Decryptic #32 - 29th July 2026
Solution & wordplay explained · Published 29 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
1T
U
2M
B
3L
E
R
4A
L
5A
R
6M
A
E
V
A
7P
8G
E
T
C
9O
L
10D
F
E
E
T
O
N
O
R
I
I
11S
C
O
F
F
L
A
W
S
12Y
O
N
T
L
F
N
A
O
E
13S
R
I
14S
U
G
A
R
15U
K
E
C
A
T
U
M
N
I
16R
A
S
17E
S
T
R
A
N
G
E
D
I
A
A
M
T
O
18P
O
19R
T
M
A
N
T
E
A
U
L
T
A
N
R
20S
O
W
E
D
21B
E
T
A
K
E
N
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Across
1 Across Glass holds rum belt, oddly arranged (7) → TUMBLER Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “rum belt”.
4 Across Panic buried in Bengal army camp (5) → ALARM Hidden word
The answer is hidden inside “Bengal army”.
8 Across Grab chilly units of length, growing anxious (3,4,4) → GET COLD FEET Charade
Join three pieces end to end, 3, 4 and 4 letters long.
11 Across Jeers hugging a statute make habitual rule-breakers (9) → SCOFFLAWS Container
Put a 3-letter run inside a 6-letter word.
12 Across Tail end of annoy, sent back, means over there (3) → YON Reversal
Reverse a run of letters to build the answer, which begins with “Y”.
13 Across Some rural inns initially offer a respectful title (3) → SRI Initialism
Take the first letter of each: Some, rural, inns.
14 Across Tropical stalk minus its stick yields sweetener (5) → SUGAR Deletion
Remove 4 letters from the end of a longer word.
15 Across British energy gives a ukulele (3) → UKE Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 2 and 1 letters long.
16 Across Resistance similarly forms a headland (3) → RAS Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 1 and 2 letters long.
17 Across Alienated, Sergeant D got mixed up after scandal (9) → ESTRANGED Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “sergeant d”.
18 Across Combined word concealed in airport manteau design (11) → PORTMANTEAU Hidden word
The answer is hidden inside “airport manteau”.
20 Across So, having married, planted crops (5) → SOWED Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 2 and 3 letters long.
21 Across Ben, grabbing power, was removed (7) → BETAKEN Container
Put a 4-letter run inside a 3-letter word.
Down
2 Down Flowering trees emerge when Sail On, Gam is turned around (9) → MAGNOLIAS Reversal
Reverse a run of letters to build the answer, which begins with “M”.
3 Down Vent frustration after malt toffees are mixed up (3,3,5) → LET OFF STEAM Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “malt toffees”.
5 Down Always value excellence initially, an old Roman greeting (3) → AVE Initialism
Take the first letter of each: Always, value, excellence.
6 Down Elite domain, rearranged, is a heartthrob (7,4) → MATINEE IDOL Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “Elite domain”.
7 Down Mail plays penned as afterthoughts (11) → POSTSCRIPTS Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 4 and 7 letters long.
9 Down Ape emerges from strange argon aunt (9) → ORANGUTAN Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “argon aunt”.
10 Down Reduction in weapons hidden in trying to disarm a mentor unexpectedly (11) → DISARMAMENT Hidden word
The answer is hidden inside “disarm a mentor”.
12 Down Radical reformer, a juvenile Ottoman perhaps (5,4) → YOUNG TURK Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 5 and 4 letters long.
19 Down Conflict returning uncooked (3) → RAW Reversal
Reverse a run of letters to build the answer, which begins with “R”.