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A Guide to Solving Cryptic
Clues
Cryptic clues have two parts: a
definition of the answer word and some wordplay. The
definition is the same as in any standard crossword
puzzle and consists of either a synonym or a brief
descriptive phrase. The wordplay, however, may take
any of several forms. They are: two definitions,
anagrams, reversals, homophones, components,
enclosures, truncations, substitutions, codes,
and puns. A single clue may combine one or
more of these devices. All of them are explained and
illustrated below.
The two parts of a clue,
definition and wordplay, are combined in no special
order and with deliberate intent to confuse, but
once you see through the confusion and find the
answer, you'll know for sure that it's the right
one. Cryptic clues have none of the ambiguity of
standard crossword puzzle clues, because wordplay
and definition independently confirm the answer. For
that reason, and also because they present a greater
challenge, cryptic clues are more satisfying to
solve than the standard kind.
Click on each of the wordplays
to learn more.
Two definitions are
just that, two definitions strung together with or
without punctuation to form a misleading phrase.
(Punctuation in a cryptic clue is always meant to
mislead. Your best bet is to ignore it completely.)
The word FLAG, for instance, can mean either "to
signal" or "to get weak." A cryptic definition,
therefore, might be "get weak signal." Similarly, if
the clue is "game beaters," the answer has to be
HEARTS. [top]
Anagrams are rearrangements
of the letters of the answer word and are always
indicated in the clue by words such as "changed,"
"edited," "strange," "crazy," "odd," "wild," and the
like. Take the clue "enraged, disturbed, furious."
The only possible answer is ANGERED. The clue tells
you in effect that if the letters of ENRAGED are
"disturbed" (that is, anagrammed) they lead to a
synonym for "furious," ANGERED. Although three other
anagrams of ENRAGED are possible, DERANGE, GRANDEE,
and GRENADE, you know that ANGERED has to be the
right answer because of the synonym "furious." Here
are two more examples. "College graduate edited
manual" obviously leads to the answer ALUMNA, and
"unruly cart horse led by conductor" can only lead
to ORCHESTRA. [top]
Reversals are words that,
when spelled backwards, form other words. Reversals
are always identified as such. If the clue reads
"get beat when game turns around," it means that
GOLF turned around leads to the answer FLOG.
Similarly, "when draftsman returns, it's for
recompense" means that DRAWER, read backwards, gives
the answer REWARD. [top]
Homophones are two words
that sound alike but are spelled differently. They
are always identified by hints such as "sound of,"
"spoken," "heard," and so forth. The clue "hear
appeal of victim" gives the answer PREY because it
sounds like PRAY, while the clue "'sounding brass'
is a sign of something" yields the answer SYMBOL
because it sounds like CYMBAL. [top]
Components are parts of
answer words that are words in their own right. A
clue may define both the answer word and its
component word parts. For example, the clue for
FARTHING, whose components are FAR and THING, could
be "money a distant object." Once you learn to think
in that vein, it will not take you long to see that
"lying to restore a town" leads to the answer
MENDACITY. Things get more complicated when words
are embedded within words. For example, if you
insert ROWS in BED, you get the word BROWSED, an
appropriate clue for which might be "casually
examined lines in the sack." [top]
Enclosures are words
contained within longer words or phrases. You will
immediately recognize "city in Czechoslovakia" as
OSLO, although it may take you a moment's reflection
to realize that the clue "from gust or mistral comes
a tempest" has the answer STORM (guST OR
Mistral). [top]
Truncations are words
that result from shortening a longer word by one or
more letters. Here are two simple examples: "Not
quite finished dressing bird" gives ROBIN, a
truncation of ROBING, while "Waste away without a
prize" gives TROPHY, ATROPHY without A. A more
complicated truncation is in the clue, "Al leaves
bird a line," which leads to STRING, or STARLING
without A and L. [top]
Substitutions mean that
one word can be turned into another by the
substitution of one or more letters. Thus, GRAND
becomes GRANT when T is substituted for D, and
you'll know that GRANT is the answer if the clue
reads, "Time to replace 500 stolen from 1000
award." [top]
Codes are single letters or
letter combinations that—in general usage or
in specialized fields such as music, science,
mathematics, and the like—stand for specific
words. For example, "adjective" can mean the letter
A, "bachelor" the letter B, "hundred" the letter C,
"unknown" the letter X, "year" the letter Y, and
"atomic number" the letter Z. "Saint" suggests the
letters ST, "gold" the letters AU, and "very loud"
the letters FF. Other devices include, "first of
January" for J, "leader of men" for M, "heart of
gold" for OL, and "end of tether" for R. Here's an
example of the use of codes in a clue. The word
SHACK may be thought of as either S plus HACK or H
embedded in SACK. S is often used as the
abbreviation for "south" or "southern," while H in
chemistry is the symbol for hydrogen. Thus, two
distinct definitions are possible: "southern
writer's humble dwelling," or "bag with gas found in
cabin." Both definitions are admittedly
recherché, but puzzle words are not always
cooperative and sometimes require rough
handling. [top]
Puns may be the lowest form of
humor, but they are the bread and butter of cryptic
clues. Here are three examples: "Dollars for
quarters" leads to the answer RENT; "toasting the
poet" to BROWNING; and "had enough heggs" to
EXASPERATED (eggs aspirated, of course). [top]
Exasperated? Don't give up yet.
It's true that writers of cryptic clues do their
best to mislead you, but at the same time they try
very hard to be fair. They want to puzzle you, but
they also carefully construct every clue so that you
will be sure of the answer once you find it. You may
need a little imagination to reconstruct their
twisted ways of thinking, but once you do, you'll
see that there's method in their madness.
MADNESS. "Confused and in a
state of disorder or insanity." AND confused (that
is, anagrammed) in MESS, get it? [top]
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