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I'm designing a crossword right now and am looking for a clue for the word "ERECS." It has appeared in a crossword before, but I'm not exactly sure about "ERECS" as "Sets up." Is there any chance "Erecs" is an archaic or alternative spelling for "Erects?"

I suppose I can cheat and say Common misspelling of word meaning "Sets up", but I'd rather not.

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  • $\begingroup$ No, it doesn't seem to be either archaic or alternative - it simply seems to be a typo. $\endgroup$
    – Deusovi ♦
    Commented Dec 23, 2016 at 2:11

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You could try cluing it as "Loose rock on a mountainside, all mixed up?"

Loose rock = SCREE
Mixing up the letters in SCREE gives you ERECS.

That might be a little too close to a cryptic crossword clue, rather than a straight crossword clue, but I guess it depends how hardcore you want to be with your clues/answers.

OR...

You clue it as, "Belonging to one of Arthur's knights", or "Belonging to Enide's lover".

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  • $\begingroup$ Yeah, but then there's no definition part in the clue -- and there can't be, because ERECS is not a word :-). $\endgroup$
    – Gareth McCaughan ♦
    Commented Dec 23, 2016 at 3:11
  • $\begingroup$ @GarethMcCaughan What about my second idea, then? $\endgroup$
    – GentlePurpleRain
    Commented Dec 23, 2016 at 3:18
  • $\begingroup$ I like the second idea! Actually, after I asked the question, I tried The son of King Lac and a poem by Hartmann von Aue, but I like yours more. Thanks! $\endgroup$
    – Laef
    Commented Dec 23, 2016 at 3:34
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No.

Neither EREC nor ERECS is in any dictionary I can find. In particular, neither is in the Oxford English Dictionary which is pretty thorough for archaic words.

The appearance found by crosswordtracker.com seems to be from the crossword whose grid you can see filled out here: http://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=10%2F28%2F2004 -- this is a crossword with some sort of gimmick to do (I think) with US state abbreviations, CT of course being Connecticut. The answer is ERECTS, with CT occupying a single square, not ERECS.

(I don't believe it's even a "common misspelling", for what it's worth.)

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    $\begingroup$ Those abbreviations are, specifically, the "New England states". $\endgroup$
    – Deusovi ♦
    Commented Dec 23, 2016 at 2:28
  • $\begingroup$ Ah yes, 38 across. I should have looked more closely. $\endgroup$
    – Gareth McCaughan ♦
    Commented Dec 23, 2016 at 3:10

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