Puzzle from the Weekend FT of July 18, 2026
I found this a good challenge. My first-in was 10 (MALT) and last was 11 (SHOREWARDS), a term I do not recall coming across before.
My top favourite is 17 for its triple definition and I also like 5 (BOSH) and 14 (PIT STOPS). Thank you, Guy.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | POSTCARD |
Job with comic, illustration and writing (8)
|
| POST (job) + CARD (comic) | ||
| 5 | BOSH |
Cobblers left pairs of boots and shoes (4)
|
| BO[ots] SH[oes] | ||
| 8 | FORAGE |
Look for something edible as filling for bagel (6)
|
| FOR (as) + [b]AGE[l] | ||
| 9 | GOATHERD |
Nanny’s manager got her pregnant with a daughter (8)
|
| A (a) in (pregnant with) GOT HER + D (daughter) | ||
| 10 | MALT |
Dry sprouts with portion of dismal turkey (4)
|
| Hidden word | ||
| 11 | SHOREWARDS |
Ship boarded by crazy rower had to land (10)
|
| Anagram (crazy) ROWER HAD in (boarded by) SS (ship) | ||
| 12 | CINEMA |
Traditional dating site, reflected by alpha males in charge (6)
|
| A-MEN (alpha males) + IC (in charge) all backwards (reflected) | ||
| 13 | PIT STOPS |
See Sinner’s first point, returning fast services (3,5)
|
| SPOT (see) + S[inner] + TIP (point) all backwards (returning) | ||
| 15 | IN CHORUS |
Scottish island that could also be American simultaneously (2,6)
|
| INCH (Scottish island) + OR (that could also be) + US (American) | ||
| 18 | INSTAL |
Photo-sharing app learner set up on computer (6)
|
| INSTA (photo-sharing app) + L (learner). I take it that ‘Insta’ is a shortened form of Instagram. | ||
| 20 | MICROCRACK |
Tiny flaw starts to manifest in shelf for foam sandals (10)
|
| M[anifest] I[n] + CROC (foam sandals) + RACK (shelf) | ||
| 22 | PEAK |
Crown, source of discomfort for princess and king (4)
|
| PEA (source of discomfort for princess) + K (king) | ||
| 23 | WIRE WOOL |
Abrasive wife I left outside court again (4,4)
|
| W (wife) + RE-WOO (court again) in (outside) I (I) + L (left). Americans call the stuff steel wool. | ||
| 24 | KLAXON |
Horn makes a flapping noise you hear continually (6)
|
| Homophone (you hear) of “clacks” (makes a flapping noise) + ON (continually) | ||
| 25 | EGGS |
Urges which are essential for reproduction (4)
|
| Double definition | ||
| 26 | SWAN SONG |
Final piece: clue for penchant? (4,4)
|
| SWAN (pen) + SONG (chant) | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | PROBATION |
Testing time for cricketer at the crease, bagging duck (9)
|
| PRO (for) + BAT (cricketer) + O (duck) in (bagging) IN (at the crease) | ||
| 2 | SMARTIE |
Wise guy’s cracks ultimately spoil relationship (7)
|
| [crack]S + MAR (spoil) + TIE (relationship) | ||
| 3 | CHELSEA TRACTOR |
Big wheels scare Charlotte dreadfully (7,7)
|
| Anagram (dreadfully) of SCARE CHARLOTTE. ‘Chelsea Tractor’ is an informal British term for an SUV. | ||
| 4 | REGROUP |
Concerning increase in cost, holding Republican rally (7)
|
| RE (concerning) + R (Republican)in (holding) GO UP (increase in cost) | ||
| 5 | BY HEART |
Bar they trashed without prompting (2,5)
|
| Anagram (trashed) of BAR THEY | ||
| 6 | SHRED |
Romeo took off trousers cut to pieces (5)
|
| R (Romeo) in (trousers) SHED (took off) | ||
| 7 | HAVE A THICK SKIN |
Attack peasant’s relatives barely feel (4,1,5,4)
|
| HAVE AT (attack) + HICKS (peasant’s) + KIN (relatives) | ||
| 14 | PLAY ALONG |
Good number put down mountain climbing – go with the consensus? (4,5)
|
| G (good) + NO (number) + LAY (put down) + ALP (mountain) all backwards (climbing) | ||
| 16 | HARNESS |
Tackle difficulty, missing last piece of crossword (7)
|
| HAR[d]NESS (difficulty missing ‘D’) | ||
| 17 | SWALLOW |
Buy African migrant drink (7)
|
| Triple definition | ||
| 19 | SOPRANO |
Musician excited by rap and so on (7)
|
| Anagram (excited by) RAP SO ON | ||
| 21 | ICING |
Paint manufacturer now defunct, no good for decorating (5)
|
| ICI (pain manufacturer now defunct) + NG (no good). The definition refers to Imperial Chemical Industries which used to be a manufacturer of many things but perhaps known best for paints. |
I am not sure why, but I found this very hard. Ultimately solvable, but very tough going.
Thanks Guy. I found this quite difficult and I unfortunately resorted to the guess-then-check method for a fair number of clues. I couldn’t parse the clever SWAN SONG or PROBATION. The clues I liked included PEAK, SMARTIE, SHRED, and SWALLOW. Thanks Pete for the blog.
What Cineraria@1 said. Thanks Pete for explaining several clues I defaulted to parse.
I had the same favourites as Pete plus LOI EGGS
Thanks Guy and Pete
My faves: BOSH, FORAGE, SHOREWARDS, IN CHORUS, MICROCRACK,
REGROUP, HARNESS and SWALLOW.
MICROCRACK
I think it’s better to consider ‘shelf for foam sandals’
as ‘CROC RACK’.
SWAN SONG
I think there’s no need to split penchant as pen and chant.
SWAN SONG is a (possible) clue for penchant (?)
An inverse clue.
Thanks Guy and Pete.
Thanks for the blog , very good set of clues and just right for a Saturday . GOATHERD was very neat , FORAGE is something I do a lot , CHELSEA TRACTOR an excellent anagram .
Not heard of INSTA but the grid and definition helped a lot .
me@3 “defaulted to parse” should be “failed to parse”. Sorry about the typo.
And I liked CHELSEA TRACTOR too.
I’m pretty sure PEN + CHANT was the intended parsing. Probably because that’s how I parsed it 🙂
GOATHERD an obvious opportunity to share this master class in rhyming
Cheers P&G
Favourite was GOATHERD for the surface. And PIT STOPS. For the reversal. Thanks.
Like Guy’s last crossword this was a slog for me. No problem with Guy’s clueing, just my feeble brain.
Yes, I thought it was very tough and could not finish it. I don’t remember finding Guy’s puzzles especially hard, but this one certainly was. I had heard of Insta (through an earlier puzzle) but managed to forget it. It’s probably some form of squeamish defence mechanism as I find abbreviations like that grate horribly.
What a lovely collection of clues! Especially liked “attack peasant’s relatives” and “cobblers”.