Crossword Clue: Playful river-dwelling mammal
Here's the answer to the Playful river-dwelling mammal crossword clue, with an explanation and where it has appeared.
Definition & answer: OTTER
OTTER solves the clue "Playful river-dwelling mammal". Spanning 5 letters (2 vowels, 3 consonants), it begins at O and ends at R. Like most crossword fill, it lives at the intersection of two words, so a single confirmed crossing letter frequently reveals the whole entry.
Origin & meaning
Otters are sleek, playful members of the weasel family that thrive in rivers and along coasts. Sea otters famously hold hands while resting so they don't drift apart, and they use rocks as tools to crack open shellfish.
Common usage
Otter turns up often in crosswords because of that letter mix. Words like OTTER interlock cleanly with longer entries, so constructors reach for them to make a grid fit together without awkward clashes. Given a 5-square slot and a crossing letter or two, it's usually quick to confirm.
Crossword trivia
At 5 letters, OTTER shows up in daily mini and themed puzzles far more than longer, obscure words. It's the kind of entry worth memorizing — the more common short words you know cold, the faster you solve.
Stuck on this clue?
If this clue won't come, leave it and fill the answers that cross it. Once a couple of OTTER's letters are locked by neighboring words, the entry tends to reveal itself. Crossings beat staring at a clue every time.
This clue in different puzzles
Setters vary how they clue OTTER — 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 second-guessed it, but the crossing answers confirmed OTTER was right."
- "I had the crossing letters, so writing OTTER into the grid took no time at all."
- "Otter is the kind of answer that clicks the moment you spot one letter."