An old-fashioned letter opener is a tool used to open letters, typically made of metal. The crossword solutions for this term are STEAM (5 letters), MESSIEURS (9 letters), SIRS (4 letters), and TOSIR (5 letters). STEAM stands for 'Society for the Total Extinction of All Mail, ' which is a humorous reference to the idea that letter openers are no longer necessary in the digital age. MESSIEURS is a French word meaning 'GENTLEMEN, ' and SIRS is an English word meaning 'sirs.' Finally, TOSIR stands for 'Tools of the Stationery Industry Reformation, ' which is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the fact that letter openers are becoming obsolete.