Cryptic Crossword (Metro)

About Cryptic Crossword (Metro)

Metro is the free UK newspaper handed out on commuter trains and buses, and its puzzle pages have long carried a quick crossword and a cryptic one. The Cryptic Crossword sits on metro.co.uk's Puzzles section beside the Quick Crossword, Word Wheel, Hangman and three levels of sudoku, and each puzzle carries a running number, past ten thousand by autumn 2026.

A day's puzzle is a 13 by 13 grid with across clues on one side and down clues on the other. Every clue is a small cryptic riddle: one end gives an ordinary definition of the answer, and the rest builds the same letters another way, through anagrams, hidden words, reversals, containers and charades. The number in brackets gives the length of each word in the answer. You click a square or a clue, type the letters, and work outward from the answers you are sure of, using the crossing letters to crack the harder clues.

The page has a Rules button that explains how cryptic clues work, a Hint button for when you are stuck, a Check button that marks wrong letters, and a timer you can pause. On a phone an on-screen keyboard appears under the grid. When you finish, the page shows your time and offers to share the puzzle with friends.

Solver sites tend to rate Metro's cryptic at the gentler end of British daily cryptics, which makes it a good step for solvers who are comfortable with quick crosswords and want to learn cryptic clues before trying the Times or the Guardian. It is free with adverts on the page; Metro also sells a Puzzles+ subscription with extra weekend puzzles and prize competitions, which this crossword does not need.

How to play Cryptic Crossword (Metro)

1. Open the Cryptic Crossword on metro.co.uk; the day's grid loads with the across clues on the left and the down clues on the right.
2. Pick a clue or click a white square to highlight the entry it belongs to.
3. Read the clue for a definition at its start or end, and use the rest of the clue's wordplay to build the same answer.
4. Type the answer letter by letter, matching the lengths given in brackets.
5. Use crossing letters from solved answers to help with the harder clues, and press Hint or Check if you get stuck.
6. Fill every square correctly to finish and see your solving time.

Tips

• Start with the short clues and look for anagram indicators such as words meaning broken, mixed or confused, then count the letters against the bracket.
• A hidden word is often signalled by words like some, partly or in: the answer may be written straight across the clue's own words.
• Use the Rules button if you are new to cryptics; it sets out the clue types the puzzle uses.
• Pause the timer when you step away, then come back to the clues you skipped with fresh eyes.

Questions