Leading leader? Crossword Clue

We have the 3-letter answer for Leading leader? crossword clue, last seen in the The Atlantic Crossword May 3, 2026 puzzle. Let us help you solve the crossword clue that has you stumped so you can finish the puzzle.

Leading leader? Crossword Answer

→23.

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Helpful Hints

Hint 1: Clue Definitions

LEADER (noun)
1. a featured article of merchandise sold at a loss in order to draw customers
2. a person who rules or guides or inspires others
LEADING (noun)
1. the activity of leading
2. thin strip of metal used to separate lines of type in printing
LEADING (adjective)
1. indicating the most important performer or role
2. having the leading position or higher score in a contest

Hint 2: Anagram

Unscramble the letters below to solve for today's answer.
ISM

More The Atlantic Crossword (5/3/2026) Answers

Across

1. Not much

5. Climate-regulation syst.

9. One who lays the foundation, maybe

14. Over time

16. Like many wool sweaters

17. Genre for The Day After Tomorrow and Snowpiercer

18. "You look amazing in that!"

19. Deck out

20. Wood Wide ___ (term for a network of mycorrhizal fungi)

21. Jerk

24. Giga- times 1,000

25. Nail-polish brand with a Taupe-less Beach shade

28. HS exam that lasts two hours, 14 minutes

30. Platform base, maybe

31. Coalition

32. Possible consequence of being extremely choosy

35. "Sounds like quite an ordeal!"

36. Some billets-doux

37. Tip-jar fillers, often

38. They leave you in a bind?

39. Sunflower and sesame, for two

40. "Maybe if the ___ could screen intrusive thoughts / Then I'd get caught up in security" (Petey lyric)

41. Bands on the radio

42. Bud alternative

43. "With love's light wings did I o'erperch these walls" speaker

45. Pair up onstage, maybe

46. Drag show accessory

49. Bloodless musician whose Tiny Desk Concert went viral last summer

51. Like some sprawling role-playing games

54. Clickable pictures

55. "Stop—this is really serious!"

56. Employee bonuses

57. Cools off after cooking

58. Spot in your living room?

All Answers

Down

1. Act the lookout, maybe

2. Toy brand whose name anagrams to the name of a beauty corporation

3. Expectant

4. Outburst that might accompany a 🤦

5. "___ to us!"

6. Table or chair, for example

7. With 50-Down, like some queerplatonic partners: abbr.

8. Wheel-life depictions?

9. Diminutive of Mikhail

10. Small part of the Manhattan Project?

11. ___ crush (infatuation seen as superficial)

12. "I see what you're up to!"

13. Co. that makes The Headlines

15. "All right, no more messing around!"

22. Some skin-care products

23. Natalie of the Chicks

24. Nod to a stage actor, for short

26. Prepares some 52-Down, e.g.

27. Slushy treats

28. They're nuts

29. Protection that really stacks up?

30. They might be introduced after about six months

31. Event with high jumps?

32. Unpopular hole on a golf course?

33. Soon enough

34. Deconstructed Tex-Mex dish

41. Get together

42. Speculative efforts

44. Snort from a snout, maybe

45. It might pop out?

46. British mate

47. The Empusium novelist Tokarczuk

48. Condition for which Ritalin is often prescribed

49. Little taste

50. See 7 Down

52. Taro dish

53. Monster-cookie morsel

All Answers