“The nicest thing about a crossword is that you know there’s a solution. A crossword is an unusual puzzle in that you can derive enjoyment from it, even if you cannot complete it entirely (provided that the setter has shown wit, wisdom and elegance).”
Stephen Sondheim, who introduced Americans to the cryptic crossword puzzle, Secrets of the Setters
We move up from basics to consider the finer points of clues and puzzles. The charts from now on have wordplay analysis as an explanation rather than an indication of what to do.
Assuming that you wish to go along with the optimism of the above quotation, let’s start with the finer points associated with clue types, and then those that apply generally to all clues.
1. The anagram clue: finer points
From now on, we will indicate which words form the anagram fodder by an asterisk (*).
Anagram fodder: which letters? (1)
Some crosswords require you to find an interim solution and then make an anagram of that. Called an indirect anagram, the practice is almost extinct, as it should be. However, where there is a unique interim solution such as omicron (pi’s predecessor in the Greek alphabet), you may see a clue such as the one overleaf.
ANAGRAM CLUE 1: It’s crazy changing what comes before pi (7)
TOP TIP – ANAGRAM FREQUENCY
It is rare for there to be no anagrams in a cryptic puzzle and equally rare to find more than about eight in total (depending on the newspaper), with two-part anagrams counting as one whole-word anagram.
Anagram fodder: which letters? (2)
The anagram fodder can be part of a hyphenated word, as here:
ANAGRAM CLUE: Aspiring to achieve first in Wimbledon, double-faulted (5-2)
While anagrams are always indicated in one of the many ways already covered in Chapter 3, the position of the indicator is not always immediately next to the anagram fodder. In the clue below, a letter has to be deducted before the anagram can be unscrambled:
ANAGRAM CLUE: Neglectful having left off dicky bow (9)
2. The sandwich clue: finer points
The basis of this very common clue type, something inside something else, is often the technique that delays solvers, so its tricks and quirks should repay study.
Its use in any one clue may be in conjunction with, say, an anagram, and be indicated by a less than obvious indicator. In the following example, the indicator stop is used in its sense of block or plug (perhaps more normally stop up):
SANDWICH CLUE: Nothing stops Chelsea playing tie (8)
Sometimes the element to be sandwiched is difficult to disentangle, as in this clue:
SANDWICH CLUE: Rather restricting the setter? I don’t care! (8)
One might initially assume that I don’t care is the definition when in fact it is part of the wordplay which consists of all the words of the clue except the first word rather. As so often, a comma must be imagined between the first and second words before you can solve the clue.
TOP TIP – ‘HIDDEN’ VS. ‘SANDWICH’ CLUES
I find workshop newbies do confuse hidden and sandwich clues, partly because their indicators are similar. The difference is that in hidden clues, the word to be found is contained exactly (albeit with intervening punctuation sometimes) within the clue sentence. In sandwich clues, the solution word is to be constructed by the solver from the separate elements available.
The sandwich can be formed with a kind of reverse construction, as here:
SANDWICH CLUE: Fall in love? On the contrary, wilt (5)
The next example is a most deceptive sandwich in that, signalled by fences, the clue is to read as by surrounds alone = separated:
SANDWICH CLUE: Bull is separated from the herd by fences (7)
The message is that study of each word individually pays off.
3. The homophone clue: finer points
In the best clue-writing, you should be left in no doubt in a homophone clue as to which word is the solution and which the wordplay. For example, the solution to the next clue could be rain or rein and the ambiguity would be avoided if the indicator reported were moved to the end of the sentence.
HOMOPHONE CLUE: Check reported weather forecast perhaps (4)
Some crosswords contain self-referential or reverse homophones; that is to say, the homophone is in the clue, rather than the solution. Here’s an example of one:
HOMOPHONE CLUE: Egg on a steak, say (4)
This is another reverse homophone which has the attraction of using alphabet letters in a novel way:
HOMOPHONE CLUE: Characters in front of queue, say highly placed (4)
TOP TIP – THE WORD YOU
A long-established extension of reverse homophones is that you may be used as a proxy for you say to give the letter u in part of the wordplay. A further more recent extension is provided by textspeak in which you = U, avoiding the need for a homophone indicator.
You may be stuck on a homophone clue because its sound to you is not the same as your pronunciation. The test for setters is whether the pronunciation is supported by one of the reference dictionaries (see Chapter 12) and I well know that setters receive complaints on this subject. Correspondents (especially from Scotland!) clearly dislike a homophone they do not relate to if the inference is that the setter’s pronunciation is ‘correct’. Ideally the indicator will reflect the fact that the pronunciation is not universal, as in, for example, some may say. However, the teaching point here is that solvers may occasionally need to be a little imaginative in their approach to homophone clues.
Finally, beware of clues which look as if they are homophones – you could easily be misled here by said in what is actually a sandwich clue:
SANDWICH CLUE: It’s said to include part of circuit (7)
4. The takeaway clue: finer points
It’s not unusual for this clue type to be used alongside another, often anagrams. For example, the two types combine cleverly in this clue:
TAKEAWAY CLUE: Skin and cook frozen duck (4)
The letters dropped, though often given by abbreviations, can be whole words:
TAKEAWAY CLUE: Slight suspicion fish ejected black liquid (3)
5. The hidden clue: finer points
The indicator may be at the end of the clue sentence as in the example below, in which the interpretation should be that a synonym of zip is being employed by the letters that follow it:
HIDDEN CLUE: Zip fastener gymnast employs (6)
Also in a more difficult category, the solution can be spread over more than two words:
HIDDEN CLUE: Wine to some extent features in a taverna (8)
The letters concealed may have to be reversed before the solution is discovered, as here:
HIDDEN AND REVERSAL CLUE: Swimmer turning in special pool (6)
You should be on the lookout for very long and well-concealed solutions. This next wonderful effort must be just about the longest hidden clue that has appeared in a crossword:
HIDDEN CLUE: As seen in jab, reach of pro miserably failing to meet expectations (6,2,7)
TOP TIP – HIDDEN CLUE FREQUENCY
Because they are considered to be the easiest type, there may be no hidden clue in any one daily puzzle and rarely more than two or three. I refer to 15 by 15 square puzzles; there may well be proportionately more in jumbo-style puzzles.
Finally, for clues requiring the selection of alternate letters, it may be that not all the hidden letters form the whole solution. This is a combination of a hidden with an additive clue to demonstrate that point:
HIDDEN AND ADDITIVE CLUE: From which spectators watch odd parts of their contest (7)
6. The reversal clue: finer points
Clues can be made up of reversals of more than one word. This one, with its nicely misleading definition, has two reversals:
REVERSAL CLUE (DOWN CLUE): Exotic drama we’re mounting – Butler did it (7)
Also in this category of clue, we include palindromes. Here’s an elegant example:
REVERSAL CLUE: Not an irreversible mistake (4)
Other palindrome indicators could be: looking both ways, whichever way you look at it, back and forth (across clue), up and down (down clue).
7. The letter switch clue: finer points
The first example is similar to that in Chapter 3 where the letter to be switched is within the clue itself, whereas the second example is harder as the word to be manipulated must be found before the switch can be made:
LETTER SWITCH CLUE: Antipathy as head of gallery replaced (7)
This second clue demonstrates the use of abbreviations, common for this clue type:
LETTER SWITCH CLUE: Activity good for one on Pacific island (6)
A change of direction may be required as in this nice clue:
LETTER SWITCH CLUE: Soldiers go in here when grand old duke changes direction (4)
8. The all-in-one clue: finer points
This clue type has as many subsets as there are types of clue. In other words, the wordplay (remember: always the same as the definition, hence the term all-in-one) can take the form of an anagram, additive or any other sort. Indeed it can even be a combination of these. Here are some examples:
All-in-one additive clue:
The example below shows the clue type at its most concise and the solution (which is a verb here) requires careful consideration:
ALL-IN-ONE ADDITIVE CLUE: Stop heading for takeaways! (4)
All-in-one anagram and sandwich clue:
The most common type of all-in-one clue is the anagram. Here’s a good one which has a letter to be inserted in the anagram fodder:
ALL-IN-ONE ANAGRAM AND SANDWICH CLUE: What’s outlined arbitrarily around origin in Greenwich? (9)
All-in-one anagram and takeaway:
This involves an anagram and takeaway but is still eminently solvable – if you think comma after actors:
ALL-IN-ONE ANAGRAM AND TAKEAWAY CLUE: What could give actors no end of cachet? (5)
All-in-one hidden:
The wordplay can be concealed neatly, as here, albeit that the answer word may have been replaced these days by a rucksack:
ALL-IN-ONE HIDDEN CLUE: What’s carried by pupils at Cheltenham? (7)
All-in-one hidden and reversal:
The wordplay can also be hidden and reversed with a plural definition:
ALL-IN-ONE HIDDEN AND REVERSAL CLUE: They’re found in returning perhaps to origins (5)
All-in-one sandwich and anagram:
Finally, one of the most satisfying all-in-ones crafted by champion clue-writer Colin Dexter:
ALL-IN-ONE SANDWICH AND ANAGRAM CLUE: Item Gran arranged family slides in (5,7)
IS THE ALL-IN-ONE CLUE THE MOST SATISFYING?
Setters and judges of clue-writing contests tend to regard this sort of clue as the pinnacle of clue-writing and it’s true that all these examples boast something special with their coincidence of definition and wordplay. However, the all-in-one is not necessarily considered so highly by the solvers I ask; their preference is a clue with a highly misleading image and a pleasingly delayed penny-dropping. In addition, the all-in-one may reveal its charms too quickly, especially in the case of the subset discussed next.
There is a variation on the all-in-one clue in which the definition is extended by wordplay into a whole sentence. We could think of it as partial or a semi all-in-one. Solving this type of clue is in principle easier because of the extended definition. Here’s one example:
PARTIAL ALL-IN-ONE CLUE: Woman with veg cooking? (6)
LETTER FROM A SCHOOLBOY TO THE AUTHOR
I have read your book How to Crack Cryptic Crosswords, which I found really informative and have learnt a lot from. It has definitely improved my skills and I will incorporate its information in my project. Jonathan Levene, aged 13
PARTIAL ALL-IN-ONE CLUE: Show with nude in naughty act? (7)
9. The additive clue: finer points
Some crosswords, notably The Times, follow a convention established over many years in making a distinction between the across and down position in additive clues.
This concerns the word on which, as a linkword, means after in an across clue and before in a down clue, as set out next.
For across clues:
The part that comes first in the solution is placed second in the wordplay. For example, here the reversal of kin comes after strike = beat:
ADDITIVE CLUE INCL. REVERSAL (ACROSS): Bohemian family goes back on strike (7)
In down clues the parts keep the order of the clue sentence, as with the was preceding the sail = canvas in this:
ADDITIVE CLUE (DOWN): Festive occasion was put on canvas (7)
Sometimes the solution word can be broken down into separate parts to form the wordplay. Solving these clues is often a question of working from the definition back to the wordplay:
ADDITIVE CLUE: Cold display unit for seafood (11)
Finally, it will bear repetition from Chapter 3 that the order of the letters or words to be combined may have to be switched, as in the next clue:
ADDITIVE CLUE: Vegetable presented with dessert? That’s a bloomer (5,3)
10. The cryptic definition clue: finer points
The more instinctive solver finds this clue one of the easiest; others like me find it the hardest and my practice, once I have recognized the type, is to leave it till later when some solution letters are available. This is especially so when the information given is minimal, as here in a humorous clue:
CRYPTIC DEFINITION CLUE: In which three couples get together for sex (5)
This type of wordplay can extend to two misleading words in the clue, as in the next example:
CRYPTIC DEFINITION CLUE: What’s made only to snap in bits? (7,6)
Occasionally the clue-writer manages to be exceptionally cryptic as here where no fewer than three words have misleading surface meanings:
CRYPTIC DEFINITION CLUE: It’s bound to be upheld by those in service (4-4)
Finally, it is essential to consider each word closely as the solution may be unlocked by putting emphasis on a seemingly unimportant part of the clue, as here:
CRYPTIC DEFINITION CLUE: Help with mental problems one can never get (5,7)
11. The double definition clue: finer points
While these can be recognized from their brevity when there are only two words side by side, they can be longer and harder to spot:
DOUBLE DEFINITION CLUE: A lot of criminals go north of the border (4)
Also note that there may be one of several possible linkwords eg for, in or is between the two or more definitions as below:
DOUBLE DEFINITION CLUE: Responsibility for tax (4)
DOUBLE DEFINITION CLUE: Back in a moment (6)
DOUBLE DEFINITION CLUE: Expert is over (12)
Double definition clues may have a cryptic element in one or other of their parts. Witness this clue:
DOUBLE DEFINITION CLUE: Where to see Tommy eating pickle (4)
Finally, an example of three definitions which exploit a word with multiple meanings. There is no special tip for finding your way through this ingenious and mischievous wording other than to note that it contains nothing that looks like an indicator of another clue type:
TRIPLE DEFINITION CLUE: Kentish Town’s wood trade (4)
12. The novelty clue: finer points
By their very nature, these clues defy generalized advice on solving them. There may or may not be an indicator, and there may be an exclamation mark to signal something extraordinary. Otherwise it’s a question of thinking laterally. The first is the “clue” everyone seems to know. Lacking a definition and not having any surface meaning doesn’t hold it back in people’s affection:
NOVELTY CLUE: GGES? (9,4)
Much better because it has a definition is:
NOVELTY CLUE: CIVIC figures (5,8)
Now for a really innovative clue, as indicated by the exclamation mark:
NOVELTY CLUE: Landmines when suitably spaced could do for these trees! (4)
Next, you must split the solution into two parts and imagine it as a slogan supporting the Queen.
NOVELTY CLUE: Servant’s anti-republican slogan? (8)
Under this heading we can include clues which use the verbal twisting of William Archibald Spooner. He was an Anglican clergyman and Warden of New College, Oxford, whose nervous manner led him to utter many slips of the tongue, notably involving comic reversals such as Queer old Dean for Dear old Queen. This is an example of a clue in this style:
NOVELTY CLUE: Lowest possible cost of jam and cereal for Spooner (7,5)
Finally, the briefest possible clue of any kind that may appeal to romantic tennis fans:
NOVELTY CLUE: O? (4,6)
TIMES LEADER
The crossword reminds readers that, amid the strife and controversy of today’s headlines, there really is, in one part of the newpaper, at least a definitive and elegant solution.