Reject shortened branch railway

Latest answer — August 04, 2026

20 Across

Picture a short railway branch that splits from the main line. 🚂

Scroll down for rest of crossword answers

Times Cryptic Crossword

This clue's Tuesday, August 04, 2026 appearance

Tap a square to reveal a letter.

Or reveal one clue at a time with the Hint and Answer buttons below.

Across

  1. 1Writer’s second copy — and editor’s first
  2. 4A support actor of dubious quality who almost died in the theatre?
  3. 9Country address offered to chaps in the past?
  4. 10Little programme skill in item on Bake Off?
  5. 11Begin travelling to Nigeria
  6. 12Departed, grabbing time for coffee
  7. 13Appreciated place with gardens around November
  8. 14Eton’s involved in appealing fraud
  9. 18Chance of new start in Forbidden City when a king returned
  10. 20Reject shortened branch railway
  11. 23Cell breaker only Sing Sing keeps locked up
  12. 24Silly fool messed around with virus
  13. 25Celebrate in cold air in restaurant
  14. 26Speech from revolutionary core of Africa
  15. 27Confusion of language between Middle English and English
  16. 28Black sharper footwear

Down

  1. 1Type of curdled milk, pint-sized with no top to swiftly go high
  2. 2Salad course dressed with caviar?
  3. 3One outlawed and forbade the thing, reportedly
  4. 4More than enough taste without the topping of salt
  5. 5Florrie’s lingerie’s not entirely white
  6. 6Hot wearing suit in heated areas?
  7. 7Small donation securing Republican headgear
  8. 8Disdainful of pork pie right after wine
  9. 15Duck and hawk accepted by mostly fit place for treatment
  10. 16Rory hikes rocky Dales location
  11. 17Piece of timber, to name something that floats in water
  12. 19Dwarf British tree not completely well-rounded
  13. 21Extend a number in Gershwin’s opening scene
  14. 22Window key earlier failing to open
  15. 23London Met initially introducing old copper’s stand-in
  16. 24Make for church

The answer to “Reject shortened branch railway” in the The Times Cryptic crossword is SPUR — a 4-letter word. It most recently appeared in the The Times Cryptic crossword on August 4, 2026, a Tuesday puzzle, at 20-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.

“Reject shortened branch railway” answer

SPUR (4 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 SPUR.

Why the answer is SPUR

Picture a short railway branch that splits from the main line. 🚂

What does SPUR mean?

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

(noun)

  • a device with a small spike or a spiked wheel that is worn on a rider's heel and used for urging a horse forward
  • a thing that prompts or encourages someone; an incentive
  • a projection from a mountain or mountain range

When else has “Reject shortened branch railway” 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 4, 2026 (most recent) → SPUR. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Reject shortened branch railway”?

The answer is SPUR, a 4-letter word. It most recently appeared in the The Times Cryptic crossword on August 4, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Reject shortened branch railway”?

4 letters: SPUR.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the The Times Cryptic crossword on August 4, 2026 (a Tuesday puzzle), at 20-Across.

Can “Reject shortened branch railway” have a different answer?

Yes — The Times 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 Times Cryptic answers?

The full grid for August 4, 2026 is on the Times Cryptic answers page, with every clue and answer from that puzzle.

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

Crossword Clues

Looking up a clue? Jump into today's answers and clue help from top puzzles.