Depending on the exact variation of your crossword layout or minor changes in letter counts, "useful material or knowledge" might point to a few other classic answers. If "Grist to the mill" does not fit your intersecting letters, look out for these high-frequency synonyms: (4 letters) – Raw, useful information. FACTS (5 letters) – Verifiable knowledge.

Perhaps it's "USEFUL MATERIAL" = "RESOURCE" (8) but again not.

If you are working on a puzzle and "Grist to the mill" doesn't quite fit the other letters in your grid, here are other common phrases representing "useful material or knowledge": (4 letters): Raw facts. LORE (4 letters): Traditional knowledge. INFO (4 letters): Abbreviation for information. KNOW HOW (4-3): Practical skill. INSIGHT (7 letters): Deep understanding. THE SCOOP (3-5): Exclusive information. Tips for Solving Idiomatic Crossword Clues

When you encounter long, multi-word clues in a crossword, use these three steps to crack them:

It sounds like you’re combining two things: a request for a story, and a crossword clue (“useful material or knowledge” with pattern 5,2,3,4 – likely ? Wait, let’s check: “useful material or knowledge” could be FACT , DATA , INFO . But 5 letters, then 2, then 3, then 4? That’s unusual. Possibly STORE OF LORE ? No, that’s 5,2,2,4. Or TROVE OF WISDOM – 5,2,6? Not matching. Perhaps the clue itself is a meta-puzzle. But you asked for a story, so I’ll write one based on the idea of that clue.)