Evening Standard Quick Crossword Answers
Pick today's puzzle to see the full solved grid, or browse the past week with one tap. Every Quick crossword answer the Evening Standard has ever published, kept in a clean searchable archive.
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Today's puzzleThe last 7 Quick crosswords
Tap any date to open that day's solved grid.
About the Evening Standard Quick crossword
The Evening Standard Quick crossword is the breeziest of London's daily three. It's published every weekday morning alongside the Easy and the Cryptic and is built for one purpose: a satisfying solve in two to five minutes flat. Perfect for the commute, the coffee queue, or that brief pause between calls.
Clues are pure dictionary definitions — mostly one or two words long, with no wordplay tricks. Convince wants ASSURE. Paramour wants LOVER. Submissive wants DOCILE. You either know the synonym or you don't, and the satisfaction is in the speed.
The grid is a standard 13×13 with roughly 23 across and 19 down clues. Answers run from three letters (Sick → ILL, Lair → DEN) up to nine (Clogged → CONGESTED). The trick to a sub-three-minute solve is not staring at any single clue — keep moving, fill what comes immediately, and circle back.
Standard Crosswords keeps a complete daily archive of every Quick puzzle the Evening Standard has published, going back to 2018. You can browse by date or look up a one-word clue with our search to read the breakdown on any individual answer page.
How to solve the Quick crossword
Four habits that turn a Quick crossword into a sub-three-minute solve.
Sweep the grid for instant hits
On the first pass, only fill the clues you know the second you read them. Sick is ILL, Tin is CAN, Lair is DEN. Skip anything that needs even a moment's thought. The crossing letters will help on pass two.
Trust the enumeration
A four-letter answer for Throw is TOSS, not HURL. A five-letter Heron is EGRET, not CRANE. Let the number in brackets eliminate the wrong synonyms before you've finished thinking of them.
Use crossing letters aggressively
Quick crosswords have dense intersections. As soon as you've filled three or four answers, every remaining clue probably has a letter or two already in place. Read those letters before you read the clue.
Keep a quick-clue library
Quick crosswords recycle classics: Heron → EGRET, Skirmish → MELEE, Lettuce → COS. Spotting these instantly is half the speed game. The more you solve, the bigger your mental library gets.
Frequently asked questions
What time is the Evening Standard Quick crossword published?
The Evening Standard publishes a fresh Quick crossword every weekday morning, typically online by 06:00 UK time. Our mirror lifts the puzzle and posts the full answers around 01:22 UK time the following morning, so yesterday's solutions are ready before the day even starts.
Is the Quick crossword easier than the Easy?
Yes — the Quick is the simplest of the Evening Standard's three daily crosswords. It uses only dictionary definitions, with no wordplay at all. The Easy adds a sprinkle of light wordplay (simple anagrams, hidden words). The Cryptic uses the full British cryptic toolkit.
How long should a Quick crossword take to solve?
An experienced solver clears a Quick in two to five minutes. Newer solvers might take eight to ten on their first few attempts. The Quick is built to be the fastest of the three Evening Standard puzzles — if it's taking you longer than fifteen minutes, the Easy might be a more rewarding pick.
How big is the grid?
The Evening Standard Quick crossword is a standard 13×13 British-style grid with roughly 42 clues per puzzle, typically 23 across and 19 down. Same overall footprint as the Easy and Cryptic but with shorter answers on average.
Are answers from previous days available?
Yes. Standard Crosswords keeps a complete archive of every Quick crossword going back to early 2018. You'll find the last seven days on this page as quick links, and the full archive is searchable by clue text — type a one-word clue you've seen before and we'll surface the answer instantly.
Can I solve the Quick crossword for free?
Yes, completely free. The Evening Standard publishes the puzzle without a paywall, and Standard Crosswords mirrors the daily answers with no signup or subscription.
What if my answer fits the grid but doesn't match the clue?
Quick clues are short and synonyms can be ambiguous (Throw could be CAST, TOSS, HURL, FLING). If the letters fit and you've cross-checked the intersecting clues, you almost certainly have the right answer. Our individual clue pages show every other clue that has used the same answer, which can help confirm.