III

III is often the answer for the crossword clue
[Three on a sundial] or [Jr.’s junior]

Answers spelled by a single, repeated letter are rarely elegant additions to a crossword grid. Surely, III looks more appealing in real life as the [Big Ben trio] that’s a [:15 number] than it does in a puzzle.

The II most common clues for the crossword answer III are [Sundial numeral] and [Clock numeral]. But those clues make it hard to tell the time; it may also be VII or XII.

Nevertheless, the number that’s [“East” on a sundial] can shine when its clues capitalize on other senses of III, often with the help of some pretty nifty cluing.

Let’s take a look at some of the other ways this [Roman crowd?] crops up many ways in puzzles as [Three, of a kind?].

III: A [Name tag?] for a [Certain grandson]

Sometimes the [Son of a son] is a real son of a gun, as was the case for England’s King, [Infamous Richard]. While III is the [Final act, often], there are five in [Shakespeare‘s “Richard ___”]. Though he’s remembered as such a baddie that he remains [Britain’s last King Richard], his name qualifies III to count as a [Follower of Richard].

III also drops in as a hole-in-one(s) as [Followers of Davis Love?], referring to the one-time number-two golfer in the world, Davis Love III. In 1992 and 2003, Love won the Players Championship, a premier event in the PGA, which itself is caddied by clues like [Links org.], [Org. for drivers], [Tiger’s org.].

III: A [Roman prime number] that’s [VI halved]

Puzzles may clue solvers in to the “Roman” aspect of this Roman numeral by alluding to Antiquity.

Solving tip: Crosswords often invoke possessive names in clues like “Caesar‘s…,” “Cicero’s…,” and “Nero’s….,” etc., to signal that the answer is a Latin word or comes from ancient times.

Curiously, many theologians set the date of Jesus’s birth as sometime between 6 BCE–which are [Dating letters]–and 4 BCE, the answer might conceivably work for either of two years: 3 BCE or 3 AD.)

And like today’s clue, sometimes the crossword answer III is presented as a math solution:

III: [A Rocky or a Star Trek] that’s a [Sequel to a sequel]

III: When getting the answer [Right on Time?] feels like [The unthinkable war]