Minute Cryptic Answer Today
The latest Minute Cryptic clue, for Saturday, September 19, 2026, plus the 6 before it. Every answer starts with its first letter showing — tap a tile for the next one, or open a clue for the full explanation.
Minute Cryptic Answer Today — Saturday, September 19th, 2026
First letter shown — tap each tile or show the full answer below
Friday, September 18th, 2026
First letter shown — tap each tile or show the full answer below
Thursday, September 17th, 2026
First letter shown — tap each tile or show the full answer below
Wednesday, September 16th, 2026
First letter shown — tap each tile or show the full answer below
Tuesday, September 15th, 2026
First letter shown — tap each tile or show the full answer below
Monday, September 14th, 2026
First letter shown — tap each tile or show the full answer below
Sunday, September 13th, 2026
First letter shown — tap each tile or show the full answer below
Looking for the Minute Cryptic answer today? The latest clue, for Saturday, September 19, 2026 — “Something spiked spoiled lovely formal dance (10)” — is at the top of this page, with its first letter already showing so you can start from a nudge rather than the solution. The rest of the 7 most recent clues follow in the same format. Tap the tiles to take the remaining letters one at a time, read every answer written out below, or use Explain clue on any card to open that day's page, where the answer sits alongside the indicator, the fodder, the definition and a written parse.
The 7 most recent Minute Cryptic clues
The latest clue leads the list, and every clue links to its own page. The letter counts and opening letters are here so you can size a clue up before you commit — the answers themselves are further down, so nothing is spoiled by reading this far.
Latest clues, newest first
| Clue | Letters |
|---|---|
| Something spiked spoiled lovely formal dance (10) · Sep 19 | 10 letters, starting V |
| Northwest evacuated? (2,3,4) · Sep 18 | 2,3,4 — 3 words, 9 letters in total, starting U |
| The Origin of Species is Darwin's! (6) · Sep 17 | 6 letters, starting T |
| Vanilla? Ugh! Terrible ingredient for one's gag reflex? (8) · Sep 16 | 8 letters, starting L |
| Scramble, scrambled, scrambles (8) · Sep 15 | 8 letters, starting C |
| Dad steps forward in spat... "What's happened?" (4) · Sep 14 | 4 letters, starting P |
| Kind of puppet taking direction from hand inside Miss Piggy? (6) · Sep 13 | 6 letters, starting S |
One clue publishes a day, so this list turns over weekly. Older clues keep their pages permanently.
Minute Cryptic answer today, Sep 19, 2026
The Minute Cryptic answer today is VOLLEYBALL — 10 letters, for the clue “Something spiked spoiled lovely formal dance (10)”. The 7 most recent answers are listed in full further down this page, and every date in that table opens the day's breakdown.
What stays on the dated pages is the reasoning: which words act as the indicator, the fodder and the definition, and a step-by-step parse of how the wordplay produces those letters — usually with the setters' own video walkthrough. The answer on its own settles the grid; the parse is what makes the next clue easier.
How cryptic clues work
A cryptic clue is two clues in one. Part of it defines the answer straight, and the rest spells that same answer out letter by letter, with an indicator word telling you which trick is in play. There are only about a dozen tricks in regular use, so learning to spot the indicator is most of the skill. These are the ones Minute Cryptic cycles through.
| Device | What the indicator is telling you |
|---|---|
| Anagram | Rearrange the fodder's letters. Indicators suggest disorder or movement: crazy, cooked, broken, fluid, unravel. |
| Hidden word | The answer sits unbroken inside neighbouring words. Indicators suggest extraction: some of, part of, in, extract, held in. |
| Container | One string of letters goes inside another. Indicators: in, around, swallowing, holding, over. |
| Reversal | Write the letters backwards. Indicators: back, returning, retreating, or up in a down clue. |
| Letter selection | Take only certain letters — firsts, lasts, middles or alternates. Indicators: initially, firstly, heart of, odd, occasionally. |
| Homophone | The answer sounds like something else. Indicators: we hear, reportedly, on the radio, said. |
| Deletion | Drop a letter or a chunk before using the rest. Indicators: endless, headless, losing, without. |
| Charade | Bolt short pieces together, one synonym or abbreviation after another. Often no indicator at all — just parts joined in order. |
| &lit | The whole clue is the definition and the wordplay at the same time. Rare, and the most satisfying kind to crack. |
How to solve a Minute Cryptic clue
- Read the enumeration before the clue. (6) is one six-letter word, (5,4) is two words, (2-5) is hyphenated. It tells you how many letters you're building and rules out answers that can't fit.
- Find the definition at one end. A standard cryptic clue is a definition plus wordplay, and the definition normally sits at the start or the end — not buried in the middle. Test both ends before anything else.
- Treat a question mark as a warning label. It flags a definition that's punny or stretched, so stop hunting for a dictionary synonym and think sideways.
- Let the odd word out be your indicator. Words about disorder (crazy, broken, mixed) point to an anagram; in, held by, swallowing point to a container; back, returning, up point to a reversal; we hear, reportedly point to a homophone; initially, firstly point to first letters; some of, part of, extract point to a hidden word.
- Count the fodder. If the letters beside the indicator add up to exactly the enumeration, you're almost certainly looking at an anagram or a hidden word — start rearranging or scanning rather than guessing.
- Ignore the story the clue tells. The surface reading is deliberate misdirection. Bergamot and herbal tea are there to make you think about drinks, not about the letters sitting inside those words.
- Take a nudge instead of stalling. Minute Cryptic scores par in hints, not guesses, and there's no streak to protect. Revealing the definition is usually the most efficient nudge, because it reduces the puzzle to a synonym of a known length.
- Learn the shorthand setters reuse. Single letters hide behind everyday words: note is any of A to G, left is L, about is C or RE, love and nothing are O, ring is O. One confirmed letter often unlocks the rest.
Every Minute Cryptic answer on this page
The clues above with their answers spelled out, newest first. Each date opens that day's full breakdown — indicator, fodder, definition and the parse. WordHint has covered every Minute Cryptic clue since Thursday, July 30, 2026.
| Date | Clue | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 19 | Something spiked spoiled lovely formal dance (10) | VOLLEYBALL |
| Sep 18 | Northwest evacuated? (2,3,4) | UP AND LEFT |
| Sep 17 | The Origin of Species is Darwin's! (6) | THESIS |
| Sep 16 | Vanilla? Ugh! Terrible ingredient for one's gag reflex? (8) | LAUGHTER |
| Sep 15 | Scramble, scrambled, scrambles (8) | CLAMBERS |
| Sep 14 | Dad steps forward in spat... "What's happened?" (4) | PAST |
| Sep 13 | Kind of puppet taking direction from hand inside Miss Piggy? (6) | SHADOW |
The cards at the top of the page keep these hidden behind the tiles, so you can take one letter at a time. This table is here for when you'd rather just read them.
What is Minute Cryptic?
Minute Cryptic is a daily cryptic crossword clue at minutecryptic.com — one clue, no grid, free to play, with a short video explaining the wordplay once you're done. It began as a social-media project by founder Angas Tiernan, whose one-minute clue explainers found an audience on TikTok and Instagram before the game existed; Australian setter Liam Runnalls came on as clue writer and editor, and community submissions now run too, credited "Member:" on the day they appear.
The premise is that cryptics are learnable rather than impenetrable. Instead of streaks, Minute Cryptic scores par, golf style and counted in hints: each clue has a par, every nudge or revealed letter costs you one, and finishing under par means you needed fewer than expected. The hint button hands over the clue's indicator, its fodder or its definition, highlighting the exact words as it goes, and you can spend a hint on a single letter of the answer instead.
The daily clue and its video are free. Around it sits a small ecosystem: the Club membership opens the back archive and the mini cryptic crosswords, Create lets you build and share your own clue, and a free course called Letterplay walks beginners through one technique at a time before mixing them together — with Wordplay and Weirdplay lined up after it. In print there are two books of clues that appear nowhere online: the first, a Sunday Times bestseller, carries over 160 clues with a hint beside every one, and Book 2 adds over 170 more while introducing guided substitutions, double definitions, &lits and rebus. The team has also raised over $111,000 for Alzheimer's research, which is where the "cryptics keep your brain busy" framing comes from.
This page is the recent-answers hub: flip cards for the latest clues with the first letter shown, every answer written out below them, and a link into each day's full breakdown.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Minute Cryptic answer today, Sep 19, 2026?
The answer is VOLLEYBALL (10 letters), for the clue “Something spiked spoiled lovely formal dance (10)”. If you'd rather work for it, the card at the top of this page shows only the first letter — tap the remaining tiles to take them one at a time, or use Explain clue to open the wordplay parse.
Why are the answers hidden on the cards?
Because most people arrive wanting a nudge rather than the solution. Every card shows the clue, the enumeration and the first letter, and the rest of the tiles only flip when you tap them — so you can take one letter, then another, and stop as soon as the clue cracks. If you'd rather just read them, every answer on this page is written out in the answers table lower down.
How do I see the wordplay explanation, not just the answer?
Use the Explain clue button on any card, or the date beside any answer in the table. That opens the dated page for that clue, which carries the indicator, the fodder, the definition and a written parse of how the wordplay produces the answer.
How many Minute Cryptic clues does this page cover?
The seven most recent days, newest first, refreshed as each new clue publishes. Anything older still has its own page — WordHint has kept every Minute Cryptic clue since Thursday, July 30, 2026.
Do hints ruin your Minute Cryptic score?
They cost strokes against par and nothing else — there's no streak to lose, and the game's own advice is that using hints is how you learn. Revealing the definition is usually the most efficient one, because it narrows the answer to a synonym you can test against the letter count.
When does the Minute Cryptic clue change?
At midnight in your own timezone. The game reads your device's clock to decide which day's clue to serve, so solvers further east get the next clue first.
Who writes the Minute Cryptic clues?
Liam Runnalls is the game's clue writer and editor, and community members submit clues too — theirs run credited as “Member:” followed by a name.
Is there a Minute Cryptic archive?
Inside the game, past clues sit behind the Club membership, alongside the mini cryptic crosswords. On WordHint every day's clue, nudges and answer stay up from Thursday, July 30, 2026 onward, so the dated pages here build into an archive you can read for free.
Is Minute Cryptic free?
The daily clue, its three nudges and the explainer video are free, and so is the Letterplay beginner course. The Club membership is the paid tier, and what it adds is access rather than help: the archive of past clues and the mini cryptic crosswords. You never have to pay to solve today's clue.
What's the difference between the indicator, the fodder and the definition?
The definition is the straight, dictionary-style meaning of the answer, and it almost always sits at one end of the clue. The fodder is the raw material — the letters you're going to manipulate. The indicator is the word that tells you how to manipulate them. Minute Cryptic's three hints hand these over in that order of usefulness, and the definition is usually the one worth spending a hint on.
Is Minute Cryptic good for beginners?
It's built for them. A full cryptic crossword throws thirty clues at you at once; Minute Cryptic gives you one, tells you which of the three parts you're missing when you ask, and explains the wordplay in a short video afterwards. The free Letterplay course goes further, teaching one technique at a time before mixing them, with Wordplay and Weirdplay to follow.
Are there Minute Cryptic books?
Two. Book 1 is a Sunday Times bestseller and a step-by-step introduction with over 160 clues, each with a hint on the facing page. Book 2 has over 170 new clues and moves on to guided substitutions, double definitions, &lits and rebus, with the clues no longer grouped by type so they read more like a real cryptic. Neither book repeats anything from the website or app.
Where can I play Minute Cryptic?
Free every day at minutecryptic.com, and in the Minute Cryptic app for iOS and Android.
New to cryptics? The device table and solving tips above cover the tricks that come up most — then work through a few of the clues listed here until spotting the indicator, the fodder and the definition starts to feel automatic.