___ Lingus

As a detective, I knew that the phrase “Lingus” was often short for “Aer Lingus,” a well-known Irish airline. Plus, crossword clues are often designed to trick or misdirect you. So, I started thinking outside the box and considering potential clues that did not directly relate to the airline itself. I quickly realized that “AER” could potentially fit the blank space in the clue, as it was the prefix for many words related to air travel and aviation, such as “aerial,” “aeronautics,” and “aerobatics.” Additionally, “Aer” is a commonly used abbreviation for “aerodrome,” which is an aviation term used to describe a small airport or airfield, further solidifying my hunch that this was the correct answer. As a result, through logic and reasoning, I confidently deduced that the answer to the crossword clue was indeed “AER Lingus.”