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NYT Daily • August 10, 2025

Can you believe it?

Answer:

ISM

Hint:

This suffix often turns beliefs or theories into formal concepts.

Explanation:

The clue "Can you believe it?" hints at the word "ISM" by playing on the phrase "I can't believe it!"—often shortened to "Ism!" in casual speech. The answer is a suffix commonly found in words like "optimism" or "realism," but here it stands alone as a playful abbreviation. The wordplay relies on recognizing the informal exclamation and its connection to the three-letter answer.

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