Vanilla? Ugh! Terrible ingredient for one's gag reflex? (8)
Minute Cryptic Answer — September 16, 2026
Vanilla? Ugh! Terrible ingredient for one's gag reflex? (8)
First letter shown — tap each tile or show the full answer below
Answer explained
one's gag reflex? is the definition, so the answer is a 8-letter word meaning that.
ingredient is the indicator, and it points to hidden word wordplay. The answer is sitting in plain sight inside Vanilla? Ugh! Terrible — read across the word break and vanilLA? UGH! TERrible gives you LAUGHTER.
LAUGHTER answers one's gag reflex?, so the clue is solved.
Explainer
Answer
laughter
Recent clues
- Something spiked spoiled lovely formal dance (10)Sep 19
- Northwest evacuated? (2,3,4)Sep 18
- The Origin of Species is Darwin's! (6)Sep 17
- Vanilla? Ugh! Terrible ingredient for one's gag reflex? (8)Sep 16
- Scramble, scrambled, scrambles (8)Sep 15
- Dad steps forward in spat... "What's happened?" (4)Sep 14
- Kind of puppet taking direction from hand inside Miss Piggy? (6)Sep 13
The Minute Cryptic answer to “Vanilla? Ugh! Terrible ingredient for one's gag reflex?” (8) is LAUGHTER — 8 letters. It ran on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, a member submission from Bluejay, and it turns on hidden word 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.
“Vanilla? Ugh! Terrible ingredient for one's gag reflex?” (8) — answer
LAUGHTER (8)
The letters run L • • • • • • R, 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 LAUGHTER
Definition: “one's gag reflex?” is the definition, so the answer is a 8-letter word meaning that.
Wordplay: “ingredient” is the indicator, and it points to hidden word wordplay. The answer is sitting in plain sight inside “Vanilla? Ugh! Terrible” — read across the word break and vanilLA? UGH! TERrible gives you LAUGHTER.
Putting it together: LAUGHTER answers “one's gag reflex?”, so the clue is solved.
Minute Cryptic also films a short explainer for this clue if you'd rather hear it walked through.
How hidden word clues work
A hidden word sits unbroken inside the clue's own words, almost always straddling the gap between two of them. Nothing gets rearranged — you're scanning left to right for a run of letters the right length, which is why the joins between words are the place to look.
Indicators to watch for: some of, part of, in, within, held in, extract, hiding, a bit of. Spot one of those and you know which trick the setter is asking for, which is most of the battle in a cryptic clue.
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:
- Something spiked spoiled lovely formal dance (10) → VOLLEYBALL
- Northwest evacuated? (2,3,4) → UP AND LEFT
- The Origin of Species is Darwin's! (6) → THESIS
- Scramble, scrambled, scrambles (8) → CLAMBERS
- Dad steps forward in spat... "What's happened?" (4) → PAST
- 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 Bluejay, with a par of 3 hints.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Minute Cryptic answer to “Vanilla? Ugh! Terrible ingredient for one's gag reflex?” (8)?
LAUGHTER — 8 letters. The clue ran on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, a member submission from Bluejay.
Why is the answer LAUGHTER?
“one's gag reflex?” is the definition. “ingredient” is the indicator, and it says to read straight through “Vanilla? Ugh! Terrible” and pull out what hides there. That gives LAUGHTER.
How many letters is the answer to “Vanilla? Ugh! Terrible ingredient for one's gag reflex?” (8)?
8 letters, running L • • • • • • R.
What kind of cryptic clue is “Vanilla? Ugh! Terrible ingredient for one's gag reflex?” (8)?
A hidden word clue. The indicator is “ingredient”. A hidden word sits unbroken inside the clue's own words, almost always straddling the gap between two of them.
What was par for “Vanilla? Ugh! Terrible ingredient for one's gag reflex?” (8)?
3 hints, and solvers average 1. Par counts nudges rather than guesses, so taking fewer than 3 on this clue puts you under par. 16 people have solved it.
Where can I find today's Minute Cryptic answer?
The Minute Cryptic answer today page always shows the current clue with every nudge highlighted.