Crossword Clue: Big striped cat
Here's the answer to the Big striped cat crossword clue, with an explanation and where it has appeared.
Definition & answer: TIGER
The answer to "Big striped cat" is TIGER. Tiger is a 5-letter word made up of 2 vowels and 3 consonants, beginning with T and ending with R. In a crossword grid it occupies a 5-square slot, and each of its letters also forms part of a word crossing it — so even if the clue stumps you, the crossing entries will usually hand you enough letters to fill it in.
Origin & meaning
The tiger is the largest living cat species, native to Asia and instantly recognizable by its orange coat with black stripes. Every tiger's stripe pattern is unique, much like a human fingerprint.
Common usage
Tiger turns up frequently in crosswords precisely because of that letter mix. Short, vowel-friendly words like TIGER are a constructor's best friend: they interlock cleanly with longer entries and help a grid come together without awkward letter clashes. When you see a 5-letter slot and already have a crossing letter or two, TIGER is often quick to confirm — especially once the T or R is in place.
Crossword trivia
Because it is only 5 letters long, TIGER appears far more often in daily mini and themed puzzles than longer, more obscure words. Regular solvers come to recognize it on sight, and it is exactly the kind of entry worth committing to memory: the more common short words you know cold, the faster your solve times become.
Stuck on this clue?
If "Big striped cat" has you stuck, don't force it — jump to the clues crossing this slot instead. Filling in even one or two intersecting letters usually makes TIGER obvious. That crossing-first approach is the single most useful habit for improving at crosswords, and it works on everything from the quick daily Mini to a full Sunday grid.
This clue in different puzzles
The clue "Big striped cat" is just one way to arrive at TIGER. Across different puzzles and editors you may see the same answer clued as "Striped big cat", "Golf great Woods". Recognizing that a single answer can wear many clues is one of the fastest ways to level up as a solver.
Example sentences
- "I had the crossing letters, so writing TIGER into the grid took no time at all."
- "Tiger is the kind of answer that clicks the moment you spot one letter."
- "Seeing 'Big striped cat' in the clue list, an experienced solver pencils in TIGER almost immediately."
- "Once the T was confirmed by the crossing word, TIGER was the only entry that fit."