Fin

ABE

Think of a U.S. president whose nickname was inspired by his initials and a famous aquatic creature.

"Fin" is French for "end," hinting at the last letters of words. The answer "ABE" comes from taking the final letters of the clue itself—"Fin" (last letter "n" isn’t used, but think of "fin" as a homophone for "F in," meaning the last letter inside the word "fin" is "n," but wait—this is a trickier play). More likely, it’s a nod to Abraham Lincoln, whose nickname was "Honest Abe," where "Abe" sounds like "a B," and "fin" can imply "end of B" (as in the letter B’s tail). Classic crossword misdirection!