Decryptic

Decryptic #42 - 8th August 2026

Solution & wordplay explained · Published 8 August 2026

The solved grid and a clue-by-clue explanation of every piece of wordplay in this Decryptic daily. Browse every past solution, or get the app to play the older crosswords yourself. Today's crossword is always free to play.

The solved grid

Across

1 Across Redoes throws using rollers in disarray (7)REROLLS Anagram Anagram of “rollers”.
4 Across Joint found in slow ristra of chillies (5)WRIST Hidden word Hidden inside “slow ristra”.
7 Across Wildly, grabs be transformed into big talkers (7)GABBERS Anagram Anagram of “GRABS BE”.
9 Across Long-term convict hiding a loud note inside one who reclines (5)LIFER Container F inside LIER.
10 Across Cheeky young lady found by reversing Y's SIM card (5)MISSY Reversal Y'S SIM reversed.
11 Across Refugees resettling abroad, having lost time (7)EMIGRES Deletion EMIGRATES without AT from the middle.
12 Across Halt, being not heavy, is a road signal (4,5)STOP LIGHT Charade STOP + LIGHT.
16 Across Stones found in medical culinary practices (7)CALCULI Hidden word Hidden inside “medical culinary”.
18 Across Stash of hidden objects are rarely displayed, initially (5)HOARD Initialism First letters of: Hidden, Objects, Are, Rarely, Displayed.
19 Across Scent from a roam gone wild (5)AROMA Anagram Anagram of “a roam”.
20 Across Trim, found in chair cut for repairs (7)HAIRCUT Hidden word Hidden inside “chair cut”.
21 Across Shout to attract attention before a French article names the games authority (5)HOYLE Charade HOY + LE.
22 Across Hydrogen and Ed hold a circuit lacking its start, pursued relentlessly (7)HOUNDED Container OUND inside HED.

Down

1 Down Diet plan emerges when an Italian lake and Germany, briefly, are reversed (7)REGIMEN Reversal NEMI GER reversed.
2 Down Red buses, minus a middle letter, become picture puzzles (7)REBUSES Deletion REDBUSES without D from the middle.
3 Down Little elephants eat ripe yams, initially showing suspicion (5)LEERY Initialism First letters of: Little, elephants, eat, ripe, yams.
4 Down Confused wink lag suggests ambling (7)WALKING Anagram Anagram of “wink lag”.
5 Down Deduce or imply (5)INFER Double definition Two separate definitions of the same word.
6 Down Seabirds appear when stern is scrambled (5)TERNS Anagram Anagram of “stern”.
8 Down Oysters and prawns hidden in bombshell fishnets (9)SHELLFISH Hidden word Hidden inside “bombshell fishnets”.
13 Down Release an egg, mangling the value to (7)OVULATE Anagram Anagram of “value to”.
14 Down Spellbound, having traced around north (7)TRANCED Container N inside TRACED.
15 Down Aid duet reworked to have accounts checked (7)AUDITED Anagram Anagram of “aid duet”.
16 Down Turning up uninvited, minus its entrance, leads to a collision (5)CRASH Deletion GATECRASH without its initial GATE.
17 Down Large orange owl perched yesterday, initially crazy (5)LOOPY Initialism First letters of: Large, Orange, Owl, Perched, Yesterday.
18 Down Initially, humble artists in Kyoto usually produce a short poem (5)HAIKU Initialism First letters of: Humble, Artists, In, Kyoto, Usually.

How this puzzle was checked

Every clue in this crossword was verified against its own wordplay by software, then the finished puzzle was read and edited by hand before publication: definitions, indicators, enumerations and surface readings all get looked at, and clues that don't hold up are rewritten. The editorial standards set out what that covers.

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