you." It means the literal meaning of the words is irrelevant.
- AMEN: The standard. Use it when you need a 4-letter word ending in N or starting with A.
- DITTO: Often used when the constructor wants to be slightly more playful.
- I HEAR YOU: A longer, 8-letter filler that often bridges two different sections of the grid.
- TOO TRUE: A common British-ism that pops up in the Guardian or tougher US puzzles.
Honestly, it’s kinda fascinating how these phrases evolve. Twenty years ago, you’d never see PREACH as an answer for a "You can say that again" clue. Now? It’s everywhere. It reflects the slang of the moment. If you see a clue like this in a modern "indie" puzzle like the AVCX or a crossword by a younger constructor like Erik Agard, you better be ready for more contemporary vernacular.
The Math Behind the Grid
Every crossword is a mathematical constraint problem. When a constructor puts in a long "seed" entry—let’s say, CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE—the letters around it become fixed. If they end up with a gap that needs an A, an M, and an E, they are basically forced to use AMEN.
This is why you see the same answers over and over. It’s not lack of creativity. It’s physics. Or, well, the linguistic equivalent of it.
I once spoke with a constructor who admitted they hated using these "conversational" clues because they feel like "filler." But sometimes you’re backed into a corner. If you have a 5x5 block of white squares and you’ve already placed three difficult proper nouns, you need something easy to bail you out. "You can say that again" is the ultimate bailout.
Identifying the Era of the Puzzle
The "flavor" of the answer often depends on when the puzzle was written. If you’re doing an archival puzzle from the 90s, "Amen" or "Indeed" are your best bets. If you’re doing a puzzle from 2024 or 2025, look for things like FACTS or SO TRUE.
Crosswords are living documents. They change as we change.
Wait. Let’s talk about the "rebus." If you’re a novice, a rebus is when you have to put multiple letters—or even a whole word—into a single square. Every once in a while, a sadistic constructor will make the answer to "You can say that again" literally just the word AGAIN repeated in two different squares. It’s rare, but it happens. It’s the kind of thing that makes you want to throw your pen across the room.
Why We Get Stuck
We get stuck because we commit too early. You see the clue, you're sure it's "Ditto," and you write it in with ink. (Never use ink, by the way. That’s just hubris.)
Then you realize the down clue for the second letter is "Japanese Sash," and you realize "Ditto" doesn't work because the second letter needs to be an O for OBI. So you erase it. You pivot.
The secret to mastering the you can say that again crossword clue is to leave it blank until you have at least two crossing letters. It’s the only way to keep your sanity. Don't guess. Evidence-based solving is the only way to avoid the trap.
Expert Tips for Breaking Through
If you find yourself staring at a blank space for this clue, try these mental pivots:
First, check the length. Four letters? Probably AMEN, TRUE, or SAME. Five letters? DITTO or I AGREE (if it’s a 6-letter slot, IAGREE fits).
Second, look at the "crosses." If the first letter is a vowel, your odds of it being AMEN or I'LL SAY go up by 70%. If it starts with a consonant, think DITTO or YOU SAID IT.
Third, consider the publication. The Wall Street Journal loves slightly more formal language. A "You can say that again" clue there might be INDEED. A Buzzfeed crossword (back when they did them) would have been much more likely to use RT (as in "Retweet") or SAME.
It’s all about the "voice" of the editor. Will Shortz likes cleverness but maintains a certain "New York Times" dignity. He’ll allow I'LL SAY but might shy away from PREACH unless the theme specifically supports it.
The Evolution of Agreement
Language is shifting. Crosswords are finally catching up. For decades, the "You can say that again" clue was a graveyard of 1940s slang. "And how!" "You bet!" "Righto!"
Now, we see things like MOOD.
Yes, "Mood" is now a valid answer for a crossword clue about agreement. If you’re over 40, that might feel like a personal attack. But that’s the beauty of the hobby. It forces you to stay current. It forces you to realize that "You can say that again" isn’t just a phrase; it’s a function.
Actionable Strategy for Your Next Puzzle
Stop trying to solve the clue in isolation. The "You can say that again" clue is almost never the "key" to the puzzle. It’s a connector.
- Skip it initially. Don't let it bake your brain. Fill in the "definite" answers first—the names of celebrities, the scientific terms, the geography.
- Look for the 'T' or the 'N'. These clues very often end in N (Amen) or contain a T (Ditto, You Said It). If you have a crossing letter that lands on one of those, you've narrowed your field by half.
- Check for 'vowel clusters'. Phrases like "I'll say" or "I agree" are great for constructors because they bridge gaps. If you see a lot of consonants in the surrounding area, expect a vowel-heavy answer.
- Listen to the tone. Is the puzzle's vibe old-school or modern? Match your "agreement" to that era.
Crosswords are a conversation between you and the constructor. When they give you a vague clue like you can say that again crossword, they are basically saying, "I needed to fill this hole, and I'm giving you a few options. Good luck."
It’s a game of probability. You’re a detective looking for the most likely suspect in a lineup of synonyms. Sometimes the suspect is "Amen." Sometimes it's "I'll say." But if you keep your head, you'll find the right one before you run out of eraser.
Next time you see those five little words, don't groan. Just look at the crosses. The grid always tells the truth, even when the clues are trying to be cute. Stick to the letters you know, and the "Amen" will eventually find its own way home.
The best way to improve is to actually look at a database like XWordInfo or Crossword Tracker. Search for the clue there. You’ll see exactly how often "Amen" appears compared to "Ditto." Seeing the raw frequency of these answers helps your brain automatically rank them the next time you're stuck. You'll start seeing "Amen" not as a word, but as a statistical likelihood. That's when you know you've moved from a casual solver to a real pro.
Keep your pencil sharp and your mind open to the weirdness of the English language. Puzzles aren't about what words mean; they're about how words fit.
Next Steps for Mastering Puzzles
- Download a crossword tracker app to see historical clue data for the NYT and LA Times.
- Practice "vowel-first" solving on mid-week puzzles to recognize common filler patterns.
- Study common "crosswordese"—those 3- and 4-letter words like OREO, ALOE, and AMEN that appear in almost every grid.
