Crossword Clue: Appliance for boiling water
Here's the answer to the Appliance for boiling water crossword clue, with an explanation and where it has appeared.
Definition & answer: KETTLE
"Appliance for boiling water" points to KETTLE, a 6-letter entry that starts with K and finishes on E and carries 2 vowels. Because every square it occupies also belongs to a down or across answer crossing it, you can often back into KETTLE from the letters around it rather than the clue alone.
Origin & meaning
A kettle is a vessel used to boil water, often whistling when steam builds up. The saying 'the pot calling the kettle black' describes accusing someone of a fault you share yourself.
Common usage
Compact, vowel-friendly answers such as KETTLE are a constructor's staple: they slot into a 6-square space and play nicely in both directions. Solvers who recognize it on sight save real time on the daily puzzle.
Crossword trivia
Kettle belongs to the small vocabulary of words that appear constantly in grids. Because it's only 6 letters, editors can drop it almost anywhere, which is why regular solvers know it on sight.
Stuck on this clue?
Stuck on "Appliance for boiling water"? Don't force it — solve the clues crossing this slot instead. One or two intersecting letters usually make KETTLE obvious. Working from the crossings is the single most useful habit for getting faster.
This clue in different puzzles
Setters vary how they clue KETTLE — 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 6-letter slot and a clue like 'Appliance for boiling water'? That's KETTLE nine times out of ten."
- "I second-guessed it, but the crossing answers confirmed KETTLE was right."
- "I had the crossing letters, so writing KETTLE into the grid took no time at all."