Pesky flies

The answer

GNATS

5 letters. See every clue for this answer on the GNATS answer page.

Used 6 times across 6 distinct years; most recently in 2026; first recorded in 2004. It appears in 3 publications in the xd corpus. Frequency and last-seen figures come from the xd crossword corpus only.

Other clues for GNATS

Every other clue in this collection answered by GNATS, most used first.

• Pesky insects - used 33 times, most recently in 2026
• Pesky swarm - used 19 times, most recently in 2026
• Small flies - used 13 times, most recently in 2022
• No-see-ums - used 12 times, most recently in 2015
• Swarming pests - used 11 times, most recently in 2026
• Punkies - used 10 times, most recently in 2010
• Insects - used 9 times, most recently in 1995
• Annoying swarm - used 8 times, most recently in 2026
• Flying pests - used 8 times, most recently in 2025
• Midges. - used 7 times, most recently in 1988
• Airborne pests - used 6 times, most recently in 2012
• Pesky fliers - used 6 times, most recently in 2023
• Swarming insects - used 6 times, most recently in 2026
• Tiny biters - used 6 times, most recently in 2009
• Tiny flies - used 6 times, most recently in 2025

Related clues

Clues in this collection 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.

• Flies high - SOARS, used 99 times
• Flies alone - SOLOS, used 34 times
• Flies like an eagle - SOARS, used 27 times
• Flies off the shelves - SELLS, used 20 times
• ___ crow flies - ASTHE, used 17 times
• Catches flies - SHAGS, used 13 times

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