The phrase serves as a concise trace in a phrase puzzle, particularly a crossword. It sometimes signifies that the reply is a synonym for a drill, train, or simulated occasion. As an illustration, the reply is likely to be “EXERCISE,” “SIMULATION,” or “DRYRUN,” relying on the size of the required phrase and the opposite intersecting clues.
The employment of such a phrase is efficacious as a result of it presents solvers a direct, albeit considerably literal, pathway to the answer. Its utilization additionally highlights the playful nature of crossword building. Understanding its connotation enhances a solver’s means to effectively decode cryptic prompts and full the puzzle, demonstrating sample recognition abilities. Clues of this nature have a protracted historical past inside crossword puzzles, counting on frequent idiomatic expressions to supply a shortcut to the reply.