Match official enters for a favour

Latest answer — September 22, 2026

23 Down

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Clue explained

PREFER means “favour” as a verb. REF, a match official, enters PER, meaning “for”: P(REF)ER.

Clue type:
Definition
A word diagram showing REF, an abbreviation for referee, inserted into PER.

Telegraph Cryptic Crossword

This clue's Tuesday, September 22, 2026 appearance

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Across

  1. 1Agitated celebrity starts to take liberties each day
  2. 5Sounds from clarinets, essentially – piercing things you blow?
  3. 9Goes tense wrapped in horrible pet's mat
  4. 10Carrots regularly hidden in the man's suit
  5. 12In favour of new unit of weight, say
  6. 13Admit a reduced urge
  7. 14Requests unopened face coverings
  8. 16Ministers – annoying people embracing religious instruction
  9. 19Something that might be under glass vessel
  10. 21Long backbone but no head
  11. 24Wants massages by the sound of it
  12. 25Sweep emergency room – patient may need this
  13. 27Realise bikini attaches partly from the back
  14. 28This could make snake slither away
  15. 29Tramp's short trousers
  16. 30Someone completing sentence in prose modified by editor, finally

Down

  1. 1Is turning up holding party food
  2. 2Conflict from clique with no leader
  3. 3Section of totem pole in grave, say
  4. 4Old nurse's offers
  5. 6Aida perhaps changed into outfit
  6. 7Astonish sir with super bust
  7. 8Dread hearing possibly about US power
  8. 11What turns up on a parking lot
  9. 15Happy if a diet's altered after start of September
  10. 17Disgraceful things about wearing shoes
  11. 18Married a smarter femme fatale
  12. 20Regret concealing second stratagem
  13. 21Mate's quiet with a little resistance before opening up
  14. 22Chucked king's chair over the phone
  15. 23Match official enters for a favour
  16. 26Bit upset with small gins?

The answer to “Match official enters for a favour” in the The Telegraph Cryptic crossword is PREFER — a 6-letter word. It most recently appeared in the The Telegraph Cryptic crossword on September 22, 2026, a Tuesday puzzle, at 23-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.

“Match official enters for a favour” answer

PREFER (6 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 PREFER.

What does PREFER mean?

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

(verb)

  • like (one thing or person) better than another or others; tend to choose
  • submit (a charge or a piece of information) for consideration
  • promote or advance (someone) to a prestigious position

When else has “Match official enters for a favour” 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 22, 2026 (most recent) → PREFER. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Match official enters for a favour”?

The answer is PREFER, a 6-letter word. It most recently appeared in the The Telegraph Cryptic crossword on September 22, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Match official enters for a favour”?

6 letters: PREFER.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the The Telegraph Cryptic crossword on September 22, 2026 (a Tuesday puzzle), at 23-Down.

Can “Match official enters for a favour” 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 22, 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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