The Clue
Preserves, perhaps (3 letter answer)
The Answer
JAM
Tags
Notes
The answer JAM is seen frequently, appearing about once every 170 puzzles.
Related Clues
Bottleneck
Clog
Fix
Gridlock
Obstruct
Pickle
Predicament
Preserves
___ session
A bread spread
Bread spread
Flow stopper
Get stuck
Improvisational music
Improvise, as a band
Manhattan problem
Printer problem
Problem for a copier
Spread or crisis
Strawberry or traffic
Tie-up
Tight spot
Toast spread
Toast topper
Traffic problem
Traffic snarl
Ad-lib, musically
Basketball highlight, slangily
Fill too tightly
Freestyle musical performance
Interfere with radio signals
Musical free-for-all
Rush-hour feature
Wing it, musically
Flashy two-point basket
Many a jazz session
Make it up, musically
What a photocopier light may indicate
Definition
JAM as a noun:
1. preserve of crushed fruit
2. (fix, hole, jam, mess, muddle, pickle, kettle of fish) = informal terms for a difficult situation; "he got into a terrible fix"; "he made a muddle of his marriage"
3. (crush, jam, press) = a dense crowd of people
4. (jamming, electronic jamming, jam) = deliberate radiation or reflection of electromagnetic energy for the purpose of disrupting enemy use of electronic devices or systems
JAM as a verb:
1. (throng, mob, pack, pile, jam) = press tightly together or cram; "The crowd packed the auditorium"
2. push down forcibly; "The driver jammed the brake pedal to the floor"
3. (jam, crush) = crush or bruise; "jam a toe"
4. (jam, block) = interfere with or prevent the reception of signals; "Jam the Voice of America"; "block the signals emitted by this station"
5. get stuck and immobilized; "the mechanism jammed"
6. (jam, jampack, ram, chock up, cram, wad) = crowd or pack to capacity; "the theater was jampacked"
7. (obstruct, obturate, impede, occlude, jam, block, close up) = block passage through; "obstruct the path"