The clue “poles can be found next to them” is a New York Times–style crossword clue, and the published answer is CZECHS.

Clue meaning

  • “Poles” here refers to people from Poland , not physical poles.
  • “Can be found next to them” points to a neighboring group or country, which is the Czechs (from the Czech Republic).
  • On a map of Central Europe, Czechs and Poles live in neighboring countries, so “Poles can be found next to them” cleverly defines CZECHS.

Why this fits a crossword

  • It works as a classic wordplay + definition clue:
    • Definition side: “them” → “Czechs” (a group of people).
    • Wordplay side: Poles (people of Poland) can be found next to them (Czechs) geographically.
  • The answer length and letter pattern in the referenced crossword specifically matches CZECHS.

Bottom note: Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.