The term 'MEAN ALTERNATIVE' is a combination of two words, 'MEAN' and 'ALTERNATIVE'. The first word, 'MEAN', is defined as the average of a set of numbers, while the second word, 'ALTERNATIVE', is defined as a choice or option. The crossword solution for this term is 'MEDIAN', which is the middle number in a set of numbers when they are arranged in order from least to greatest. In other words, the MEDIAN is the number that divides the set into two equal parts. It is an ALTERNATIVE to the MEAN, which is the average of all the numbers in the set.