The Clue
Future of the present (4 letter answer)
The Answer
PAST
Tags
Notes
The answer PAST is seen frequently, appearing about once every 120 puzzles.
Related Clues
Ago
Beyond
Bygone
Finished
Gone by
Historical
History
History, with "the"
Over
Previous
A tense
One of the tenses
Bygone days
Days of yore
Events gone by
Future's opposite
Ghost of Christmas ___
Historian's concern
Historian's subject
Kind of tense
Later than
Prologue, perhaps
Prologue's antecedent
Behind us all
One may be checkered
Sandburg's "bucket of ashes"
It may be checkered
It may be shady
It might be checkered
What Sandburg called "a bucket of ashes"
What today will be tomorrow
Definition
PAST as a noun:
1. (past, past times, yesteryear, yore) = the time that has elapsed; "forget the past"
2. a earlier period in someone's life (especially one that they have reason to keep secret); "reporters dug into the candidate's past"
3. (past, past tense) = a verb tense that expresses actions or states in the past
PAST as an adjective:
1. earlier than the present time; no longer current; "time past"; "his youth is past"; "this past Thursday"; "the past year"
2. (past, preceding, retiring) = of a person who has held and relinquished a position or office; "a retiring member of the board"
3. a verb tense or other construction referring to events or states that existed at some previous time; "past participle"
PAST as an adverb:
1. (by, past) = so as to pass a given point; "every hour a train goes past"