Keep quiet and stroke plant

Latest answer — September 14, 2026

8 Across

Scroll down for rest of crossword answers

Clue explained

SHRUB is a plant, formed from SH (“keep quiet”) plus RUB (“stroke”).

Clue type:
Pun or wordplay
A leafy flowering shrub growing in a garden.

Times Quick Cryptic Crossword

This clue's Monday, September 14, 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. 1That fellow and I in Texas possibly dither
  2. 5Posh vehicle some two miles back
  3. 8Keep quiet and stroke plant
  4. 9Attire was expensive for yours truly, having to appear outside university
  5. 11Various characters in street brave, not spineless types
  6. 13Onset of merriment with American jazz fan in port
  7. 14Bit of fun I so need in style of singing
  8. 17Arriving across flat territory and grumbling
  9. 20Claim of artist’s model who enforces ideas on others?
  10. 21Form of humour — smoother and nasty ultimately
  11. 22Information about lake in Scottish valley
  12. 23Beautiful boy regularly meddled on article in gym

Down

  1. 1Entertainer — spooky individual, no good
  2. 2Tries hard in Cornish town, with river invading
  3. 3A celebrant’s moving around centres of worship
  4. 4Diplomacy reportedly fixed
  5. 6Arctic inhabitant wearing two-piece maybe, with head covered
  6. 7Old boy vile ultimately — is worker courteously deferential?
  7. 10Depression limited by calm ability to make lucky discoveries
  8. 12Son making fun of fancy work in attire?
  9. 15Italian title some officials ignored
  10. 16Following sun initially, I go wrong on a mountain range
  11. 18Tree fellow hugs quietly
  12. 19Something that helps motorist travel round ancient city

The answer to “Keep quiet and stroke plant” in the The Times Quick Cryptic crossword is SHRUB — a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the The Times Quick Cryptic crossword on September 14, 2026, a Monday puzzle, at 8-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.

“Keep quiet and stroke plant” answer

SHRUB (5 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 SHRUB.

What does SHRUB mean?

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

(noun)

  • a woody plant which is smaller than a tree and has several main stems arising at or near the ground

When else has “Keep quiet and stroke plant” appeared?

The Times Quick 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 14, 2026 (most recent) → SHRUB. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Keep quiet and stroke plant”?

The answer is SHRUB, a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the The Times Quick Cryptic crossword on September 14, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Keep quiet and stroke plant”?

5 letters: SHRUB.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the The Times Quick Cryptic crossword on September 14, 2026 (a Monday puzzle), at 8-Across.

Can “Keep quiet and stroke plant” have a different answer?

Yes — The Times Quick 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 Quick Cryptic answers?

The full grid for September 14, 2026 is on the Times Quick Cryptic answers page, with every clue and answer from that puzzle.

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

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