The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 18 letter word USING THE OLD BEAN which also is the latest solution we found used in New York Times in 2025.
Thinking hard, informally crossword clue answers
Here's a list of possible crossword answers ranked by the most likely to least likely.
| Answer | Likelyness | Letters |
|---|---|---|
| USING THE OLD BEAN | 100 % | 18 |
Why may USING-THE-OLD-BEAN be the right solution?
"Using the old bean" is a colloquial phrase that means thinking hard or using one's brain. It fits the clue "Thinking hard, informally" because it is a playful way to describe the act of using one's brain to think deeply.
Words with a meaning similar to the clue: Thinking hard, informally
These words may or may not be a possible solution to this crosswords clue.- sweat
- grief
- brain
- esp
- sharp
- heads
- beat
- figure
- push
- beats
- discussion
- notice
Crossword Answer definitions
More crossword clues leading to the same solutions
Here's a few more crossword clues - all leading to the identical solution