Help appreciated for a clueless cryptic crossword novice

[AuntyAngela]

I'm trying to learn how to do cryptic crosswords. Doing reasonably well - but with the current crossword I'm trying, I'm totally stumped on loads several questions.

I've tried Google and it's given me nothing to explain them, so if someone (who's a genius) cares to answer - and more importantly, explain the answer - I will be forever grateful.

(Just a note the numbers below aren't the same numbers as in the crossword they're just for sake of referencing here.)

1. Servant threw away opener by the sound of it (6)

2. Pull over beside obstruction in Red Lane (6)

3. Teachers get worn out restaining blockhead Hazel (8)

4. Muscle used if kissed say on the mouth? Hardly (8)

5. Acidic spring stops short of church (4) [I know the answer to this one, I just can't figure out how it's worked out]

6. Wild Wednesday morning, stripped, giving brief flash? (4-4, 6)

7. Number in space station? 23 under 18 (5) [I guessed the answer to this one also, as the answer to clue 23 is "aged" but I don't get how the whole question "works"!]

8. Three times the incomplete 9 for millions (6) [Now this is another one I guessed the answer from part of the question but I just don't understand how it fully works. For what it's worth, it's a down question, there's no nine down, but nine across is "staple" - don't know that's got anything to do with it.]

Have a look on 15squared.

https://www.fifteensquared.net/2026/02/08/guardian-quiptic-1368-by-hectence/

The Guardian does a Quiptic puzzle every Monday - you can access it online. It is a bit more basic than the daily cryptic and the link I have provided shows the answers and an explanation.

Practice is the key. I do the Guardian every day, but your examples have me baffled. Who was the setter?

https://www.minutecryptic.com/ is great for learning how to approach different types of clue

8: Answer is THRICE because:

TH is incomplete THE (i.e. knock the E off the end)
RICE is a staple

The whole is three times...

1: FLUNKY - sounds a bit like FLUNG KEY is you say it out loud (by the sound of it is a large part of the clue)
4: PECTORAL because PEC sounds like a PECK or a KISS, ORAL say on the mouth...

I think 4 might be Pectoral

Kissed = pecked, but the “say” means it sounds like this, so it’s pect.
On the mouth = orally, but the “hardly” means you don’t take all of the word, so orally becomes oral.

Oh cross posted with @BasilParsley but at least we came to the same conclusion 😃

6: NINE-DAYS WONDER...

Because, it's an anagram of WEDNESDAY and RNIN

RNIN is morning stripped of the first two and the last one letter

5: SOUR key is Acidic...

Spring = SOURCE - church often indicates CH (as the symbol for one on a map) or CE (as in Church of England) so in this case, SOURCE stops short - i.e. you drop the church bit CE off the end.

3 is NUTBROWN

Teachers= NUT
WORN out means an anagram of WORN (the word 'out' often indicates an anagram)
Restraining Blockhead- the head of the word BLOCK gives you the B, whicj is restrained by the other letters
The defintion is hazel.

8 - MINOR
The space station is MIR and you put NO (abbreviation of number) inside.

I'd second the recommendation of Fifteen Squared.

As well as the Quiptic, the Observer Everyman on a Sunday is a good starter crossword.

This thread reminds me of the famous words of Victor Meldrew, after he failed to solve any clues on a cryptic crossword: "I don't seem to be able to do the crossword today as I appear to be temporarily out of mind-bending drugs."

Thanks al!!!

Really helpful.

Bit annoyed with myself for missing the anagrams (though didn't know "out" was an indicator).

I'm not sure I'll ever manage the homophones. I just don't get them - think I've got the wrong accent 😂. That's my excuse for not getting the NUT - I'm not in the UK so don't think of it. 😄

It's a Daily Mail book @PeriMerry - l had used the Telegraph learn how to - but was getting a train and it was slim pickings for cryptic crossword books so ended up with Daily Mail. Total baffled with the above.

Yes - do the minute cryptic each day. Really like it 👍

Minute Cryptic have published a book. Highly recommend you get a copy as it really helps.

I'm reopening my thread because I'm still attempting the puzzles daily and improving (extremely) slowly. Where I finally admit to myself I can't get the answer I'll look it up - and can reverse engineer it (sometimes, admittedly even this takes a while!)

Anyway I've just got one and I'm at a to
lost!! I could maybe see why part of it but not fully understanding how it results in the answer.

If anyone can explain it to me I'll be grateful.

It's an across clue and I had an R as the second letter of the first word and an R as the fourth letter of the second word

? R ? ? ? ? ? ? ? R ? ? ? ?

Campbell replaces Les in next King's "An Ideal Husband"? (6,8)

I've edited out the answer in case anyone wants to try work it out themselves. But you can check if you want 😃

Ming (Campbell) replaces the ‘les’ of Prince Charles, who was the ‘next king’, and Prince Charming is supposedly the ideal husband of fairytales etc.

Ah brilliant - so simple when you know 😂

To make excuse for myself, I'm not from Britain and I've have got to Ming Cambell (only Cambell in my thought was Alastair - and that wasn't helpful!)

I’m not from the UK either — I was just thinking of famous Campells and how they might relate to the rest of the clue. I’m terribly hit and miss at cryptics, though!