"Shush!"

CANIT

This phrase is often used to quickly hush a noisy dog or interrupt a chatty friend. Think of the sound you might make to signal silence in a playful way.

The clue "Shush!" is a homophone hint—it sounds like the word "hush," which is represented by the letter "H" in the NATO phonetic alphabet. But here, it’s a playful misdirection: "can it" means to stop or silence something, like telling someone to quiet down. The answer "CANIT" is a pun on that phrase, treating it as a single word while keeping the meaning intact. It’s a clever way to turn a common expression into a crossword-friendly answer.