The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 letter word PLOY which also is the latest solution we found used in New York Times in 2025.
Ruse crossword clue answers
Here's a list of possible crossword answers ranked by the most likely to least likely.
| Answer | Likelyness | Letters |
|---|---|---|
| PLOY | 49 % | 4 |
| WILE | 10 % | 4 |
| TRAP | 8 % | 4 |
| TRICK | 8 % | 5 |
| ARTIFICE | 5 % | 8 |
| STRATAGEM | 5 % | 9 |
| FLAM | 3 % | 4 |
| CON | 3 % | 3 |
| HOAX | 3 % | 4 |
| SCAM | 3 % | 4 |
| DODGE | 3 % | 5 |
| PLOT | 3 % | 4 |
Why may PLOY be the right solution?
The word "ploy" means a cunning plan or action designed to turn a situation to one's own advantage. It is synonymous with "ruse," which means a trick or deception. Therefore, "ploy" is the right answer to the clue "Ruse."
Words with a meaning similar to the clue: Ruse
These words may or may not be a possible solution to this crosswords clue.- artifice
- device
- dodge
- sleight
- cunning
- gimmick
- guile
- trickery
- trick
- stratagem
- subterfuge
- deception
Crossword Answer definitions
PLOY noun- A tactic, strategy, or gimmick.
- Sport; frolic.
- Employment.
- To form a column from a line of troops on some designated subdivision.
More crossword clues leading to the same solutions
Here's a few more crossword clues - all leading to the identical solution
More clues leading to the result PLOY
- Ruse
- Gimmick
- Artful dodge
- Clever machination
- Tricky maneuver
- Strategy
- Underhanded tactic
- Stratagem
- Clever tactic
- Sly stratagem
More clues leading to the result WILE
- __ E. Coyote
- Stratagem
- Bit of chicanery
- Scheming
- Sneaky trick
- Trick
- Artifice
- Sly stratagem
- Beguiling trick
- Pass, with "away"
More clues leading to the result TRAP
- "The Parent ____"
- "The Tender ___"
- Clay-pigeon launcher
- Mouth, slangily
- Pitfall
- Ensnare
- Golf course hazard
- Golf hazard
- Headache for Tiger Woods
- Lint spot
More clues leading to the result TRICK
- Dodge
- Fool
- Halloween choice
- David Copperfield marvel
- Feat of magic
- Treat alternative
- "_or treat!"
- Deception
- Prank
- Fast one
More clues leading to the result ARTIFICE
More clues leading to the result STRATAGEM
More clues leading to the result FLAM
- Drum fill
- Drumming rudiment
- "The Flim ___ Man" (1967 film)
- "The Flim ___ Man"
- Deception
- Quick da-dum, on drum
- Drumbeat
- Trick
- Hoax
- Two-stroke drumbeat
More clues leading to the result CON
- Jailer's charge
- Man in the pen
- Joint tenant
- Kind of game
- Take for a ride
- Thimblerig
- Swindle
- __ brio
- One who didn't dodge a charge?
- Spam, often (and the start of a split order of rice porridge)
More clues leading to the result HOAX
- Mare's-nest
- The Cardiff Giant, for one
- Hoodwink
- Like an urban legend
- UFO's, perhaps
- Manti Te'o's girlfriend, for one
- The Cardiff Giant, e.g.
- Facebook privacy announcement, e.g.
- Kurt Vonnegut's faux commencement address e-mail, e.g.
- Like many a catfish relationship
More clues leading to the result SCAM
- Sting
- Get-rich-quick offering, often
- Hoodwink
- Shell game, e.g.
- Con game
- Con man's trick
- Deceptive act
- Pyramid scheme?
- Three-card monte, for one
- Flimflam
More clues leading to the result DODGE
- Caravan maker
- Adroitly avoid
- Sidestep
- Ram's parent?
- Steer clear of
- Durango maker
- Duck
- Charger or Challenger
- Avoid
- Viper manufacturer