Crossword Clue: Afternoon drink
Here's the answer to the Afternoon drink crossword clue, with an explanation and where it has appeared.
Definition & answer: TEA
The answer to "Afternoon drink" is TEA. Tea runs 3 letters — 2 vowels and 1 consonant — opening with T and closing on A. In a grid it fills a 3-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
Tea entered English through the Dutch "thee," ultimately from a Chinese dialect word for the plant. With two vowels and a soft T, it is a crossword favorite that can also mean gossip in modern slang.
Common usage
You'll see TEA in grids regularly — its 3-letter, 2 vowels shape is exactly what setters need to bridge trickier entries. When one intersecting letter is already in place, especially the T or A, TEA tends to fall fast.
Crossword trivia
Short answers like TEA are the connective tissue of a crossword. You'll meet TEA 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 TEA will often be the only word that fits the letters you already have.
This clue in different puzzles
Setters vary how they clue TEA — 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
- "Once the T was confirmed by the crossing word, TEA was the only entry that fit."
- "A 3-letter slot and a clue like 'Afternoon drink'? That's TEA nine times out of ten."
- "I second-guessed it, but the crossing answers confirmed TEA was right."