Cryptic crossword

Cryptic crosswords are a particular type of crossword which have become widely popular in the UK, and several other Commonwealth nations such as Australia, New Zealand and India. Each individual clue is a word puzzle in and of itself (often involving anagrams).

Abbreviations in clues

Abbreviations are popular with crossword compilers for clueing individual letters or short sections of the answer.

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Consider the following clue:

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:About to come between little Desmond and worker for discourse (7)

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There are two abbreviations used here. "About" is abbreviated "c" (for "circa") and "little Desmond" indicates the diminutive of Desmond, namely DES, is required. The "c" is "to come between" DES and ANT (a worker - note that compilers also use "worker" to stand for BEE or HAND), giving DESCANT, which means "discourse".

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Compilers make use of a large number of these crossword abbreviations.

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