Crossword Clue: Device on the wall telling time
Here's the answer to the Device on the wall telling time crossword clue, with an explanation and where it has appeared.
Definition & answer: CLOCK
"Device on the wall telling time" points to CLOCK, a 5-letter entry that starts with C and finishes on K and carries 1 vowel. Because every square it occupies also belongs to a down or across answer crossing it, you can often back into CLOCK from the letters around it rather than the clue alone.
Origin & meaning
A clock measures and displays time, and the word comes from a medieval term for 'bell,' since early clocks struck the hours. That is also why a clock's face is said to have a 'ring' of numbers.
Common usage
Compact, single-vowel answers such as CLOCK 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
Clock 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 "Device on the wall telling time"? Don't force it — solve the clues crossing this slot instead. One or two intersecting letters usually make CLOCK obvious. Working from the crossings is the single most useful habit for getting faster.
This clue in different puzzles
Setters vary how they clue CLOCK — 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
- "Clock is the kind of answer that clicks the moment you spot one letter."
- "Seeing 'Device on the wall telling time' in the clue list, an experienced solver pencils in CLOCK almost immediately."
- "Once the C was confirmed by the crossing word, CLOCK was the only entry that fit."