On the ball
The crossword clue "On the ball" is answered by ALERT, a 5-letter entry. Used 145 times across 37 distinct years; most recently in 2026. It appears in 25 publications in the xd corpus. Every figure on this page comes from the pilot data itself.
The answer
ALERT
5 letters. See every clue for this answer on the ALERT answer page.
Used 145 times across 37 distinct years; most recently in 2026. It appears in 25 publications in the xd corpus. Frequency and last-seen figures come from the xd crossword corpus only.
Other answers for this clue
The same clue has also been answered these ways in the xd corpus. Answers inside this pilot link to their own answer page.
- SHARP (22 uses in xd)
- ASTUTE (12 uses in xd)
Other clues for ALERT
Every other clue in this pilot answered by ALERT, most used first.
- On one's toes - used 150 times, most recently in 2026
- Watchful - used 140 times, most recently in 2026
- Wide awake - used 129 times, most recently in 2026
- Vigilant - used 127 times, most recently in 2026
Related clues
Pilot clues of the same answer length that share a word with this clue, or match its answer pattern when no word is shared. Most used first.
- In the know - AWARE, used 356 times
- Take the wheel - STEER, used 188 times
- Cream of the crop - ELITE, used 175 times
- In the lead - AHEAD, used 166 times
- Of the kidneys - RENAL, used 166 times
- Out of the way - ASIDE, used 138 times
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