I didn't want to pull a thread necromancy move with the Betty White ABC Password thread from 2020, so I'll add my thought here.
Completely random epiphany, after hearing Dick's "lady sailors" comment after guessing "waves" and Tom quickly avoiding any further remarks on it, it hit me what Paul Williams' silenced clue for "Wave" is in Betty's ABC Password episode:
He gave a coined word, "Sailorette", in a rather suggestive way.
Well. I'm sure others that have seen Betty's episode figured that out already.
But hey, I can get a goodnight's sleep again