The term BALZAC'S BEING is a reference to the French novelist Honore de Balzac and his novel 'Eugenie Grandet'. The crossword solution for this term is ETRE, which is the French verb meaning 'to be'. Balzac's novel is about a young woman named Eugenie Grandet who struggles with her identity and place in society. The title of the novel is a reference to the idea that she is a being, or an entity, that exists in the world.