Pays to play

The answer to “Pays to play” in the LA Times crossword is ANTES — a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the LA Times crossword on September 2, 2026, a Wednesday puzzle, at 32-Down. Below you'll find why that fill fits, every other answer we've recorded for this clue, and links into the puzzle it came from.

“Pays to play” answer

ANTES (5 letters)

Reveal the solution one letter at a time with the tiles above if you'd rather nudge yourself toward it than see the whole word at once. Just want it outright? The answer is ANTES.

What does ANTES mean?

Reading the plain dictionary sense of ANTES is often the fastest way to see why it answers this clue.

When else has “Pays to play” appeared?

LA Times reuses clues across dates, sometimes with a different answer depending on the grid. Here's where this exact clue has shown up, and what the answer was each time — handy when you're checking whether today's fill is the only one.

September 2, 2026 (most recent) → ANTES. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

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