Crossword Clue: Spice island off Tanzania
Here's the answer to the Spice island off Tanzania crossword clue, with an explanation and where it has appeared.
Definition & answer: ZANZIBAR
The answer to "Spice island off Tanzania" is ZANZIBAR. Zanzibar runs 8 letters — 3 vowels and 5 consonants — opening with Z and closing on R. 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
Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous archipelago off Tanzania's coast, long a hub of the spice and slave trades. Its old Stone Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Common usage
You'll see ZANZIBAR in grids regularly — its 8-letter, 3 vowels shape is exactly what setters need to bridge trickier entries. When one intersecting letter is already in place, especially the Z or R, ZANZIBAR tends to fall fast.
Crossword trivia
Short answers like ZANZIBAR are the connective tissue of a crossword. You'll meet ZANZIBAR 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 ZANZIBAR will often be the only word that fits the letters you already have.
This clue in different puzzles
Setters vary how they clue ZANZIBAR — 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 ZANZIBAR into the grid took no time at all."
- "Zanzibar is the kind of answer that clicks the moment you spot one letter."
- "Seeing 'Spice island off Tanzania' in the clue list, an experienced solver pencils in ZANZIBAR almost immediately."