A Deep Dive into the Crossword Clue: Furniture made from Belfast stone (4,2,6)
Hello, fellow solvers!
Every so often, a crossword clue comes along that feels like a perfectly locked door. You have the key—the letters, the enumeration, the conventions of the puzzle—but it takes a moment of pure focus to find the keyhole. For me, this week’s showstopper was a cryptic gem that looked deceptively simple on the surface:
Furniture made from Belfast stone (4,2,6)
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At first glance, the mind immediately wanders down a geological path. Belfast stone? My brain started flicking through its internal rolodex of rocks. Is it a type of granite? A specific kind of basalt from the Giant’s Causeway, perhaps? The clue clearly points to a piece of furniture, so are we looking for a stone bench? A marble table? The (4,2,6) enumeration, however, quickly throws a spanner in those works. It’s hard to imagine a common type of stone furniture that fits that specific three-word pattern.
This, right here, is the beauty of a well-crafted crossword clue. The setter has laid a trap, a delightful garden path designed to lead us astray. When the literal interpretation of a clue hits a dead end, it’s time to put on our cryptic thinking caps. Let’s dissect this puzzle.
The first part of any cryptic crossword clue is finding the definition. What is the answer, fundamentally? The clue tells us outright: it’s “Furniture.” The solution we are looking for, the final entry into our grid, will be a type of furniture that fits a (4,2,6) pattern. We can put that piece of information aside as our ultimate destination.
Now for the second part, the wordplay. This is where the magic happens. We are left with “made from Belfast stone.” The phrase “made from” can sometimes be an indicator, but let’s focus on the core components: “Belfast stone.” If it’s not a literal material, what could it be?
This is the point in solving where you take a step back and look at the raw materials the setter has given you. Forget geology. Forget carpentry. Look at the letters themselves.
B-E-L-F-A-S-T-S-T-O-N-E.
Count them. Twelve letters in total. Now look at our enumeration again: (4,2,6). Four plus two plus six equals… twelve. The moment that realisation dawns is one of pure, unadulterated crossword joy. The light bulb doesn’t just flicker; it floods the room.
This crossword clue isn’t about geology at all. It’s a classic, beautifully disguised anagram. The setter is instructing us to take the letters of “Belfast stone” and rearrange them—“make” them, if you will—into a three-word phrase meaning “furniture.” The challenge is no longer about obscure Irish quarries, but about linguistic alchemy. Your task is to unscramble those twelve letters into a familiar piece of furniture.
It’s an elegant piece of misdirection that transforms a seemingly geographical query into a delightful vocabulary puzzle. This is what separates a good crossword clue from a great one. It plays with your expectations, sends you on a wild goose chase, and then reveals a solution that was hiding in plain sight the entire time. Now, with that insight, take another look at the letters. The answer is waiting in that jumble, ready to click satisfyingly into place. Happy solving
Available Answers:
NESTOFTABLES.
Last seen on the crossword puzzle: Metro Cryptic Crossword Clues Thursday, 20 November 2025