Crossword Challenge Puzzle 709 Clues and Answers
This page covers all 31 clues of Crossword Challenge Puzzle 709, an 8×10 grid that mixes picture clues with short word clues.
11 of the 31 answers are one or two letters long. 5 clues are pictures, and 5 of those ask you to fill the gaps in a word printed on the image; 3 clues want only the initials of the clue words; 3 want just the first letter of a single word; 2 clues are fill-ins, and 1 of them needs only the missing letters. The longest answer runs 9 letters and belongs to “Curious thinking”.
Here is the shortcut for Puzzle 709: read the first letters of the top-row answers and you get the answer to “Court observer”. Read the first letters down the left edge and you get the answer to “Curious thinking”. One of those two words unlocks the first letter of 15 others.
Hints and answers, clue by clue
Clues look the way they do in the game. Tap Hint for a nudge or Answer to see the letters. The fully solved grid is below the hints.
Top row
These sit along the top edge and every answer runs down.
CURIOUS THINKING
1Curious thinking
Top row 1/7 · 9 letters · down
W _ _ D _ _ I _ _. The sixth square is also part of “Pity”.
WONDERING
DOING NOTHING
2Doing nothing
Top row 2/7 · 4 letters · down
Fits I _ _ _. “Nether-lands” crosses it at the third square.
IDLE
dona-
3Picture clue
Top row 3/7 · 2 letters · down
Work out the object in the picture, then drop the part already written on it (“dona-”). What is left starts with T.
TE
BEFORE O
4Before o
Top row 4/7 · 1 letter · down
Step one letter back from O in the alphabet.
N
AHEAD OF TIME
5Ahead of time
Top row 5/7 · 5 letters · down
Shape: E _ _ L _. “Lucifer” crosses it at the fourth square.
EARLY
___ LANKA
6___ LANKA
Top row 6/7 · 3 letters · down
Which word finishes “___ LANKA”? It fits S _ _.
SRI
ANY RANDOM OBJECT
7Any random object
Top row 7/7 · 9 letters · down
Begins with S. Solving “Left hand” first gives you its sixth letter.
SOMETHING
Left column
These sit down the left edge and every answer runs across.
COURT OBSERVER
8Court observer
Left column 1/9 · 7 letters · across
Shape: W _ _ N _ _ S. The fifth square is also part of “Ahead of time”.
WITNESS
barc-
9Lyric poem
Left column 2/9 · 3 letters · across
Picture word minus “barc” gives the answer. First letter: O.
ODE
NETHER-LANDS
10Nether-lands
Left column 3/9 · 2 letters · across
Abbreviate “Nether-lands” to its initials.
NL
LUCIFER
11Lucifer
Left column 4/9 · 5 letters · across
Starts with D; pattern D _ _ I _. The fourth square is also part of “Cramped”.
DEVIL
ELEGANT
12Elegant
Left column 5/9 · 1 letter · across
Just the opening letter of Elegant.
E
PITY
13Pity
Left column 6/9 · 4 letters · across
Starts with R; pattern R _ _ _. Check the third letter against “Animal doctor”.
RUTH
-stall
14Picture clue
Left column 7/9 · 2 letters · across
Picture word minus “stall” gives the answer. First letter: I.
IN
mo-
15Last degree
Left column 8/9 · 3 letters · across
Say what the picture shows. “mo-” is printed on it, and the dashes are the letters you type. Starts with N.
NTH
LEAVES
16Leaves
Left column 9/9 · 4 letters · across
G _ _ _. Check the third letter against “Not she”.
GOES
Inside the grid
Split squares hold two clues: the top half runs across, the bottom half runs down.
___MATIC
17___MATIC
Row 3, col 5 · 3 letters · across
Fill the gap in “___MATIC”, but leave out the letters already shown. Starts with A.
ARO
CRAMPED
18Cramped
Row 3, col 5 · 5 letters · down
Begins with T. Solving “Pity” first gives you its fourth letter.
TIGHT
CUT DOWN
19Cut down
Row 4, col 4 · 4 letters · across
Fits T _ _ _. The third square is also part of “___ LANKA”.
TRIM
ANIMAL DOCTOR
20Animal doctor
Row 4, col 4 · 3 letters · down
Starts with V; pattern V _ _. The third square is also part of “Pity”.
VET
EXAM
21Exam
Row 5, col 7 · 1 letter · across
Exam starts with the answer.
E
SIMPLE
22Simple
Row 5, col 7 · 5 letters · down
P _ _ I _. Check the fourth letter against “Blood relative”.
PLAIN
PYRAMIDS' LOCATION
23Pyramids' location
Row 6, col 3 · 5 letters · across
Fits E _ _ P _. Check the fourth letter against “Simple”.
EGYPT
TO A PERSON
24To a person
Row 6, col 3 · 4 letters · down
Fits U _ _ _. Check the third letter against the picture clue in the left column.
UNTO
LEFT HAND
25Left hand
Row 7, col 6 · 2 letters · across
Shorten the clue to its first letters: 2 squares.
LH
HONG KONG
26Hong kong
Row 7, col 6 · 2 letters · down
Initials: the first letter of each word in “Hong kong”.
HK
ASIAN CUISINE
27Asian cuisine
Row 8, col 4 · 4 letters · across
Begins with T. The third square is also part of “Simple”.
THAI
NOT SHE
28Not she
Row 8, col 4 · 2 letters · down
Begins with H. Solving “Leaves” first gives you its second letter.
HE
BLOOD RELATIVE
29Blood relative
Row 9, col 5 · 3 letters · across
Begins with K. Solving “Any random object” first gives you its third letter.
KIN
SPORT
30Sport
Row 9, col 5 · 1 letter · down
Sport starts with the answer.
S
boxi-
31Not great
Row 10, col 6 · 2 letters · across
Say what the picture shows. “boxi-” is printed on it, and the dashes are the letters you type. Starts with N.
NG
Crossword Challenge Level 709 Solved Grid
Hide the letters to check your own board against the empty grid.
Next puzzles
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Puzzle 709 solved
Thanks for working through Puzzle 709 with us. Puzzle 710 is next, with 30 clues on a 8×10 board.