The Guardian Cryptic puzzle clues 2026 May 20

• A fibre carpet used to make flatpack kit, say (12) Crossword Clue
• Cat circling a rocking lead vocalist's equipment (6) Crossword Clue
• Cheers one who'd expect to be paid to be an MP? (6) Crossword Clue
• Church head one books into rave for a game (8) Crossword Clue
• Cynically proposing futile measures - a 'two-fingered salute' way of governing? (7,8) Crossword Clue
• End cut off cob stuffed with Parmesan cheese (10) Crossword Clue
• Expert: 'Nessie is mostly brass' (8) Crossword Clue
• Fancy knocking off leader for paper? (4) Crossword Clue
• Foul's legal - linesman's heading off (5) Crossword Clue
• Frame in which beauty pageant winner appears? (4) Crossword Clue
• Light material suffering more snags if not new (8) Crossword Clue
• Lulu's half escaping depression in the old city (6) Crossword Clue
• Lyricist dancing - time for one very popular show (8) Crossword Clue
• Marine fish in abandoned clay (4) Crossword Clue
• Mark's house settlement's not finished (9) Crossword Clue
• Notice soldiers pinching one's bottom (9) Crossword Clue
• Nut-covered Latin dish (4) Crossword Clue
• Official Aussie pick-up counter (6) Crossword Clue
• Opera section with city situation (8) Crossword Clue
• Oval's pitch initially breaking up till ice melted (8) Crossword Clue
• Putting two lots of uranium into affected corpuscles is dim! (12) Crossword Clue
• Safe getting hot as Venus in the Louvre (8) Crossword Clue
• Sushi: meant to be prepared with relish (10) Crossword Clue
• US state not allowed to mock (5) Crossword Clue
• Very into fancy lingerie but right off sweet-talk (8) Crossword Clue
• Wonder if a motorhome's possessed by a Spice girl? (6) Crossword Clue
• Wow, performing with a cigar! (6) Crossword Clue