Eatery harbours a penetrating germ on the counter

The answer to “Eatery harbours a penetrating germ on the counter” in the The Times Cryptic crossword is GASTROPUB — a 9-letter word. It most recently appeared in the The Times Cryptic crossword on August 14, 2026, a Friday puzzle, at 6-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.

“Eatery harbours a penetrating germ on the counter” answer

GASTROPUB (9 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 GASTROPUB.

What does GASTROPUB mean?

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

When else has “Eatery harbours a penetrating germ on the counter” 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.

August 14, 2026 (most recent) → GASTROPUB. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions