Crossword Clue: Dutch Caribbean island off Venezuela
Here's the answer to the Dutch Caribbean island off Venezuela crossword clue, with an explanation and where it has appeared.
Definition & answer: ARUBA
"Dutch Caribbean island off Venezuela" points to ARUBA, a 5-letter entry that starts with A and finishes on A and carries 3 vowels. Because every square it occupies also belongs to a down or across answer crossing it, you can often back into ARUBA from the letters around it rather than the clue alone.
Origin & meaning
Aruba is a small island in the southern Caribbean and a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It lies outside the hurricane belt, giving it dry, sunny weather.
Common usage
Compact, vowel-friendly answers such as ARUBA are a constructor's staple: they slot into a 5-square space and play nicely in both directions. Solvers who recognize it on sight save real time on the daily puzzle.
Crossword trivia
Aruba belongs to the small vocabulary of words that appear constantly in grids. Because it's only 5 letters, editors can drop it almost anywhere, which is why regular solvers know it on sight.
Stuck on this clue?
Stuck on "Dutch Caribbean island off Venezuela"? Don't force it — solve the clues crossing this slot instead. One or two intersecting letters usually make ARUBA obvious. Working from the crossings is the single most useful habit for getting faster.
This clue in different puzzles
Setters vary how they clue ARUBA — 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
- "A 5-letter slot and a clue like 'Dutch Caribbean island off Venezuela'? That's ARUBA nine times out of ten."
- "I second-guessed it, but the crossing answers confirmed ARUBA was right."
- "I had the crossing letters, so writing ARUBA into the grid took no time at all."