Crossword Clue: Black, cawing bird
Here's the answer to the Black, cawing bird crossword clue, with an explanation and where it has appeared.
Definition & answer: CROW
The answer to "Black, cawing bird" is CROW. Crow runs 4 letters — 1 vowel and 3 consonants — opening with C and closing on W. In a grid it fills a 4-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
Crows are among the most intelligent birds, capable of using tools and recognizing individual human faces. The phrase 'as the crow flies' refers to the shortest straight-line distance between two points.
Common usage
You'll see CROW in grids regularly — its 4-letter, 1 vowel shape is exactly what setters need to bridge trickier entries. When one intersecting letter is already in place, especially the C or W, CROW tends to fall fast.
Crossword trivia
Short answers like CROW are the connective tissue of a crossword. You'll meet CROW 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 CROW will often be the only word that fits the letters you already have.
This clue in different puzzles
Setters vary how they clue CROW — 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 CROW into the grid took no time at all."
- "Crow is the kind of answer that clicks the moment you spot one letter."
- "Seeing 'Black, cawing bird' in the clue list, an experienced solver pencils in CROW almost immediately."