Parentheses, essentially

The answer to “Parentheses, essentially” in the Wall Street Journal crossword is ARCS — a 4-letter word. It most recently appeared in the Wall Street Journal crossword on September 18, 2026, a Friday puzzle, at 9-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.

“Parentheses, essentially” answer

ARCS (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 ARCS.

What does ARCS mean?

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

When else has “Parentheses, essentially” appeared?

Wall Street Journal 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 18, 2026 (most recent) → ARCS. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

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