Crossword Clue: West African country, formerly the Gold Coast
Here's the answer to the West African country, formerly the Gold Coast crossword clue, with an explanation and where it has appeared.
Definition & answer: GHANA
The answer to "West African country, formerly the Gold Coast" is GHANA. Ghana runs 5 letters — 2 vowels and 3 consonants — opening with G and closing on A. In a grid it fills a 5-square slot whose letters are each shared with a crossing word, so the intersections do a lot of the heavy lifting when the clue itself is tough.
Origin & meaning
Ghana was the first sub-Saharan African colony to gain independence, in 1957. Once called the Gold Coast, it remains a major producer of gold and cocoa.
Common usage
You'll see GHANA in grids regularly — its 5-letter, 2 vowels shape is exactly what setters need to bridge trickier entries. When one intersecting letter is already in place, especially the G or A, GHANA tends to fall fast.
Crossword trivia
Short answers like GHANA are the connective tissue of a crossword. You'll meet GHANA again and again, and recognizing it instantly is one of the quiet skills that separates fast solvers from slow ones.
Stuck on this clue?
The fastest way past a stubborn clue like this one is the grid itself: pencil in the easy crossing answers first, and GHANA will often be the only word that fits the letters you already have.
This clue in different puzzles
Setters vary how they clue GHANA — sometimes with a straight dictionary definition, sometimes with wordplay, a pun, or a fill-in-the-blank — but the answer itself stays the same. Learning to spot the answer behind the disguise is a core crossword skill.
Example sentences
- "I had the crossing letters, so writing GHANA into the grid took no time at all."
- "Ghana is the kind of answer that clicks the moment you spot one letter."
- "Seeing 'West African country, formerly the Gold Coast' in the clue list, an experienced solver pencils in GHANA almost immediately."