The New York Times Crossword · 24-Across · 4 letters
Nods at a lot? The New York Times Crossword clue
Editorially reviewed September 11, 2026
Answer · 4 letters
BIDS
BIDS treats a lot as an auction item. A nod can signal a bid to the auctioneer. The clue is not saying that someone nods frequently: a lot names what is being offered for sale.
Different crossing letters? Check another fit →A lot is the object being auctioned
A lot can be one article or a group sold together as a single auction item. Reading a lot as frequently sends you toward repeated nodding instead. Switch the meaning of lot and the scene becomes a bidder signaling an offer.
The answer describes an action
Nods is a present-tense verb here, and BIDS matches that grammar: someone nods to place a bid. Although bids can also be a plural noun, that is not the reading needed in this clue. The four-letter answer describes what the nod accomplishes.
References behind this explanation
These references support the meaning or background; they are not publisher endorsements.
Where this clue appeared
24-Across in The New York Times Crossword puzzle for September 11, 2026.
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