Crossword Clue: Country with a famous canal
Here's the answer to the Country with a famous canal crossword clue, with an explanation and where it has appeared.
Definition & answer: PANAMA
The answer to "Country with a famous canal" is PANAMA. Panama runs 6 letters — 3 vowels and 3 consonants — opening with P and closing on A. In a grid it fills a 6-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
Panama forms the narrow land bridge between North and South America. Its canal, opened in 1914, connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Common usage
You'll see PANAMA in grids regularly — its 6-letter, 3 vowels shape is exactly what setters need to bridge trickier entries. When one intersecting letter is already in place, especially the P or A, PANAMA tends to fall fast.
Crossword trivia
Short answers like PANAMA are the connective tissue of a crossword. You'll meet PANAMA 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 PANAMA will often be the only word that fits the letters you already have.
This clue in different puzzles
The clue "Country with a famous canal" is just one way to arrive at PANAMA. Across different puzzles and editors you may see the same answer clued as "Panamanian capital". Recognizing that a single answer can wear many clues is one of the fastest ways to level up as a solver.
Example sentences
- "Once the P was confirmed by the crossing word, PANAMA was the only entry that fit."
- "A 6-letter slot and a clue like 'Country with a famous canal'? That's PANAMA nine times out of ten."
- "I second-guessed it, but the crossing answers confirmed PANAMA was right."