Taken advantage of (7) Crossword Clue
Answer: PUT-UPON (7 letters)
The answer to the crossword clue "Taken advantage of (3,4)" with 7 letters is "PUT-UPON". The phrase "put-upon" is a synonym for "taken advantage of." It describes a situation where someone is unfairly treated, often by being made to do something against their will or at the expense of their time, effort, or resources.
Why “Put-Upon” Fits
Taken advantage of: “Put-upon” is a standard adjective meaning someone is imposed upon, exploited, or taken advantage of, which exactly matches the clue’s definition.
Major dictionaries gloss “put‑upon” as “imposed upon; taken advantage of; ill-used; exploited; used; victimised,” so it aligns perfectly with the idea of a person who has been taken advantage of.
A Bit of Background
“Put-upon” comes from the phrasal verb “to put upon,” meaning to treat someone unfairly by loading them with burdens, demands, or exploitation.
Usage guides and idiom explanations emphasise that a put-upon person is someone whose good nature is abused, who is overburdened, or who is repeatedly used by others for their own benefit.
Typical examples include “a put‑upon secretary” or “I’m tired of being put upon by my boss,” where the person is clearly being taken advantage of.
Crossword Solving Insight
For a clue like “Taken advantage of (3,4)”:
- Definition match: “Taken advantage of” is effectively the dictionary definition of put‑upon; several lexicons explicitly list “taken advantage of” as the core sense of the word.
- Enumeration: The entry is usually written PUT-UPON (7) as an adjective, but in many quick crosswords it is enumerated and entered as PUT UPON (3,4) to fit a (3,4) pattern, splitting the phrasal construction into two words.
- Idiomatic strength: Crossword databases list PUTUPON / PUT-UPON among the main answers for “taken advantage of,” alongside EXploited, USED, or ILL-USED, confirming it as a canonical solution in this semantic slot.
Because “put‑upon” directly encodes the idea of being imposed on, exploited, or taken advantage of, and can be cleanly represented as PUT UPON to satisfy (3,4), it is an excellent, idiomatic answer to the clue “Taken advantage of (3,4).”
