Dawn: reddish-brown duck observed by Spooner

Latest answer — September 03, 2026

17 Down

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Clue explained

DAYBREAK means dawn. It is a Spoonerism of BAY DRAKE: “bay” can describe a reddish-brown colour and a drake is a male duck, with their initial sounds exchanged.

Clue type:
Pun or wordplay
A reddish-brown male duck illustrating “bay drake”.

Telegraph Cryptic Crossword

This clue's Thursday, September 03, 2026 appearance

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Across

  1. 1Do their victims leave them deflated, figuratively and literally?
  2. 9Cheers sitcom's over
  3. 10Statute meeting zero resistance in Washington, for example
  4. 11Service's last word, with one extremely teary
  5. 12In time cuddles moggy returning uninjured
  6. 15Bad egg at the end of short trip somewhere in France
  7. 16High point from Requiem Carreras recalled
  8. 19Pets for some celebrity from the east
  9. 20Some Italian water and fizzy cola, OK with me
  10. 23Biased newspaper rejecting small fine
  11. 24Before start of term, find only half of boring school soup
  12. 26Planet's craft – what controls it?
  13. 28Pen second Dickensian character, female past her time
  14. 29Where player might be in collapsed scrum, yanked about? Shut up!

Down

  1. 1Site managers grasp spades beneath netting
  2. 2Where finger is ready for action? Exactly
  3. 3Conditions favouring five pit stops periodically
  4. 4Writer says it's ridiculous to support English
  5. 5Outstanding PA in college ultimately rewarded
  6. 6Loves suit
  7. 7Ticket scalper scratching head, possibly stumped
  8. 8Dress right when going around India
  9. 13Mad spy's timepiece
  10. 14Lord Peter Wimsey's latest suspect, allegedly
  11. 17Dawn: reddish-brown duck observed by Spooner
  12. 18A reprint ordered for The Swimmer
  13. 21Santa's reindeer – deer oddly ignored?
  14. 22Player's quick break during pressure over
  15. 25List of courses Mickelson enjoyed naming, usually at the front every time
  16. 27Maybe Stewart Granger finally departs holding Oscar

The answer to “Dawn: reddish-brown duck observed by Spooner” in the The Telegraph Cryptic crossword is DAYBREAK — a 8-letter word. It most recently appeared in the The Telegraph Cryptic crossword on September 3, 2026, a Thursday puzzle, at 17-Down. Below you'll find why that fill fits, every other answer we've recorded for this clue, and links into the puzzle it came from.

“Dawn: reddish-brown duck observed by Spooner” answer

DAYBREAK (8 letters)

Reveal the solution one letter at a time with the tiles above if you'd rather nudge yourself toward it than see the whole word at once. Just want it outright? The answer is DAYBREAK.

What does DAYBREAK mean?

Reading the plain dictionary sense of DAYBREAK is often the fastest way to see why it answers this clue.

(noun)

  • the time in the morning when daylight first appears; dawn

When else has “Dawn: reddish-brown duck observed by Spooner” appeared?

The Telegraph Cryptic reuses clues across dates, sometimes with a different answer depending on the grid. Here's where this exact clue has shown up, and what the answer was each time — handy when you're checking whether today's fill is the only one.

September 3, 2026 (most recent) → DAYBREAK. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Dawn: reddish-brown duck observed by Spooner”?

The answer is DAYBREAK, a 8-letter word. It most recently appeared in the The Telegraph Cryptic crossword on September 3, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Dawn: reddish-brown duck observed by Spooner”?

8 letters: DAYBREAK.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the The Telegraph Cryptic crossword on September 3, 2026 (a Thursday puzzle), at 17-Down.

Can “Dawn: reddish-brown duck observed by Spooner” have a different answer?

Yes — The Telegraph Cryptic sometimes reuses a clue with a different solution to fit the grid. The answers we've recorded for each date it appeared are listed above when available.

Where can I find the rest of this day's Telegraph Cryptic answers?

The full grid for September 3, 2026 is on the Telegraph Cryptic answers page, with every clue and answer from that puzzle.

The Telegraph Cryptic Crossword is published by The Telegraph; WordHint is an independent site and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher.

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