Crossword Clue: Bosnian capital
Here's the answer to the Bosnian capital crossword clue, with an explanation and where it has appeared.
Definition & answer: SARAJEVO
The answer to "Bosnian capital" is SARAJEVO. Sarajevo runs 8 letters — 4 vowels and 4 consonants — opening with S and closing on O. In a grid it fills a 8-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
Sarajevo is where the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914 helped trigger World War I. It hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics. The city endured the longest siege of a capital in modern history during the 1990s.
Common usage
You'll see SARAJEVO in grids regularly — its 8-letter, 4 vowels shape is exactly what setters need to bridge trickier entries. When one intersecting letter is already in place, especially the S or O, SARAJEVO tends to fall fast.
Crossword trivia
Short answers like SARAJEVO are the connective tissue of a crossword. You'll meet SARAJEVO 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 SARAJEVO will often be the only word that fits the letters you already have.
This clue in different puzzles
Setters vary how they clue SARAJEVO — 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 SARAJEVO into the grid took no time at all."
- "Sarajevo is the kind of answer that clicks the moment you spot one letter."
- "Seeing 'Bosnian capital' in the clue list, an experienced solver pencils in SARAJEVO almost immediately."