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).

Types of clue

Pure cryptic

The original cryptic clue, more commonly known as a double entendre or cryptic definition. Clues of this sort appeared in "straight" crosswords before cryptic crosswords existed. Here the clue appears to say one thing, but with a slight shift of viewpoint it says another. For example:

Related Topics:
Double entendre - Cryptic definition

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:A word of praise? (8)

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would give the answer ALLELUIA, a word used by Christians to praise God, but not what first springs to mind on reading the clue. Notice the question mark - this is often (though by no means always) used by compilers to indicate this sort of clue is one where you need to interpret the words in a different fashion. The way that a clue reads as an ordinary sentence is called its surface reading and is often used to disguise the need for a different interpretation of the clue's component words.

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Another one might be:

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:The flower of London? (6)

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which gives THAMES, a flow-er of London. Here, the surface reading suggests a flower, which disguises the fact that the name of a river is required.

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This type of clue rarely appears in American cryptics, but is common in British cryptics.

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Double definition

A clue may, rather than having a definition part and a wordplay part, have two definition parts. Thus

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: Not seeing window covering (5)

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would have the answer BLIND, because both "not seeing" and "window covering" can mean blind. Note that since these definitions come from the same root word, an American magazine might not allow this clue. American double definitions tend to require both parts to come from different roots, like in this clue:

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: Equip in a flexible manner (6)

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This takes advantage of the two very different meanings (and pronunciations) of SUPPLY, the one with the long "I" sound at the end meaning "equip" and the one with the long "E" sound at the end meaning "in a flexible manner."

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These clues tend to be short; in particular, two-word clues are almost always double definition clues.

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Hidden words

This is when the answer appears in the clue, but it is hidden within one or more words. For example:

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:Found ermine, deer hides damaged (10)

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gives UNDERMINED, which means (or could mean - sometimes definitions are a little shaky) "damaged" and can be found as part of "Found ermine deer". The word "hides" is used to mean "contains," but in the surface sense suggests "pelts".

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Possible indicators of a hidden clue are "in part", "partially", "in", "within", "hides", "conceals", and "held by".

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Another example:

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:Introduction to do-gooder canine (3)

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gives DOG, which is the first part of, or "introduction to", the word "do-gooder", and means "canine".

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Reversals

A word that gets turned around to make another is a reversal. For example:

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:Returned beer fit for a king (5)

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The answer is REGAL. "Lager" (i.e., "beer") is "returned" to make regal.

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Other indicator words include "receding", "in the mirror", "going the wrong way", "to the left" or "left" (for across clues), and "rising" or "overturned" (for down clues).

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Hidden backwards

Sometimes the above two clue types are combined. A word may be hidden backwards, such as in the clue:

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:Cruel to turn part of internet torrid (6)

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The answer to this clue is ROTTEN. The phrase "to turn" indicates "to reverse," and "part of" suggests a piece of "internet torrid".

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"Charade" clues

Here the answer is formed by joining individually clued words to make a larger word (namely, the answer).

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For example:

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:Outlaw leader managing money (7)

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The answer is BANKING formed by BAN for "outlaw" and KING for "leader". The definition is "managing money". With this example, the words go next to each other in the clue as they do in the answer - it isn't specifically indicated. However, where the parts go in relation to others is sometimes indicated with words like "against", "after", "with" or (in a down clue) "above".

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Containers

A container clue puts one set of letters inside another. So:

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:Perfume cloth seen in European nation (9)

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gives FRAGRANCE, placing "rag" ("cloth") inside "france" ("European nation").

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Other container indicators are "around," "clutching," "enters," and the like.

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Homophones

Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings, such as "night" and "knight". Homophone clues always have an indicator word or phrase that has to do with phonetics, such as "reportedly", "they say", "vocal", "to the audience", and "is heard".

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An example of a homophone clue is

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:We hear twins shave (4)

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which is a clue for PARE, which means "shave" and is a homophone of pair, or "twins". The homophone is indicated by "we hear".

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If the words are the same length, the homophone indicator is always adjacent to the word that is not the answer; therefore, in the previous example, "we hear" was adjacent to "twins" and the answer was pare rather than pair. The indicator could come between the words if they were of different lengths and the enumeration was given, such as in the case of "right" and "rite".

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Deletions

Deletions consist of beheadments, curtailments, and internal deletions. In beheadments, a word loses its first letter. In curtailments, it loses its last letter, and internal deletions remove an inner letter, such as the middle one.

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An example of a beheadment:

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:Beheaded celebrity is sailor (3)

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The answer would be TAR, another word for "sailor", which is a "celebrity", or star, without the first letter.

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Other indicator words of beheadment include "don't start", "topless", and "after the first".

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An example of curtailment:

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:Shout, "Read!" endlessly (3)

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The answer is BOO. If you ignore the punctuation, a book is a "read", and book "endlessly" is boo, a "shout".

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Other indicators include "nearly" and "unfinished".

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An example of internal deletion:

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:Challenging sweetheart heartlessly (6)

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The answer is DARING, which means "challenging", and is darling without its middle letter, or "heartlessly".

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Combination clues

A clue may employ more than one method of wordplay. For example:

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:Illustrious baron returns in pit (9)

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The answer is HONORABLE. "Baron" "returns", or is reversed, and put inside "pit" or hole, to make honorable, or "illustrious".

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"& lit."

A rare clue type is the "& lit." clue, standing for "and literally so". In this case, both the wordplay and the definition halves are the same. This is always indicated by an exclamation point at the end of the clue. For example:

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:God incarnate, essentially! (4)

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The answer is ODIN. The Norse god Odin is hidden in "god incarnate," as clued by "essentially," but the definition of Odin is also the whole clue, as Odin is essentially a God incarnate.

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