The Times How to Crack Cryptic Crosswords

CRYPTIC DEFINITION CLUE 1: He’s been known to pot the white (8)

Indicators for cryptic definitions:

The nature of this clue type is such that no indicator is ever given. It can be identified either from the fact that nothing in the clue looks like an indicator, and/or from the presence of a question mark. A tip is to look hard at words which have more than one meaning and then think below the surface. Otherwise, wait until some intersecting letters are available.

12. The novelty clue

From the inception of crypticity in crosswords, there have been innovative clues conforming to no single pattern which defy categorization into any of the preceding groups. These clues are often solved with extra pleasure.

The setter has found it possible to exploit coincidences or special features of a word. As with the cryptic definition type, the solver is asked to think laterally and throw away any misleading images created by the clue. In some rare circumstances when an especially novel idea is used, there may not even be a proper definition. There are more examples of the novelty clue in Chapter 8 (#litres_trial_promo) but, as a taster, here is one:

NOVELTY CLUE: Eccentric as three-quarters of the characters in Fiji? (5)

TOP TIP – CLUE FREQUENCY

Given the twelve clue types identified, which are the most commonly found? The answer to this is that frequency patterns vary according to setter and newspaper but that the additive, anagram, cryptic definition and sandwich types are the most common; they may indeed account for more than half the clues in many crosswords. It may help you to know that there are rarely more than two or three of the following types in any one puzzle: hidden, homophone, all-in-one, novelty, letter switch. As we shall see later, setters make use of more than one type of wordplay within any one clue so that, for example, a sandwich clue can include a reversal, a takeaway or an anagram element within it.

Letter selection indicators

Before moving on to solving clues, we have to consider how individual letters within clues are signposted. We have seen what sort of indicators go with what sort of clues; now we’ll take a look at another commonly used indicator which is essential to solving skills. Take this clue as an example:

ADDITIVE CLUE: Lettuce constituent of salad, primarily (3)

Experienced solvers would be immediately drawn towards the word primarily as it indicates that the first letter or (as in this case) letters of the preceding words are to be selected as building blocks to the solution. In more complex clues they could then be subject to further treatment, such as forming part of an anagram, but here they are used simply to form cos, the lettuce salad ingredient.

There are many alternative ways of showing that the first letter is to be manipulated in some way. Some of these indicators are: starter, lead, source, opening, top, introduction and so on. They may be extended to the plural form too with the use of, say, beginnings, foremost and heads. Note that bit of, part of and suchlike always indicate the first letter.

Naturally, other positions within words are indicated in a similar fashion. The last letter can be end, back, finally, tail and the middle letter centre, heart, and all of the inside letters of a word can be innards, contents, stuffing.

In their negative takeaway guise, they can be headless, unopened, failing to start; and empty signifies that the whole of the innards of a word is to be removed.

Overleaf are some examples of letter selection indicators at work:

TAKEAWAY CLUE: Endless industrial action in a Scandinavian port (4)

ADDITIVE CLUE: What’s tedious and instils such listlessness? Every second of this (5)

After a time, you will become familiar with looking beyond and through the surface meaning of a word doing duty as an indicator so that you realize what you are required to do to the relevant letter(s) or word(s).

Beware letter selection indicators that, depending on the setter’s policy, can do double or triple duty:

Endless: takeaway last letter only, or first and last letters.

Head: first letter, or takeaway first letter (in its sense of behead).

Cut: last letter takeaway, sandwich (inside type), anagram (in its slang sense of drunk).

Back: last letter, reversal.

Note that in the example below extremely indicates first and last letters, in some crosswords it can indicate the last letter only of the preceding word.

ADDITIVE CLUE: Robin’s slayer uses extremely sharp weapon (7)

There are examples of indicators throughout this book but it would take an impossibly large volume to include all those used. There are books which list more (as covered in Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo)) but even they are not comprehensive. The point to bear in mind is that once you are aware of the possible clue types, you will often be able to infer from a word or words what you are being instructed to do.

What can be difficult, however, is where the same common word in the English language serves as an indicator for several clue types. The words in and about are the most problematic examples of this and you will find more about these and equally troublesome words in Chapter 10 (#litres_trial_promo).

Chapters 1 (#ua58a1b27-b998-52bf-9959-d3e0308415ac)–3 (#uad6b2df8-933b-5385-9c6c-eb49490558be): summary

Here are two charts offering in summary form the basic points of Chapters 1 (#ua58a1b27-b998-52bf-9959-d3e0308415ac), 2 (#uae4c733a-476e-5fec-af7a-3d9b8b0b4746) and 3 (#uad6b2df8-933b-5385-9c6c-eb49490558be). First, a summary of clue types, typical indicators and what the solver must do:

Second, let’s see how each clue type (apart from a novelty clue) could be applied, using the same solution word in each. That word is time