The crossword solution for the term 'ABLE WAS ___ SAW ELBA' is 'IEREI' (5 letters). This is an anagram of the phrase 'I REE, SAW ELBA', which is a reference to a famous line from the 1812 poem 'The Vision of Sir Launfal' by James Russell Lowell. The line reads 'Able was I ere I SAW Elba', which is a play on words meaning 'I was able before I SAW Elba'. Elba is an island off the coast of Italy where Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled in 1814.