4 October 2026 — 10 clues, easiest first. Answers overleaf.
Mate within twinkle before bedtime stories (4)
4 · Hidden word · difficulty 1/5
Hoax from duper without end (4)
4 · Deletion · difficulty 2/5
Gem as southeast clutching weight (5)
5 · Container · difficulty 2/5
Bound amazing decent looking yes, at first — ill (5)
5 · Letter selection · difficulty 2/5
Swagger in crazy garb (4)
4 · Anagram · difficulty 2/5
Banner with a change from B to M means style (6)
6 · Substitution · difficulty 2/5
Jump unknown mum bus outcome initially — aircraft (5)
5 · Letter selection · difficulty 2/5
Church sounds like parrish (6)
6 · Homophone · difficulty 3/5
Patty with a change of heart from T to S goes gummy (5)
5 · Substitution · difficulty 3/5
Walk with an awkward gait (7)
7 · Double definition · difficulty 3/5
Answers & explanations
TWIN(4)
Nursery hush when one more page is bargained for. Within lifts TWIN from twinkle — mate, a paired other. Soft lamp, cocoa steam and a stuffed rabbit turn the hide into evening ritual rather than a labelled star-word drill.
DUPE(4)
Fairground stall when the bunting still flaps. Without end sheds the final R of duper, leaving DUPE. Hoax is the trick sense — to dupe the crowd. Soft candyfloss and a bent coin cloak the dock as showman's aside rather than a labelled deletion of the agent noun.
STONE(5)
Jeweller's bench when the loupe still fogs. Weight maps to TON; southeast is SE and clutches it — S(TON)E. Gem is the stone reading. Soft velvet and a lukewarm lamp sell the container as workshop aside rather than a compass lecture.
BADLY(5)
Ill is the definition. Taking the first letter of each word in the clue gives BADLY.
BRAG(4)
Swagger is the definition — boastful display or brag. Crazy anagrams garb into that short verb. Outlandish clothing as the setting for showing off makes an easy, fashionable surface, and the letters are friendly enough for a quick win.
MANNER(6)
Flag softens into a fashion. Style is manner; banner with a change turns B into M, giving MANNER.
JUMBO(5)
Holiday farce: jump with unknown mum, then the bus outcome. Initial letters of jump unknown mum bus outcome make J-U-M-B-O. Aircraft is the definition — a jumbo jet — while the travel mishap does the letter work.
PARISH(6)
Village green when the bells still fade. Church is the parish sense — the local flock. Sounds like tips you that parrish is spoken as PARISH. Soft yew shade and a lukewarm thermos cloak the surname spelling as neighbour chatter while the ear settles the answer.
PASTY(5)
Burger cake turns sticky. Gummy is pasty; patty with a change of heart replaces T with S, giving PASTY.
STUMBLE(7)
Near-pair DD: stumble as an awkward gait, and stumble as to walk unsteadily. Same seven letters, slight stagger.
About this page
Last updated 2026-10-04
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 4 October 2026 with their device and difficulty, plus links to the previous and next published sets
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