what makes a pan a pain crossword

The answer to the crossword clue "What makes a pan a pain?" is "ANI." This is a 3-letter answer seen in the New York Times crossword puzzle from September 2, 2025. In the crossword context, "ANI" is a type of bird (a black tropical American cuckoo). The clue is a play on words where "pain" makes the word "pan" into "ani," a bird name, thereby connecting the puzzle's wordplay with the answer.