Yesterday's Minute Cryptic Answer
Today's cryptic clue is below. Work through the hints to decode the wordplay, or jump straight to the answer. Nothing spoils until you tap.
Clue text not captured for this day. Play it at minutecryptic.com.
Hints, one at a time
Welcome back, cryptic solver.
The hints below peel it apart the same way the game does: first the answer's shape, then the indicator that tells you the operation, then the fodder letters, and finally the definition. The answer sits locked behind a tap further down.
The setter's own hints, in the order they were meant to be taken.
Drumroll, please…
Minute Cryptic Answer for August 21
Spoiler below · tap to revealTap a tile for one letter of the solution, or reveal the answer and its full breakdown.
About yesterday's clue DECORATE
DECORATE, 8 letters.
Solved it cold? That's ahead of the crowd.
Minute Cryptic publishes a daily explainer video alongside each puzzle.
Cryptic solving strategy that actually helps
Proven habits from cryptic regulars, useful today and every day.
It's almost always the very first or very last word or phrase. Knowing what you're aiming for halves the difficulty.
Words like reversed, hidden, confused, broken, quietly signal the operation. The indicator tells you exactly how to treat the rest.
The letters the wordplay gives you should match the enumeration. If they don't, you've misread which words are doing what.
Homophones (heard, said), containers (in, holding), reversals (back, returning) and anagrams (mixed, wild) cover most clues.
Cryptic surfaces are deliberately misleading: the sentence makes sense while meaning nothing it appears to. Parse mechanically, not naturally.
A fresh look the next morning cracks clues that fought back all evening. It's the most reliable solver trick there is.
How to play Minute Cryptic
The rules in full, for anyone arriving without them.
Minute Cryptic publishes one cryptic crossword clue a day. A cryptic clue is really two clues welded together: a straight definition at one end, and a set of wordplay instructions that build the same answer letter by letter.
- 1 Split the clue in two
One end is a plain definition of the answer. Everything else is wordplay. Finding the seam is most of the battle.
- 2 Identify the wordplay type
Anagrams, hidden words, reversals, containers, and homophones each have their own signal words, like "confused" for an anagram or "sounds like" for a homophone.
- 3 Build the answer from the fodder
The wordplay names specific letters. Assemble them, then check the result against the definition end of the clue.
- 4 Take hints only when stuck
The game reveals hints one at a time and scores you on how many you needed. Par tells you how many a typical solver used.
Minute Cryptic
One cryptic clue, with the answer length given
Unlimited guesses, but hints count against par
Daily
The definition is almost always the first word or the last word of the clue, never the middle. When a clue reads like a coherent sentence, that surface reading is deliberate misdirection and you should ignore what it appears to mean.
Minute Cryptic, answered
Quick answers to the questions we get every day.
What time does the new Minute Cryptic come out?
A new clue is published every day on minutecryptic.com, resetting at midnight UK time. This page updates right after, so if the date above matches today, the hints and answer are current.
What do indicator, fodder and definition mean?
Every cryptic clue has two routes to the same answer: a definition (usually at an end of the clue) and wordplay. The wordplay splits into fodder, the letters you'll rearrange or manipulate, plus an indicator that tells you what to do with them, like reversing, hiding, or anagramming.
How does par work?
Par is the number of hints an average solver needs. If you solved it with zero hints, you beat par; needing one or two is completely normal while you're learning cryptic conventions.
Is Minute Cryptic good for beginners?
Yes. It's the gentlest daily cryptic format there is. One clue a day with progressive hints teaches you indicator vocabulary faster than jumping into a full cryptic crossword.
Do I need crossword experience to start?
No, and one clue a day is genuinely the easiest way in. Cryptic solving is a small set of learnable conventions rather than a vocabulary test, and the progressive hints name which convention is in play instead of leaving you to guess. Most solvers pick up the common indicators within a couple of weeks.
Today's hints for every game
Same spoiler-safe format, for each daily puzzle we cover.
Past Minute Cryptic answers
Recent Minute Cryptic answers, organized by month. Use it to check a day you missed or revisit a clue whose wordplay stuck with you. Today's solution stays blurred until you tap it.
| Date | Clue | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 23Today | #df407ef5 | AHOY |
| Aug 21 | #thg-2026 | DECORATE |
| Aug 20 | #thg-2026 | ACUTE |
| Aug 19 | #thg-2026 | NOVICE |
| Aug 18 | #thg-2026 | FOREST |
| Aug 17 | #thg-2026 | SPAIN |
| Aug 16 | #thg-2026 | MEDICAL |
| Aug 15 | #thg-2026 | SPANK |
| Aug 14 | #thg-2026 | MONASTERY |
| Aug 13 | #thg-2026 | GENE |
| Aug 12 | #thg-2026 | RING |
| Aug 11 | #thg-2026 | SELFIE |
| Aug 10 | #thg-2026 | TAG |
| Aug 09 | #thg-2026 | DUVET |
| Aug 08 | #thg-2026 | ROD |
| Aug 07 | #thg-2026 | HOARDER |
| Aug 06 | #thg-2026 | MORGUE |
| Aug 05 | #thg-2026 | GREAT APES |
| Aug 04 | #thg-2026 | RUDE |
| Aug 03 | #thg-2026 | VOLT |
| Aug 02 | #thg-2026 | SILENT K |
| Aug 01 | #thg-2026 | CASHEW |
| Jul 31 | #thg-2026 | CYMBALS |
| Jul 30 | #thg-2026 | MOTHER |
| Jul 29 | #thg-2026 | ARCHIPELAGO |
| Jul 28 | #thg-2026 | EXILED |
| Jul 27 | #thg-2026 | TOES |
| Jul 26 | #thg-2026 | FINANCE |
| Jul 25 | #thg-2026 | CHEMISTRY |
| Jul 24 | #thg-2026 | UPPER CASE |
| Jul 23 | #thg-2026 | CLUE |
| Jul 22 | #thg-2026 | HOTEL |
| Jul 21 | #thg-2026 | PRIMEVAL |
| Jul 20 | #thg-2026 | TELL |
| Jul 19 | #thg-2026 | HAUNTING |
| Jul 18 | #thg-2026 | FLU |
| Jul 17 | #thg-2026 | PRODUCER |
| Jul 16 | #thg-2026 | HOUR |
| Jul 15 | #thg-2026 | GNOME |
| Jul 14 | #thg-2026 | LAUNCH |
| Jul 13 | #thg-2026 | GRANDIOSE |
| Jul 12 | #thg-2026 | BENDS |
| Jul 11 | #thg-2026 | BANDAGED |
| Jul 10 | #thg-2026 | APES |
| Jul 09 | #thg-2026 | INVESTING |
| Jul 08 | #thg-2026 | IMPLICIT |
| Jul 07 | #thg-2026 | BULLYING |
| Jul 06 | #thg-2026 | THESIS |
| Jul 05 | #thg-2026 | PAWN |
| Jul 04 | #thg-2026 | RAM |
| Jul 03 | #thg-2026 | AROUND |
| Jul 02 | #thg-2026 | ICK |
| Jul 01 | #thg-2026 | LURID |
| Jun 30 | #thg-2026 | HALTER |
| Jun 29 | #thg-2026 | DRAWS |
| Jun 28 | #thg-2026 | SWAYS |
| Jun 27 | #thg-2026 | HARE |
| Jun 26 | #thg-2026 | IRONY |
| Jun 25 | #thg-2026 | GORE |
| Jun 24 | #thg-2026 | BARCELONA |
| Jun 23 | #thg-2026 | ACQUIRE |
| Jun 22 | #thg-2026 | TOLERANT |
| Jun 21 | #thg-2026 | GARNISH |
| Jun 20 | #thg-2026 | FRACAS |
| Jun 19 | #thg-2026 | PELTING |
| Jun 18 | #thg-2026 | LOANS |
| Jun 17 | #thg-2026 | CHEST |
| Jun 16 | #thg-2026 | OOPS |
| Jun 15 | #thg-2026 | HANGER |
| Jun 14 | #thg-2026 | MASONRY |
| Jun 13 | #thg-2026 | MIME |
| Jun 12 | #thg-2026 | HERON |
| Jun 11 | #thg-2026 | CALENDAR |
| Jun 10 | #thg-2026 | THUMP |
| Jun 09 | #thg-2026 | FLOAT |
| Jun 08 | #thg-2026 | SANDPIT |
| Jun 07 | #thg-2026 | WATER |
| Jun 06 | #thg-2026 | BURGER |
| Jun 05 | #thg-2026 | NOWHERE |
| Jun 04 | #thg-2026 | AWOKEN |
| Jun 03 | #thg-2026 | ALLOY |
| Jun 02 | #thg-2026 | BURNT |
| Jun 01 | #thg-2026 | LIBRA |
| May 31 | #thg-2026 | SUNDAE |
| May 30 | #thg-2026 | GRAVESTONE |
| May 29 | #thg-2026 | HEINOUS |
| May 28 | #thg-2026 | ACROBAT |
| May 27 | #thg-2026 | HEIGHTEN |
| May 26 | #thg-2026 | GOVERNED |
| May 25 | #thg-2026 | BLAND |
| May 24 | #thg-2026 | SCHOOL |
| May 23 | #thg-2026 | DEER |
| May 22 | #thg-2026 | VENN DIAGRAM |
| May 21 | #thg-2026 | LAUD |
| May 20 | #thg-2026 | OTHELLO |
| May 19 | #thg-2026 | PESO |
| May 18 | #thg-2026 | NOTICING |
| May 17 | #thg-2026 | DISPUTE |
| May 16 | #thg-2026 | SEASONAL |
| May 15 | #thg-2026 | ENTRY |