Crossword Clue: Major Southeast Asian river
Here's the answer to the Major Southeast Asian river crossword clue, with an explanation and where it has appeared.
Definition & answer: MEKONG
The answer to "Major Southeast Asian river" is MEKONG. Mekong runs 6 letters — 2 vowels and 4 consonants — opening with M and closing on G. 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
The Mekong flows about 2,700 miles from the Tibetan Plateau through six countries to the South China Sea. Its rich fisheries feed tens of millions of people.
Common usage
You'll see MEKONG in grids regularly — its 6-letter, 2 vowels shape is exactly what setters need to bridge trickier entries. When one intersecting letter is already in place, especially the M or G, MEKONG tends to fall fast.
Crossword trivia
Short answers like MEKONG are the connective tissue of a crossword. You'll meet MEKONG 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 MEKONG will often be the only word that fits the letters you already have.
This clue in different puzzles
Setters vary how they clue MEKONG — 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 MEKONG into the grid took no time at all."
- "Mekong is the kind of answer that clicks the moment you spot one letter."
- "Seeing 'Major Southeast Asian river' in the clue list, an experienced solver pencils in MEKONG almost immediately."