Help with the clue you’re stuck on

Only Solve a clue: clues you paste in from your own crossword, or anywhere else. The daily clue, the weekly mini, practice clues, the guides, clues by other players and writing your own clues (3 checks a month) are all free, and none of them use a clue.

One clue you paste into Solve a clue, opened in full: every hint, and the answer if you want it. We used to call these goes; it's the same thing. Your recent opened clues are free to reopen; see ‘Do clues expire?’ below for the limit. Your first clue is free, and a new account gets 2 more free clues when you sign in.

On Monthly, a clue we've already explained for another solver doesn't count towards your limit. A clue we haven’t explained before uses one of the 40 in your fair-use allowance for the month. For example, 10 clues we’ve already explained plus 2 we haven’t uses 2 of your 40. A clue pack covers 25 clues, whether we've explained them before or not. Your recent opened clues are free to reopen on either plan, even after your subscription ends or your pack runs out; see ‘Do clues expire?’ below for the limit.

When you write a clue, we check it parses by solving it blind. Every account gets 3 clue checks a month; Monthly gets 10 clue checks a month. Once they're used, you can use a clue from Monthly or a clue pack (not a free clue) for an extra check: on Monthly, one from your fair-use allowance for the month, then any from a pack. The button tells you when a check will use a clue. It uses the clue even if the check doesn't pass, and we give it back if we couldn't run the check.

Yes, any time, from your account page. You keep access until the end of the period you've paid for and won't be charged again; we don't refund part-periods.

Sales are final once you have access. Packs, plans and gifts are digital content, and before checkout you tick that you want it straight away, so the 14-day right to cancel no longer applies. If something goes wrong (charged twice, didn't get what you paid for, or it doesn't work as described) we'll put it right: restore your clues, extend your plan or refund you. An unredeemed gift code can be refunded within 14 days on request.

Pick 25 clues or 3 months of Monthly. We'll give you a code to pass on, or email it to them on the day you choose, with your message. They sign in to redeem it at crypticinkling.co.uk/redeem. Codes last two years, and gifted months don't renew.

If we're not sure about a clue, we say so. That didn't use a clue. If something still looks off, tap “Something off? Tell us” and we'll take a look.

Unused clues in a pack never expire. Monthly's fair-use allowance of 40 refreshes each calendar month and doesn't roll over. Your most recent 2,000 opened clues stay free to reopen, even after your plan ends or your pack runs out. Older clues may use your allowance again.