Item initially dispensed by server! (5)
The Minute Cryptic clue “Item initially dispensed by server!” (5) was set for Sunday, September 6, 2026. Below is the answer — blurred until you tap — followed by the definition, the wordplay and why the letters land where they do.
Item initially dispensed by server!
(5)
No spoilers — the answer stays blurred until you tap.
The clue, colour-coded
How this clue works
The definition
Item initially dispensed by server!
This clue is an &lit, meaning that the whole clue is both definition and wordplay. So, our definition here is something that a server might initially dispense.The wordplay
Item + server
This clue's fodder is 'Item' and 'server'. We'll need to find a synonym for one of these and use it with one or more letters from the other to construct our answer, as guided by the clue's indicator(s).The answer
The clue reads “Item initially dispensed by server!” (5). The definition part — “Item initially dispensed by server!” — points straight at WATER, and the rest of the clue builds it with deletion wordplay.
Minute Cryptic publishes a short walkthrough for this clue — watch Rusty Lee’s own explanation →
What WATER means
A substance (of molecular formula H₂O) found at room temperature and pressure as a clear liquid; it is present naturally as rain, and found in rivers, lakes and seas; its solid form is ice and its gaseous form is steam.
“By the action of electricity, the water was resolved into its two parts, oxygen and hydrogen.”The aforementioned liquid, considered one of the Classical elements or basic elements of alchemy.
“And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.”body of water, water supply, water system, h2o
This clue’s puzzle day
This clue was the Minute Cryptic for Sunday, September 6, 2026. Open the September 6, 2026 puzzle page for that day’s write-up, or browse the full Minute Cryptic archive.