Decryptic #38 - 4th August 2026
Solution & wordplay explained · Published 4 August 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
A
2F
E
3T
Y
4M
A
5T
C
6H
7D
L
I
E
I
A
A
Y
8A
L
B
U
M
9D
E
P
R
I
V
E
N
P
E
L
I
10G
O
11L
D
E
N
12R
O
D
13S
E
N
I
S
E
T
G
14B
15G
E
T
U
S
E
16D
T
O
S
A
H
O
R
N
17R
A
T
18M
A
D
R
I
L
E
N
19E
O
N
E
Z
A
20Q
U
I
N
T
E
21T
22Z
E
23T
A
S
U
N
R
O
L
S
E
E
24G
O
O
S
E
N
E
C
K
E
D
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Across
1 Across Small fire starter made from scatty fame and hydrogen, oddly (6,5) → SAFETY MATCH Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “fame scatty h”.
8 Across Photo collection formed by Al's rear end (5) → ALBUM Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 2 and 3 letters long.
9 Across Ed's viper, out of control, strips someone of everything (7) → DEPRIVE Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “ed viper”.
10 Across Yellow flower made from a gold drone, mixed up (9) → GOLDENROD Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “gold drone”.
13 Across Coin dispatched, briefly (3) → SEN Deletion
Remove 1 letter from the end of a longer word.
15 Across Become accustomed to guest toed footprint, oddly arranged (3,4,2) → GET USED TO Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “guest toed”.
17 Across Traitor turns informer to police (3) → RAT Double definition
Look for two different meanings of the same word.
18 Across Clear tomato soup made from a mail ender, rearranged (9) → MADRILENE Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “mail ender”.
20 Across Unite quart measure, chaotically, to form a five-piece band (7) → QUINTET Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “unite qt”.
22 Across Amaze tastes reveal certain Greek letters (5) → ZETAS Hidden word
The answer is hidden inside “amaze tastes”.
24 Across Bent like a swan's neck, hidden in mongoose necked traps (11) → GOOSENECKED Hidden word
The answer is hidden inside “mongoose necked traps”.
Down
1 Down Southern language, in short, becomes jargon (5) → SLANG Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 1 and 4 letters long.
2 Down Bif, turned around, is a small lie (3) → FIB Reversal
Reverse a run of letters to build the answer, which begins with “F”.
3 Down Storm, with Spain nestled inside tempt (7) → TEMPEST Container
Put a 2-letter run inside a 5-letter word.
4 Down Many Interesting Discoveries, initially central (3) → MID Initialism
Take the first letter of each: Many, Interesting, Discoveries.
5 Down Candle gradually narrowing, its core removed, was recorded (5) → TAPED Deletion
Remove 2 letters from the middle of a longer word.
6 Down Ice pellet formed by greeting a rock (9) → HAILSTONE Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 4 and 5 letters long.
7 Down Colourings arranged from design with unknown factor (7) → DYEINGS Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “design y”.
11 Down Flash in storm, oddly, night ling caught (9) → LIGHTNING Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “night ling”.
12 Down Re-lay turf, as found in more sod required (5) → RESOD Hidden word
The answer is hidden inside “more sod required”.
14 Down Graduate joins a hoop game, creating something ornate (7) → BAROQUE Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 2 and 5 letters long.
16 Down Light rain as five hundred and the French embrace trendy charisma (7) → DRIZZLE Container
Put a 4-letter run inside a 3-letter word.
18 Down Part of postmortem sent back describes underground railway (5) → METRO Reversal
Reverse a run of letters to build the answer, which begins with “M”.
19 Down Ceased, losing its leader, felt relieved (5) → EASED Deletion
Remove 1 letter from the start of a longer word.
21 Down Tired old elephant, initially, kicks with front of foot (3) → TOE Initialism
Take the first letter of each: Tired, Old, Elephant.
23 Down Totally silly kid, initially, tuts (3) → TSK Initialism
Take the first letter of each: Totally, Silly, Kid.