Dad steps forward in spat... "What's happened?" (4)

The Minute Cryptic answer to Dad steps forward in spat... "What's happened?" (4) is PAST — 4 letters. It ran on Monday, September 14, 2026, a member submission from Sean Rich, and it turns on move pa forward in spat wordplay. Below you'll find the answer on its own, the clue taken apart a piece at a time, and what to look for the next time the same trick shows up.

Dad steps forward in spat... "What's happened?" (4) — answer

PAST (4)

The letters run P • • T, and the tiles above spell the answer out in full. If you only wanted a nudge, the highlighted clue above gives you the indicator, the fodder and the definition one at a time, the same way the game does.

Why the answer is PAST

“What's happened?” asks for a word describing something that is over or already finished.

“Dad” means PA, giving the first group of letters.

“Spat” contributes the source letters SPAT.

The indicator “steps forward” removes PA from SPAT, leaving ST.

The indicator “in” joins PA before ST, producing PAST, which fits “What's happened?”.

Minute Cryptic also films a short explainer for this clue if you'd rather hear it walked through.

Other recent Minute Cryptic clues

Minute Cryptic runs one clue a day, so there's no sibling clue to cross-check against. Here are the most recent clues, with their answers:

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• Vanilla? Ugh! Terrible ingredient for one's gag reflex? (8) → LAUGHTER
• Scramble, scrambled, scrambles (8) → CLAMBERS
• Kind of puppet taking direction from hand inside Miss Piggy? (6) → SHADOW

Looking for today's clue instead? Head to the Minute Cryptic answer today.

About Minute Cryptic

Minute Cryptic publishes one cryptic crossword clue a day at minutecryptic.com — no grid, no streak, just the clue, three nudges and a short video explainer. Scoring is golf-style: every clue carries a par counted in hints, and each nudge or revealed letter costs a stroke. Clues come from editor Liam Runnalls and from community setters. This one came from community member Sean Rich, with a par of 2 hints.

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