Stumped by a volcanic crossword? Here’s the answer!

As a detective, when I first encountered the crossword clue ‘Output from an eruption’, my mind immediately went to anything that could possibly come out in large quantities during a volcanic eruption. I pondered on the various types of substances that could meet the criteria of the clue – magma, lava, steam, rocks, or ash. After considering all of these options, I finally settled on ‘volcanic ash‘ – fine particles of pulverized rock, minerals, and volcanic glass that are emitted during an eruption. The insight that led me to this answer was that volcanic ash is a common output of any volcanic eruption, and it fits perfectly with the clue ‘Output from an eruption’. Moreover, the word “eruption” itself often implies the presence of ash. With its fitting definition and the number of letters that aligned, I was confident that ‘Volcanic ash‘ was the perfect solution that would complete the crossword puzzle.