Crossword Clue: Animated drawing or film
Here's the answer to the Animated drawing or film crossword clue, with an explanation and where it has appeared.
Definition & answer: CARTOON
The answer to "Animated drawing or film" is CARTOON. Cartoon runs 7 letters — 3 vowels and 4 consonants — opening with C and closing on N. 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 cartoon is an animated film or drawing, often comedic. Early theatrical cartoons like Disney's 1928 'Steamboat Willie' launched the animation industry.
Common usage
You'll see CARTOON 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 C or N, CARTOON tends to fall fast.
Crossword trivia
Short answers like CARTOON are the connective tissue of a crossword. You'll meet CARTOON 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 CARTOON will often be the only word that fits the letters you already have.
This clue in different puzzles
Setters vary how they clue CARTOON — 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 C was confirmed by the crossing word, CARTOON was the only entry that fit."
- "A 7-letter slot and a clue like 'Animated drawing or film'? That's CARTOON nine times out of ten."
- "I second-guessed it, but the crossing answers confirmed CARTOON was right."