23 September 2026 — 10 clues, easiest first. Answers overleaf.
Done within throughput figures this quarter (7)
7 · Hidden word · difficulty 1/5
Tablet after spill loses its head (4)
4 · Deletion · difficulty 2/5
Odd ware among the clothing (4)
4 · Anagram · difficulty 2/5
Entrance allows cast crew entry stage side initially (6)
6 · Letter selection · difficulty 2/5
Applaud public tough save defence peter last of all (5)
5 · Letter selection · difficulty 2/5
Orchard plantation where drove when one becomes another from D to G (5)
5 · Substitution · difficulty 2/5
Gush after stain embracing upper class (5)
5 · Container · difficulty 3/5
Wage from warning with a change of heart from W to E (7)
7 · Substitution · difficulty 3/5
Barrel that moved (5)
5 · Double definition · difficulty 3/5
Filter from second coach (8)
8 · Letter as symbol · difficulty 4/5
Answers & explanations
THROUGH(7)
Factory floor briefing on the board. Within takes THROUGH from throughput. Done is the through sense — finished, over.
PILL(4)
Chemist counter when the bottles still clink. Tablet is the pill reading. Losing its head beheads spill and leaves PILL. Soft paper bags and a bent spoon sell the chop as pharmacy aside while the medicine word drops out.
WEAR(4)
Peculiar merchandise turns up among the rails in an otherwise ordinary wardrobe. 'Odd' jumbles WARE into WEAR — clothing, what one puts on. Definition last; the market stall with its odd lots is the surface that keeps the eye busy.
ACCESS(6)
Backstage passes handed out letter by letter. Initials of allows cast crew entry stage side make ACCESS; Entrance is both the door and the definition.
CHEER(5)
Match-day nerves on the surface. Last of all harvests the endings of public tough save defence peter into CHEER. Applaud is the definition; the late defensive wobble is the sporting misdirection.
GROVE(5)
Herd morphs into trees. Plantation is the def (grove). Drove when one becomes another replaces D with G, giving GROVE.
SPOUT(5)
Laundry sink when the tap still sputters. Gush is the spurt sense. Stain maps to SPOT; embracing nests upper class (U) — SPO(U)T. Soft suds and a bent peg cloak the container as washday aside while the social letter finds its slot; the jet of water is your definition.
EARNING(7)
Wage (what one is getting) is EARNING. Warning with a change of heart swaps W for E: EARNING — the alert pays out.
SHOOK(5)
Cooper's yard when the staves still rattle. Barrel is a shook — the set ready for assembly; moved is shook as past of shake. Soft shavings and a bent mallet cloak the double as trade mutter.
STRAINER(8)
Kitchen sink when the kettle still sighs. Second maps to S; coach is TRAINER — S+TRAINER spells STRAINER. Filter is the sieve sense. Warm steam and a bent colander cloak the additive stack as scullery mutter.
About this page
Last updated 2026-09-23
Source Daily cryptic-clue column published by TappyPotato. The clue bank and its schedule are generated deterministically and never change once a set is published.
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Covers The 10 clues for 23 September 2026 with their device and difficulty, plus links to the previous and next published sets
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