| Start of an edgy person's description of himself | 52 |
| Start of an editor's quip about verbose writing | 51 |
| Start of an Edna Millay verse | 29 |
| Start of an Edward Albee title | 30 |
| Start of an egotistical quip | 28 |
| Start of an Einstein quote | 26 |
| Start of an Einstein quote that holds true when solving clever crosswords | 73 |
| Start of an Elbert Hubbard quote | 32 |
| Start of an elementary lesson | 29 |
| Start of an Elgar title | 23 |
| Start of an elimination | 23 |
| Start of an elimination process | 31 |
| Start of an elimination rhyme | 29 |
| Start of an Ella Fitzgerald standard | 36 |
| Start of an elocution class phrase | 34 |
| Start of an embarrassment simile | 32 |
| Start of an emergency call | 26 |
| Start of an Emerson quote | 25 |
| Start of an encouraging adage | 29 |
| Start of an encouraging cry | 27 |
| Start of an engagement, often | 29 |
| Start of an English rule, and this puzzle's theme | 53 |
| Start of an entreaty | 20 |
| Start of an epic | 16 |
| Start of an epic spaghetti western | 34 |
| Start of an epigram | 19 |
| Start of an epigram by J. J. Ingalls | 36 |
| Start of an epitaph | 19 |
| Start of an Erma Bombeck quip | 29 |
| Start of an Ernie Kovacs observation about television | 53 |
| Start of an erudite barfly's lament at curfew | 49 |
| Start of an Everly Brothers hit | 31 |
| Start of an evolutionary quip | 29 |
| Start of an exaggeration | 24 |
| Start of an example of Murphy's Law | 39 |
| Start of an excerpt from an Edna St. Vincent Millay poem | 56 |
| Start of an exchange | 20 |
| Start of an excuse | 18 |
| Start of an excuse for inattention | 34 |
| Start of an exercise buff's motto | 37 |
| Start of an exhausting question | 31 |
| Start of an expansive definition | 32 |
| Start of an expiration date notice | 34 |
| Start of an expiration notice | 29 |
| Start of an explanation | 23 |
| Start of an explanation for canine friendship | 45 |
| Start of an explanation, perhaps | 32 |
| Start of an eyewitness account | 30 |
| Start of an eyewitness report | 29 |
| Start of an Ibsen title | 23 |
| Start of an idea | 16 |
| Start of an idle question | 25 |
| Start of an idle thought | 24 |
| Start of an Illinois city | 25 |
| Start of an imaginary soliloquy | 31 |
| Start of an incantation | 23 |
| Start of an initiative | 22 |
| Start of an instructional series | 32 |
| Start of an intentional walk | 28 |
| Start of an intermission? | 25 |
| Start of an invention | 21 |
| Start of an inventor's thought | 34 |
| Start of an inventory quip | 26 |
| Start of an investor's quip | 31 |
| Start of an invocation | 22 |
| Start of an Iowa city | 21 |
| Start of an Irish carrier name | 30 |
| Start of an Irish flier | 23 |
| Start of an ironic quote from a certain Yale graduate | 53 |
| Start of an ironic reminder | 27 |
| Start of an Irwin Shaw title | 28 |
| Start of an itinerary | 21 |
| Start of an magician's incantation | 38 |
| Start of an N.B.A. game | 23 |
| Start of an NBA paradox | 23 |
| Start of an O'Casey opus | 28 |
| Start of an O'Neill play | 28 |
| Start of an O'Neill title | 29 |
| Start of an O. Henry quote | 26 |
| Start of an oak | 15 |
| Start of an oath | 16 |
| Start of an objection | 21 |
| Start of an observation | 23 |
| Start of an observation by Bert L. Taylor | 41 |
| Start of an observation by Bill Gates | 37 |
| Start of an observation by Louis Auchincloss | 44 |
| Start of an observation by Tom Waits | 36 |
| Start of an ode's title | 27 |
| Start of an Odets title | 23 |
| Start of an office quip | 23 |
| Start of an oft-misquoted 1942 film line | 40 |
| Start of an oft-recited sequence | 32 |
| Start of an Ogden Nash rhyme | 28 |
| Start of an old Army recruiting line | 36 |
| Start of an old Army slogan | 27 |
| Start of an old boast | 21 |
| Start of an old motto | 21 |
| Start of an old news announcement | 33 |
| Start of an old poem | 20 |
| Start of an old proverb | 23 |