Solve of the Day
Minute Cryptic
Jul 28, 2026 · By Cory Calhoun
"Homeless? Say, you and I can trade places in deluxe retreat!" (6)
Definition
Our definition here is 'Homeless?', and the question mark is asking us to think outside the box. Our answer will be a word for a kind of homelessness.
Indicator
This clue's indicators are 'Say', 'can trade places in', and 'retreat'. One of these is a reversal indicator guiding us to make some fodder go back the other way. Another is a homophone indicator - we'll need to pronounce a neighbouring word and replace it with its soundalike. And a third is a kind of swapping indicator guiding us to swap one thing in some fodder for something else.
Fodder
This clue's fodder is 'you', 'I', and 'deluxe'. We'll need to replace one of these with a guided substitution and use it with the letters of the others to construct our answer, as guided by the clue's indicator(s)
The Answer
EXILED
Deep Dive & Strategy
Minute Cryptic
2026-07-27
Minute Cryptic 2026-07-28: Homeless? Say, you and I...
A deceptively chatty clue hides a neat code of sound, swaps, and reversal. The surface is a trap, but the mechanics snap together cleanly.