Ending With Klepto Or Ego Crossword Clue

By: Five Letter Words | Last edited: May 05, 2025

Looking to solve the challenging "Ending with klepto or ego" crossword clue from the May 05, 2025 New York Times Mini puzzle? We've identified the precise 5-letter answer you're searching for. For a more interactive solving experience, we've created engaging features to assist you. Experiment with our letter-by-letter reveal tool to gradually uncover the solution, or browse our thoughtfully prepared hints—including helpful word patterns, alternative clues sharing the same answer, or comprehensive explanations to guide your thinking process. We've also simplified navigation between connected clues from the same puzzle, enabling you to solve multiple clues effortlessly. Ready to tackle this linguistic suffix-related clue? Let's explore the answer together!

Crossword Answer:

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About This Clue

The May 05, 2025 New York Times Mini Crossword featured the clue "Ending with klepto or ego" with the answer MANIA. This clue is asking for a suffix that can be combined with both "klepto" and "ego" to form complete words—kleptomania and egomania. Suffix clues are common in crosswords, as they allow constructors to hint at longer words while maintaining shorter answers. In this case, the clue uses two example words that both end with the same suffix, making it easier for solvers to identify the pattern. The words kleptomania (an impulse to steal) and egomania (excessive self-importance) both use the suffix "-mania," which refers to an excessive preoccupation or obsession with something. This type of pattern-recognition clue tests a solver's ability to see connections between seemingly different words, focusing on their structural similarities rather than their meanings.

Linguistic and Cultural Context

The term "mania" has ancient Greek origins, derived from the word "μανία" (manía), which referred to madness, frenzy, or excessive enthusiasm. In modern usage, it has evolved to describe both a clinical psychiatric condition and, more colloquially, an intense enthusiasm or obsession with something. As a suffix, "-mania" is highly productive in English, meaning it can be attached to many different word roots to create new terms. Some common examples include: - Kleptomania: compulsive stealing, from Greek "kleptein" (to steal) - Egomania: excessive self-importance or self-centeredness - Bibliomania: excessive enthusiasm for collecting and owning books - Pyromania: obsession with starting fires - Megalomania: delusions of power or importance This pattern of creating compound words to describe specific obsessions or fixations reflects how language evolves to characterize human behaviors and psychological states. The suffix "-mania" provides a compact way to express the concept of "an obsessive preoccupation with X." Culturally, many of these terms have made their way into everyday language, sometimes being used casually to describe behaviors that don't rise to the level of clinical conditions. For instance, people might jokingly refer to someone as having "shopaholic tendencies" (another term for a shopping mania) without implying a genuine psychiatric disorder. The continuing productivity of "-mania" as a suffix is evident in modern coinages like "Beatlemania" (obsessive fan enthusiasm for the Beatles) or "Pottermania" (extreme enthusiasm for the Harry Potter series), showing how this ancient Greek term remains relevant in describing contemporary cultural phenomena.

NYT Mini Crossword Tips

When encountering clues like "Ending with klepto or ego" in the NYT Mini Crossword, look for a common suffix or ending that can be attached to both example words to create compound terms. For this particular clue, recognizing that the words "kleptomania" and "egomania" both end with "mania" leads to the correct answer. The clue is formatted to make it clear that you're looking for the ending portion of these compound words. When solving suffix or prefix clues: - Focus on the structure of the example words rather than their meanings - Think about common word endings in English (-tion, -ing, -ed, -ly, etc.) - Consider Greek and Latin roots, which are frequently used in forming compound words - Pay attention to the letter count, which helps narrow down possibilities Remember that the NYT Mini Crossword often reuses cluing patterns for suffixes and prefixes, so familiarizing yourself with common ones like "-ism," "-ology," "-mania," etc., can help you solve future puzzles more quickly. For word-formation clues in general, having a good grasp of how compound words are constructed in English gives you an advantage. Many compound words follow predictable patterns, and recognizing these patterns is a valuable skill for any crossword solver.

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