Crossword Clue: Green gemstone
Here's the answer to the Green gemstone crossword clue, with an explanation and where it has appeared.
Definition & answer: JADE
The answer to "Green gemstone" is JADE. Jade runs 4 letters — 2 vowels and 2 consonants — opening with J and closing on E. In a grid it fills a 4-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
Jade comes from the Spanish "piedra de ijada," or "stone of the flank," once believed to cure kidney ailments. Its useful J gives constructors a crossing option, and it doubles as a popular given name.
Common usage
You'll see JADE in grids regularly — its 4-letter, 2 vowels shape is exactly what setters need to bridge trickier entries. When one intersecting letter is already in place, especially the J or E, JADE tends to fall fast.
Crossword trivia
Short answers like JADE are the connective tissue of a crossword. You'll meet JADE 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 JADE will often be the only word that fits the letters you already have.
This clue in different puzzles
Setters vary how they clue JADE — 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 J was confirmed by the crossing word, JADE was the only entry that fit."
- "A 4-letter slot and a clue like 'Green gemstone'? That's JADE nine times out of ten."
- "I second-guessed it, but the crossing answers confirmed JADE was right."