How do I solve 1 across in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31240?

1 across reads "Disown and reject charity inspired by celebrity" (9 letters); the answer is REPUDIATE. It's a reversal clue: the answer is a word read backwards. Look for indicators like 'back', 'returned', or — in a down clue — 'up' or 'lifted'. Find the source word and reverse it. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 6 across in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31240?

6 across reads "Fellowship in Surrey town missing for daughter" (5 letters); the answer is GUILD. It's a deletion clue: start with a word the clue points to, then drop one or more letters. Indicators include 'endlessly' (lose the last letter), 'beheaded' (lose the first), or 'heartlessly' (lose the middle). The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 9 across in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31240?

9 across reads "Reportedly pen hymn tune" (7 letters); the answer is CHORALE. It's a homophone clue: the answer sounds like another word. Indicators like 'reportedly', 'we hear', or 'sounds like' point to a word that's pronounced similarly to the answer. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 10 across in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31240?

10 across reads "Ailment caused by inactivity, sister at heart conceded" (7 letters); the answer is ILLNESS. It's a letter-selection clue: take specific letters from a longer source. 'First of' means the opening letter, 'extremely' means first + last, 'regularly' means every other letter, 'oddly' / 'evenly' means odd or even positions. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 11 across in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31240?

11 across reads "Swindle Geordie vocalist" (5 letters); the answer is STING. It's a double-definition clue: two separate definitions of the same word sit side by side. No wordplay split and no indicators — both halves of the clue define the answer. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 12 across in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31240?

12 across reads "Calm Greek character salesperson encountered travelling west" (9 letters); the answer is TEMPERATE. It's a reversal clue: the answer is a word read backwards. Look for indicators like 'back', 'returned', or — in a down clue — 'up' or 'lifted'. Find the source word and reverse it. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 13 across in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31240?

13 across reads "Card game cut short by dental work" (8,6 letters); the answer is CONTRACT BRIDGE. It's a charade: the answer breaks into parts in clue order, each part clued by a word or short phrase. No indicators needed; watch for standard abbreviations (RA = artist, US = American, IN = at home) and short synonyms. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 16 across in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31240?

16 across reads "Addiction treatment of idiotic Texan drunk" (14 letters); the answer is DETOXIFICATION. It's an anagram clue: the answer is a rearrangement of letters supplied by the clue itself. Look for an indicator like 'mixed', 'broken', 'cooked', or 'wild', and find a phrase whose letters add up to the answer's length. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 20 across in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31240?

20 across reads "Battling, stall a huge, almost final victory" (4,5 letters); the answer is LAST LAUGH. It's a deletion clue: start with a word the clue points to, then drop one or more letters. Indicators include 'endlessly' (lose the last letter), 'beheaded' (lose the first), or 'heartlessly' (lose the middle). The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 22 across in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31240?

22 across reads "Repeatedly stripped Mini lad knew to be empty" (5 letters); the answer is INANE. It's a deletion clue: start with a word the clue points to, then drop one or more letters. Indicators include 'endlessly' (lose the last letter), 'beheaded' (lose the first), or 'heartlessly' (lose the middle). The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 23 across in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31240?

23 across reads "Substitute Stockport's wingers plus one close to exhaustion" (5-2 letters); the answer is STAND-IN. It's a letter-selection clue: take specific letters from a longer source. 'First of' means the opening letter, 'extremely' means first + last, 'regularly' means every other letter, 'oddly' / 'evenly' means odd or even positions. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 24 across in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31240?

24 across reads "Bill, able to sing well" (7 letters); the answer is INVOICE. It's a charade: the answer breaks into parts in clue order, each part clued by a word or short phrase. No indicators needed; watch for standard abbreviations (RA = artist, US = American, IN = at home) and short synonyms. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 25 across in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31240?

25 across reads "Right to stop one staining towel perhaps" (5 letters); the answer is DRYER. It's a container clue: one word goes inside another. Container indicators include 'in', 'around', 'holding', and 'embracing' — identify the outer word, then the inner piece that gets slotted into it. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 26 across in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31240?

26 across reads "Consider record that isn't regularly chosen" (9 letters); the answer is ENTERTAIN. It's a letter-selection clue: take specific letters from a longer source. 'First of' means the opening letter, 'extremely' means first + last, 'regularly' means every other letter, 'oddly' / 'evenly' means odd or even positions. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 1 down in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31240?

1 down reads "Trump's break on ship circling Crete, needing vacation" (6 letters); the answer is RECESS. It's a letter-selection clue: take specific letters from a longer source. 'First of' means the opening letter, 'extremely' means first + last, 'regularly' means every other letter, 'oddly' / 'evenly' means odd or even positions. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 2 down in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31240?

2 down reads "Reservation in Barbados Ivor ponders over" (7 letters); the answer is PROVISO. It's a hidden-word clue: the answer is spelled out by consecutive letters in the clue itself, often crossing a word boundary. Indicators like 'in', 'some', or 'part of' signal that you're looking at a substring. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 3 down in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31240?

3 down reads "Maybe one refusing beer that reduces wind internally?" (7,8 letters); the answer is DRAUGHT EXCLUDER. It's a double-definition clue: two separate definitions of the same word sit side by side. No wordplay split and no indicators — both halves of the clue define the answer. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 4 down in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31240?

4 down reads "Turn away from state benefit finally" (5 letters); the answer is AVERT. It's a letter-selection clue: take specific letters from a longer source. 'First of' means the opening letter, 'extremely' means first + last, 'regularly' means every other letter, 'oddly' / 'evenly' means odd or even positions. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 5 down in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31240?

5 down reads "Puzzling item in a broadcast about golf clubs" (9 letters); the answer is ENIGMATIC. It's an anagram clue: the answer is a rearrangement of letters supplied by the clue itself. Look for an indicator like 'mixed', 'broken', 'cooked', or 'wild', and find a phrase whose letters add up to the answer's length. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 6 down in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31240?

6 down reads "Go back upset across island after information on adopting elderly dog" (6,9 letters); the answer is GOLDEN RETRIEVER. It's an anagram clue: the answer is a rearrangement of letters supplied by the clue itself. Look for an indicator like 'mixed', 'broken', 'cooked', or 'wild', and find a phrase whose letters add up to the answer's length. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 7 down in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31240?

7 down reads "Country retail store" (7 letters); the answer is ICELAND. It's a double-definition clue: two separate definitions of the same word sit side by side. No wordplay split and no indicators — both halves of the clue define the answer. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 8 down in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31240?

8 down reads "Mess up food course First Lady left" (8 letters); the answer is DISHEVEL. It's a charade: the answer breaks into parts in clue order, each part clued by a word or short phrase. No indicators needed; watch for standard abbreviations (RA = artist, US = American, IN = at home) and short synonyms. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 14 down in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31240?

14 down reads "Wasting hour, naff clue he composed for "wealth"" (9 letters); the answer is AFFLUENCE. It's a deletion clue: start with a word the clue points to, then drop one or more letters. Indicators include 'endlessly' (lose the last letter), 'beheaded' (lose the first), or 'heartlessly' (lose the middle). The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 15 down in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31240?

15 down reads "Suspect Lois died greatly admired" (8 letters); the answer is IDOLISED. It's an anagram clue: the answer is a rearrangement of letters supplied by the clue itself. Look for an indicator like 'mixed', 'broken', 'cooked', or 'wild', and find a phrase whose letters add up to the answer's length. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 17 down in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31240?

17 down reads "American is able to visit extremely touristy Italian region" (7 letters); the answer is TUSCANY. It's a letter-selection clue: take specific letters from a longer source. 'First of' means the opening letter, 'extremely' means first + last, 'regularly' means every other letter, 'oddly' / 'evenly' means odd or even positions. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 18 down in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31240?

18 down reads "Regularly coach adroit Noah making musical instrument" (7 letters); the answer is OCARINA. It's a letter-selection clue: take specific letters from a longer source. 'First of' means the opening letter, 'extremely' means first + last, 'regularly' means every other letter, 'oddly' / 'evenly' means odd or even positions. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 19 down in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31240?

19 down reads "Banker always found amongst Poles" (6 letters); the answer is SEVERN. It's a container clue: one word goes inside another. Container indicators include 'in', 'around', 'holding', and 'embracing' — identify the outer word, then the inner piece that gets slotted into it. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

How do I solve 21 down in Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31240?

21 down reads "Raise army to defend garrisons essentially" (5 letters); the answer is HOIST. It's a container clue: one word goes inside another. Container indicators include 'in', 'around', 'holding', and 'embracing' — identify the outer word, then the inner piece that gets slotted into it. The full step-by-step breakdown is on this page.

Daily Telegraph Cryptic 31240 — Answers, Hints & Wordplay Explained

1A — Disown and reject charity inspired by celebrity (9) — REPUDIATE

Indicator
Indicator found: 'reject'
Operation
'reject' signals a reversal operation
Fodder
Fodder: 'charity'
Indicator
Indicator found: 'inspired'
Operation
'inspired' signals a container operation
Fodder
Fodder: 'reject charity celebrity'
Synonym
Synonyms spotted: 'charity' → AID
Synonym
Synonyms spotted: 'celebrity' → REPUTE
Assembly
(AID > DIA) + REPUTE = REPU(DIA)TE

Across

1A — Disown and reject charity inspired by celebrity (9) — REPUDIATE

6A — Fellowship in Surrey town missing for daughter (5) — GUILD

9A — Reportedly pen hymn tune (7) — CHORALE

10A — Ailment caused by inactivity, sister at heart conceded (7) — ILLNESS

11A — Swindle Geordie vocalist (5) — STING

12A — Calm Greek character salesperson encountered travelling west (9) — TEMPERATE

13A — Card game cut short by dental work (8,6) — CONTRACT BRIDGE

16A — Addiction treatment of idiotic Texan drunk (14) — DETOXIFICATION

20A — Battling, stall a huge, almost final victory (4,5) — LAST LAUGH

22A — Repeatedly stripped Mini lad knew to be empty (5) — INANE

23A — Substitute Stockport's wingers plus one close to exhaustion (5-2) — STAND-IN

24A — Bill, able to sing well (7) — INVOICE

25A — Right to stop one staining towel perhaps (5) — DRYER

26A — Consider record that isn't regularly chosen (9) — ENTERTAIN

Down

1D — Trump's break on ship circling Crete, needing vacation (6) — RECESS

2D — Reservation in Barbados Ivor ponders over (7) — PROVISO

3D — Maybe one refusing beer that reduces wind internally? (7,8) — DRAUGHT EXCLUDER

4D — Turn away from state benefit finally (5) — AVERT

5D — Puzzling item in a broadcast about golf clubs (9) — ENIGMATIC

6D — Go back upset across island after information on adopting elderly dog (6,9) — GOLDEN RETRIEVER

7D — Country retail store (7) — ICELAND

8D — Mess up food course First Lady left (8) — DISHEVEL

14D — Wasting hour, naff clue he composed for "wealth" (9) — AFFLUENCE

15D — Suspect Lois died greatly admired (8) — IDOLISED

17D — American is able to visit extremely touristy Italian region (7) — TUSCANY

18D — Regularly coach adroit Noah making musical instrument (7) — OCARINA

19D — Banker always found amongst Poles (6) — SEVERN

21D — Raise army to defend garrisons essentially (5) — HOIST