Decryptic

Decryptic #13 - 10th July 2026

Solution & wordplay explained · Published 10 July 2026

The solved grid and a clue-by-clue explanation of every piece of wordplay in this Decryptic daily. It's a past puzzle, and the archive lets you play older crosswords. Today's crossword is always free to play.

The solved grid

Advertisement

Across

1 Across Painter's stand arranged from lease (5)EASEL Anagram Rearrange the letters of “lease”.
4 Across Makeshift fix seen in injury rigged contest (4,3)JURY RIG Hidden word The answer is hidden inside “injury rigged”.
8 Across Powerful weapon to coerce (6,3)STRONG ARM Charade Join two pieces end to end, 6 and 3 letters long.
10 Across Gas sent back to droop (3)SAG Reversal Reverse a run of letters to build the answer, which begins with “S”.
12 Across Picture end of a close race (5,6)PHOTO FINISH Charade Join two pieces end to end, 5 and 6 letters long.
15 Across Foreigners mostly - a stranger (9)OUTLANDER Deletion Remove 1 letter from the end of a longer word.
16 Across Marsupial following rodent: small desert mammal (8,3)KANGAROO RAT Charade Join two pieces end to end, 8 and 3 letters long.
17 Across Starters of unpleasant, grimy, horrible express disgust (3)UGH Initialism Take the first letter of each: unpleasant, grimy, horrible.
19 Across Mum, found in cabin silenced (2,7)IN SILENCE Hidden word The answer is hidden inside “cabin silenced”.
22 Across Stem pet disturbed makes storm (7)TEMPEST Anagram Rearrange the letters of “stem pet”.
23 Across Start when placed on a platform (5)ONSET Charade Join two pieces end to end, 2 and 3 letters long.

Down

1 Down Being found in greens (3)ENS Hidden word The answer is hidden inside “greens”.
2 Down Undress and lower to dismantle (5,4)STRIP DOWN Charade Join two pieces end to end, 5 and 4 letters long.
3 Down Waterfall concealed in calling now (3)LIN Hidden word The answer is hidden inside “calling now”.
5 Down What is left when marine red is rearranged (9)REMAINDER Anagram Rearrange the letters of “marine red”.
6 Down Legal matters discovered in cares (3)RES Hidden word The answer is hidden inside “cares”.
7 Down Frequency unit: billion times the cycle measure (9)GIGAHERTZ Charade Join two pieces end to end, 4 and 5 letters long.
9 Down Irregular Alamo onus mixed up (9)ANOMALOUS Anagram Rearrange the letters of “Alamo onus”.
11 Down Sportswear: follow and match (9)TRACKSUIT Charade Join two pieces end to end, 5 and 4 letters long.
13 Down Shun stoic raze, distorted (9)OSTRACIZE Anagram Rearrange the letters of “stoic raze”.
14 Down Train stir, broken up - these are annoyances (9)IRRITANTS Anagram Rearrange the letters of “train stir”.
18 Down Border returned from mediocre response (3)HEM Reversal Reverse a run of letters to build the answer, which begins with “H”.
20 Down Bathroom, by the sound of last one out (3)LOO Initialism Take the first letter of each: last, one, out.
21 Down Consume what is found in some attire (3)EAT Hidden word The answer is hidden inside “some attire”.