Crossword Clue: Layered bulb that brings tears
Here's the answer to the Layered bulb that brings tears crossword clue, with an explanation and where it has appeared.
Definition & answer: ONION
"Layered bulb that brings tears" points to ONION, a 5-letter entry that starts with O and finishes on N and carries 3 vowels. Because every square it occupies also belongs to a down or across answer crossing it, you can often back into ONION from the letters around it rather than the clue alone.
Origin & meaning
Onions are layered bulbs whose cut cells release a sulfur compound that irritates the eyes and prompts tears. Their many concentric layers gave rise to the metaphor of 'peeling back the layers' of something complex.
Common usage
Compact, vowel-friendly answers such as ONION 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
Onion 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 "Layered bulb that brings tears"? Don't force it — solve the clues crossing this slot instead. One or two intersecting letters usually make ONION obvious. Working from the crossings is the single most useful habit for getting faster.
This clue in different puzzles
Setters vary how they clue ONION — 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 'Layered bulb that brings tears'? That's ONION nine times out of ten."
- "I second-guessed it, but the crossing answers confirmed ONION was right."
- "I had the crossing letters, so writing ONION into the grid took no time at all."