A free 5×5 cryptic-style mini you can solve in your browser today — a brisk warm-up if you usually tackle the full daily cryptic. Our daily mini is a hand-curated 5×5 grid with a small built-in Check button, optional letter or word reveal, and a quiet on-page timer.
Cryptic Crossword
A classic 5×5 word square: every row also reads as a word down its column.
Across
- 1 Vital organ
- 6 Camp coal
- 7 Mistreatment
- 8 Resinous
- 9 Direction
Down
- 1 City’s ___
- 2 Glow leftover
- 3 Misuse
- 4 Pine product
- 5 Vogue
How to play
Click any white cell to start typing. Press Space or Tab to switch between Across and Down. The Check button marks wrong letters in red without revealing the right ones; Reveal letter fills the current cell if you’re stuck on a single square. Your progress isn’t sent anywhere — it stays in your browser.
About cryptic crosswords
A cryptic clue has two parts: a straight definition and a piece of wordplay (anagram, hidden word, container, reversal, etc.) that points at the same answer. Our daily 5×5 mini uses cryptic-style clues that are gentler than the Saturday Guardian — perfect if you’re learning the conventions.
Tips for a quick solve
- Start with the across clues that look easiest. A single confident letter usually unlocks two downs.
- Vowels first. E and A are by far the most common letters in 5×5 minis; Q, X and Z almost never appear.
- Use Check, don’t guess. The Check button is free and won’t penalise you.
- Switch direction with Space. Faster than clicking around.
About today’s puzzle
Today’s grid is the quick clue set on a classic 5×5 word square. Every row also reads as a word when you read it down its column — a tighter construction than most daily minis and a satisfying warm-up before you tackle a cryptic.
More crosswords on Civic Maple
- Crossword hub — all our daily puzzles
- Mini Crossword — today’s 5×5
- The Civic Maple Briefing — Canadian news in your inbox every weekday morning