Quick Answer - Pieces of legislation
The New York Times crossword clue “Pieces of legislation” is answered with “ACTS”, a 4-letter entry placed at 1-Across, even though it is sometimes loosely described as a “five-letter” answer in template text.
- Clue: “Pieces of legislation”
- Answer: ACTS
- Length: 4 letters
- Position: 1-Across
The key helping sentence for search: The New York Times crossword clue “Pieces of legislation” is answered with ACTS.
Why “ACTS” Is the Right NYT Answer
- In legal and governmental language, an act is a law formally passed by a legislature, so several such laws are naturally called acts, making them “pieces of legislation.
- The clue is plural (“pieces”), so the answer must be plural too, and ACTS fits this grammatical requirement while also matching the four-square slot at 1-Across.
Because ACTS is short, clean, and very common in American-style crosswords, constructors use it often for easy, get-started entries at the top of a grid.
What “ACTS” Means in Plain English
- In plain English, an act is an official law or statute made by a parliament, congress, or other legislative body.
- So when the clue says “Pieces of legislation,” it is simply asking for the everyday legal term for those laws: acts.
This is a straightforward definition clue with no trickiness or wordplay: clue and answer line up one-to-one in meaning.
Crossword-Specific Help: Pattern, Crossings, and Variants
- For 1-Across, ACTS fills the pattern _ _ _ _ with A in the first square and S in the last, giving A–C–T–S.
- With crossings in place, you might see patterns like A C T _, where the only common completion that still means “pieces of legislation” is ACTS.
Because the letters are so friendly, ACTS appears in many puzzles under slightly different clues, such as “Laws,” “Statutes,” or “Congress’s output.”
Solving Tips for Similar NYT Clues
- When you see “legislation,” “laws,” or “measures” in a clue, always consider core legal words like ACT, LAW, BILL, and STATUTE, then match them to the grid length.
- Check plural and singular carefully: “piece of legislation” usually wants ACT, while “pieces of legislation” or “laws” usually wants ACTS.
Filling in a reliable entry like ACTS at 1-Across can quickly unlock several Down clues, giving you momentum for the rest of the puzzle.
