These normally suggest movement or something being “unusual”. u An anagram indicator, which tells you to jumble words in the clue. u The words that must be jumbled to give the answer.
Anagram cluesĪnagram clues – where the answer is a jumble of words found in the clue – are often a good place to start, as many people will already have some experience of tackling anagrams previously, whether watching a TV programme such as Countdown or trying other puzzles.Īnagram clues normally contain three things: u A definition of the answer. Now that we know this, we can start looking at the different types of clue that might be found in a cryptic crossword. This gives us one of the most important rules of solving a cryptic crossword: The definition almost always appears at the start or end of a clue.
In each case, we have a definition, and the remainder of the clue tells us how to get to the answer.
Muhammad Ali, perhaps man’s best friend (5) Queen’s favourite pet eaten by orc or giant (5) Let’s look at our “dog” clues again, now as they might appear in a cryptic crossword in each case, the definition is in bold:
It is the part that states the answer is an anagram, is hidden in other words, etc. This is the secondary part of the clue, which ensures you can find the correct answer. This is normally a synonym or example of the answer – so, in the above examples, it is always “type of dog”. When reading a cryptic clue, most will contain two parts. A cryptic crossword isn’t just one puzzle it’s around 30 puzzles all in one, which becomes easier the more of those little puzzles you can crack. What’s in a clue?Įach cryptic clue is in itself a little puzzle that can be unpicked and solved. Of course these aren’t real cryptic clues, but they are examples of how cryptic clues are structured. Type of dog, the name of which could also be a word describing Muhammad Ali (5)Ĭan you work these out? It should be quite easy to see that the answers are CORGI and BOXER respectively. Type of dog, the name for which is hidden in the words ORC OR GIANT (5) We can now be sure of the answer, as only one dog is an anagram of STREET: SETTER. Let’s take the “type of dog” clue and add some more information: A cryptic clue differs to a quick crossword clue, as it gives both a definition of the answer and a way to work out what the intended answer is.Ī cryptic clue is unambiguous and will lead to one answer only.
This is where a cryptic crossword comes into its own. This still gives three possibilities from our list above: beagle, setter and Westie, so there is only one thing we can do: we can write in our best guess (in pencil, in case we later find we have made the wrong choice). Let us say that we know that the second letter of the answer is E: _ E _ _ _ _ However, even this may not be enough for us to be sure of the solution. The answer is that we can’t we can only guess, until we have some other letters to help us out. Given this, how can we work out which of these (and other possibilities) is required? Presented with that clue in isolation, we are faced with a challenge that may prove insurmountable: there are many types of dog that are six letters in length: beagle, borzoi, collie, poodle, saluki, setter, Westie… What could be simpler than this? Well, actually quite a lot. To answer this question, we need to take a step back and look at a simpler type of puzzle: the definition-only crossword, or quick crossword.Ī quick crossword does not contain any cryptic elements each clue contains only a definition of the answer, for instance: Anyone can be a cryptic crossword champion! Just what is a cryptic crossword? In this series, we hope to demystify cryptic crosswords and explain in simple terms how they work and how just about anybody can find enjoyment in them.Ĭryptic crosswords are proven to give mental health benefits, to distract from what else is going on in the world and slow mental decline later in life. The reality is that anyone with a reasonable vocabulary can learn to solve them and get great enjoyment from them, given a little bit of time and patience. There’s a tendency to think that the Telegraph crossword is tackled only by retired Army colonels in the Home Counties, Members of Parliament or aged academics in the better colleges at Oxford and Cambridge.