Decryptic #22 - 19th July 2026
Solution & wordplay explained · Published 19 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
1S
E
2I
3T
I
M
E
4C
A
5R
D
6S
N
M
I
O
U
O
7P
R
8E
V
9E
N
T
A
B
L
E
W
E
N
A
I
U
10M
I
L
I
T
A
R
I
Z
E
S
11A
E
E
L
E
T
S
12L
O
13S
E
R
Y
14N
A
A
N
S
T
P
P
H
S
E
S
15L
O
R
D
O
F
H
O
16S
T
S
A
I
U
I
U
S
17P
O
S
T
S
C
R
I
P
T
S
O
O
H
E
H
R
18D
R
Y
A
S
D
U
S
T
19I
N
S
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Across
1 Across Large whale found in case, in point (3) → SEI Hidden word
The answer is hidden inside “case in”.
3 Across Records of work hours, period followed by playing pieces (9) → TIMECARDS Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 4 and 5 letters long.
7 Across Avoidable, if you're able to stop trouble in time (11) → PREVENTABLE Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 7 and 4 letters long.
10 Across Zaire limits, reorganised, deploys armed forces (11) → MILITARIZES Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “Zaire limits”.
12 Across Failure produced by roles mixed up (5) → LOSER Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “roles”.
14 Across Flatbreads, Anna's recipe scrambled (5) → NAANS Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “Annas”.
15 Across Flood shorts, rearranged, reveal a divine commander of angels (4,2,5) → LORD OF HOSTS Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “flood shorts”.
17 Across Afterthoughts added following mail, plus scripts (11) → POSTSCRIPTS Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 4 and 7 letters long.
18 Across Sturdy sad mix describes something utterly boring (3,2,4) → DRY AS DUST Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “sturdy sad”.
19 Across Incumbents hidden in coins collected (3) → INS Hidden word
The answer is hidden inside “coins”.
Down
1 Down Spring runoff seen in this now melts away (9) → SNOWMELTS Hidden word
The answer is hidden inside “this now melts”.
2 Down Mischievous sprite followed by elevated railway drives forward (5) → IMPEL Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 3 and 2 letters long.
4 Down National aboard vessel gains civic membership (11) → CITIZENSHIP Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 7 and 4 letters long.
5 Down Sturdy, one variety of coffee (7) → ROBUSTA Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 6 and 1 letters long.
6 Down Some Unusual Escapade, initially, leads to court action (3) → SUE Initialism
Take the first letter of each: Some, Unusual, Escapade.
8 Down Go in and force open safes, creating businesses (11) → ENTERPRISES Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 5 and 6 letters long.
9 Down Sunrise moment hidden in yearly hour-long report (5,4) → EARLY HOUR Hidden word
The answer is hidden inside “yearly hour”.
11 Down Appraisers or evaluators (9) → ASSESSORS Double definition
Look for two different meanings of the same word.
13 Down Showy, after shy slap is scrambled (7) → SPLASHY Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “shy slap”.
16 Down Raw fish dish found in consensus hits report (5) → SUSHI Hidden word
The answer is hidden inside “consensus hits”.
17 Down Power cut short before overdose creates whale group (3) → POD Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 1 and 2 letters long.