Dull American service is defended by leading pair of theologians

The answer to “Dull American service is defended by leading pair of theologians” in the The Times Cryptic crossword is TARNISH — a 7-letter word. It most recently appeared in the The Times Cryptic crossword on September 4, 2026, a Friday puzzle, at 11-Across. 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.

“Dull American service is defended by leading pair of theologians” answer

TARNISH (7 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 TARNISH.

What does TARNISH mean?

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

When else has “Dull American service is defended by leading pair of theologians” appeared?

The Times 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 4, 2026 (most recent) → TARNISH. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

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