Crossword Clue: Sour yellow fruit
Here's the answer to the Sour yellow fruit crossword clue, with an explanation and where it has appeared.
Definition & answer: LEMON
The answer to "Sour yellow fruit" is LEMON. Lemon is a 5-letter word made up of 2 vowels and 3 consonants, beginning with L and ending with N. 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 lemon is a tart citrus fruit rich in vitamin C, once carried on ships to prevent scurvy. Calling a faulty product a 'lemon' likely comes from early 20th-century slang for something that leaves a sour taste.
Common usage
Lemon turns up frequently in crosswords precisely because of that letter mix. Short, vowel-friendly words like LEMON 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, LEMON is often quick to confirm — especially once the L or N is in place.
Crossword trivia
Because it is only 5 letters long, LEMON 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 "Sour yellow fruit" 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 LEMON 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 "Sour yellow fruit" is just one way to arrive at LEMON. Across different puzzles and editors you may see the same answer clued as "Sour citrus fruit". 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 LEMON into the grid took no time at all."
- "Lemon is the kind of answer that clicks the moment you spot one letter."
- "Seeing 'Sour yellow fruit' in the clue list, an experienced solver pencils in LEMON almost immediately."
- "Once the L was confirmed by the crossing word, LEMON was the only entry that fit."