The Guardian Crossword September 16 2026 Answers

Wednesday puzzle · 63 clues · ✓ All answers verified

Below are all the The Guardian Crossword September 16 2026 answers. The Wednesday puzzle has 63 clues; every answer has been verified. Click any clue to see every answer it has ever had, across every publisher in our database.

Also solved on September 16

Across

Click a clue for every answer it has ever had
ClueAnswerLettersDirection#
Lacking colour in the cheeks (4)PALE4Across1 Sash worn with tuxedo, say (10)CUMMERBUND10Across1 Oceangoing vessel (5)LINER5Across5 East ___ (5)ENDER5Across6 Gauged amount of wetness? (8)RAINFALL8Across7 Stress and smoking, eg (5)AGERS5Across7 Rolling pad? (7)CARAVAN7Across7 Country lover in threesome caught by postman (7)PATRIOT7Across8 Orchestral instrument (4)TUBA4Across8 Brouhaha (4)FUSS4Across8 Will the author flog incomplete bit of fiction? (4)SELF4Across9 Bird – toy (4)KITE4Across9 Cheese type (7)GRUYERE7Across10 Artificial glow in hole, naked flame ahead (9)LAMPLIGHT9Across10 Incantation (11)ABRACADABRA11Across12 Backs off homeward rapidly after scoundrel leaves box? (5)CADDY5Across12 Ran over, captivated by Tony’s forbidden sweetheart, saucy thing! (8)MARINARA8Across13 Poorly built (7)RICKETY7Across14 Draw is as much as bowler can take, perhaps, losing heart (4)HAUL4Across15 Nation with beer – ultimately Brains (5)WALES5Across16 Barrier between drink and drinker (4)CORK4Across16 Hutch, partner to Lacey, leaving New York (4)CAGE4Across17 Resign, depressed after returning beloved animals (4,4)STEPDOWN8Across18 Song (4)ARIA4Across19 Famous prison (8)ALCATRAZ8Across20 Clichéd rabbit straddling lover’s rear (5)CORNY5Across20 Small flat (4-1-5)PIEDATERRE10Across21 Those out-of-town rush trails – rambling but not hard (9)RURALISTS9Across21 Maybe Skye lies elaborately (4)ISLE4Across22 Warnings of danger from almost defeated Tories (7)BEACONS7Across24 Sounded like a sheep audible at Edgbaston trapped inside somewhere? (7)BLEATED7Across25

Down

ClueAnswerLettersDirection#
Old motor starter? (5)CRANK5Down1 It could be rock, marble or maybe even mud?! (4)CAKE4Down1 Igloo-dwelling animated avian (5)PINGU5Down1 ‘Backbone’ of S America (5)ANDES5Down2 Lifted part of chrysalid off a dying flower (8)DAFFODIL8Down2 Huge (7)MONSTER7Down2 Cheese type (4)EDAM4Down3 Cwm venue cleared out to welcome everyone back from Hay (6)VALLEY6Down3 Lascivious looks (5)LEERS5Down3 European capital (8)BELGRADE8Down4 After capsizing, criticise involving fat swimmers (8)MALLARDS8Down4 Proves one is human? (4)ERRS4Down4 ‘Take a ___ out of my book’ (4)LEAF4Down5 Smart (5)NATTY5Down5 Doctor – in the past Neath’s top fire-breather (6)DRAGON6Down5 Peninsula (6)IBERIA6Down6 Drink and drugs masking onset of rheumatism (4)PORT4Down6 Stifled complaints when flashy jewellery confiscated by parents (9)MUMBLINGS9Down11 Part of the UK (8)SCOTLAND8Down11 Players receiving nothing for progress without much effort (5)COAST5Down12 Home for our feathered friends (6)AVIARY6Down12 Extra jab? (7)BOOSTER7Down13 Sport wig, covering for baldy (5)RUGBY5Down14 Military cloth (5)KHAKI5Down15 Odd lawn cultivated around old group of trees (8)WOODLAND8Down16 Rapscallion (5)KNAVE5Down17 Dressing up Cain with drag clothing (8)CARDIGAN8Down17 Short tail (4)SCUT4Down18 Crime quick, taking in Inland Revenue (6)PIRACY6Down19 Shy exhausted little rook? (6)CASTLE6Down20 Big Bird runs, hearty, but half-cut (4)RHEA4Down21 National emblem in France, the ‘Disheartened Deer’ (4)LEEK4Down23

About this puzzle

This page lists every clue and answer from the The Guardian crossword published on Wednesday, September 16, 2026. Answers are checked against the completed grid before publishing. If a clue looks familiar, open it — the same wording often runs in other puzzles with a different answer, and the clue page shows every version we have on record.