Crossword Clue: Botswanan capital
Here's the answer to the Botswanan capital crossword clue, with an explanation and where it has appeared.
Definition & answer: GABORONE
The answer to "Botswanan capital" is GABORONE. Gaborone runs 8 letters — 4 vowels and 4 consonants — opening with G and closing on E. 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
Gaborone was built in the 1960s to serve as capital when Botswana gained independence. It sits in the southeast near the South African border. The city is nicknamed Gabs and features in Alexander McCall Smith's novels.
Common usage
You'll see GABORONE 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 G or E, GABORONE tends to fall fast.
Crossword trivia
Short answers like GABORONE are the connective tissue of a crossword. You'll meet GABORONE 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 GABORONE will often be the only word that fits the letters you already have.
This clue in different puzzles
Setters vary how they clue GABORONE — 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 GABORONE into the grid took no time at all."
- "Gaborone is the kind of answer that clicks the moment you spot one letter."
- "Seeing 'Botswanan capital' in the clue list, an experienced solver pencils in GABORONE almost immediately."