The term 'HAIRY HULK' is a combination of two words, 'HAIRY' and 'HULK'. The first word, 'HAIRY', refers to something that is covered in a lot of hair or fur. The second word, 'HULK', is a reference to the Marvel Comics character, the Incredible HULK, who is a large, muscular, green-skinned humanoid with superhuman strength. The crossword solution for this term is 'APE', which is a three-letter word for any primate of the family Hominidae, such as gorillas, chimpanzees, and orangutans.