First chip in the pot, often

The answer to “First chip in the pot, often” in the USA Today crossword is ANTE — a 4-letter word. It most recently appeared in the USA Today crossword on October 1, 2026, a Thursday puzzle, at 18-Across. 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.

“First chip in the pot, often” answer

ANTE (4 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 ANTE.

What does ANTE mean?

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

When else has “First chip in the pot, often” appeared?

USA Today 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.

October 1, 2026 (most recent) → ANTE. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

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