Decryptic #17 - 14th July 2026
Solution & wordplay explained · Published 14 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
1R
I
2C
E
3P
A
4P
E
5R
6M
I
R
A
O
I
R
E
A
7D
E
M
O
G
R
A
P
H
I
C
8M
I
I
E
N
A
H
A
C
9C
H
O
C
K
A
B
L
O
C
K
A
A
N
E
L
10L
O
S
E
C
O
11L
O
12R
B
I
A
U
E
13Z
O
14O
P
15L
A
16N
K
T
O
N
L
E
R
I
I
R
N
I
S
17D
E
S
E
N
S
I
T
I
Z
E
E
T
J
N
E
V
18O
U
R
19S
H
A
D
E
T
R
E
E
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Across
1 Across Price reap scrambled for thin edible wrapping (4,5) → RICE PAPER Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “PRICE REAP”.
6 Across Space station found in slim iron framework (3) → MIR Hidden word
The answer is hidden inside “slim iron”.
7 Across Demonstration turns vivid in population study (11) → DEMOGRAPHIC Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 4 and 7 letters long.
9 Across Wedge holding a cube — completely full (11) → CHOCKABLOCK Charade
Join three pieces end to end, 5, 1 and 5 letters long.
10 Across Cool loser scrambled to fade (4,5) → LOSE COLOR Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “COOL LOSER”.
13 Across Animal collection on a timber board of great weight — ocean drifters (11) → ZOOPLANKTON Charade
Join three pieces end to end, 3, 5 and 3 letters long.
17 Across Seized tines awkwardly arranged to numb (11) → DESENSITIZE Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “SEIZED TINES”.
18 Across Belonging to us, initially odd, unusual, rare (3) → OUR Initialism
Take the first letter of each: odd, unusual, rare.
19 Across Steer head cooked into leafy garden feature (5,4) → SHADE TREE Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “STEER HEAD”.
Down
1 Down Lazier acids disturbed to make more extreme (11) → RADICALIZES Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “LAZIER ACIDS”.
2 Down Comic character named Albert is funny (7) → COMICAL Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 5 and 2 letters long.
3 Down Hog ages to produce birds (7) → PIGEONS Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 3 and 4 letters long.
4 Down Soft and rank trick (5) → PRANK Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 1 and 4 letters long.
5 Down Recovery centre found in more habitually troubled lives (5) → REHAB Hidden word
The answer is hidden inside “more habitually”.
6 Down Coffee brewed differently makes one tough (5) → MACHO Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “MOCHA”.
8 Down Eve scrambles like beam into fantasy (4,7) → MAKE BELIEVE Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “LIKE BEAM EVE”.
11 Down Gut twisted to reveal toilet (7) → LATRINE Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “ENTRAIL”.
12 Down Runner holding one becomes more fluid (7) → RUNNIER Container
Put a 1-letter run inside a 6-letter word.
14 Down Command sequence (5) → ORDER Double definition
Look for two different meanings of the same word.
15 Down Silts disturbed to make catalogues (5) → LISTS Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “SILTS”.
16 Down Stealthy warrior lurks in train in Jakarta (5) → NINJA Hidden word
The answer is hidden inside “train in Jakarta”.