Crossword Clue: Colorful arc after a shower
Here's the answer to the Colorful arc after a shower crossword clue, with an explanation and where it has appeared.
Definition & answer: RAINBOW
The answer to "Colorful arc after a shower" is RAINBOW. Rainbow runs 7 letters — 3 vowels and 4 consonants — opening with R and closing on W. In a grid it fills a 7-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
A rainbow appears when sunlight is refracted and reflected inside raindrops, splitting white light into its spectrum of colors. The arc's order always runs red on the outside to violet on the inside.
Common usage
You'll see RAINBOW in grids regularly — its 7-letter, 3 vowels shape is exactly what setters need to bridge trickier entries. When one intersecting letter is already in place, especially the R or W, RAINBOW tends to fall fast.
Crossword trivia
Short answers like RAINBOW are the connective tissue of a crossword. You'll meet RAINBOW 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 RAINBOW will often be the only word that fits the letters you already have.
This clue in different puzzles
Setters vary how they clue RAINBOW — 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 R was confirmed by the crossing word, RAINBOW was the only entry that fit."
- "A 7-letter slot and a clue like 'Colorful arc after a shower'? That's RAINBOW nine times out of ten."
- "I second-guessed it, but the crossing answers confirmed RAINBOW was right."