Tree fellow hugs quietly

The answer to “Tree fellow hugs quietly” in the The Times Quick Cryptic crossword is MAPLE — a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the The Times Quick Cryptic crossword on September 14, 2026, a Monday puzzle, at 18-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.

“Tree fellow hugs quietly” answer

MAPLE (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 MAPLE.

What does MAPLE mean?

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

When else has “Tree fellow hugs quietly” 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) → MAPLE. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

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