How to Solve Cryptic Crosswords
Introduction & The Basics for Cryptic Crossword Beginners
Some people get cryptic crosswords and others, well, just don't. But solving a crossword only requires two things; a bit of patience and some understanding of the basic rules and tricks of the trade used by setters.
Throughout, this series will be guiding you through each of the various types of clue, showing you how to solve them and explaining some setters' jargon. What are 'indicators'? Why do some clues end with a question or exclamation mark? What are the main differences between British and North American crosswords?
First, the basics.
Indicators
The following is a 'hidden word' clue, one of the simpler kinds of cryptic clues and is probably the best way to demonstrate how the typical crossword clue is structured:
Hat on a lock hides missing key (6)
First, the (6) at the end means the solution is one word of six letters. You could probably have guessed that by looking at the grid but it might have been something like (3,3), meaning the answer consists of two three-letter words.
Crossword clues come in many different forms, but they all have two basic elements; a definition and a cryptic. In the majority of clues, the definition is either at the start or the end. So in this clue, the answer could mean 'Hat', 'Hat on a lock', 'missing key' or just 'key' - the definition can be more than one word.
'Indicators' are a hint at the way the clue is structured. There are two possible indicators in this clue. 'Missing' suggests that a letter or a part of a word should be removed, but in this case it's much simpler clue. 'Hidden word' clues involve just that; a word hidden in the text. These are often indicated by a word like 'within', 'buried', 'contains' or something a bit more subtle like 'essentially', 'partially' or even just 'in'. In this case the indicator is 'hides'. In other words, the phrase 'hat on a lock' hides a six-letter word meaning 'missing key'.
Hidden words can be shorter words buried within a single longer word, or a longer word spread across parts of several shorter words. In this case, the phrase 'hat on a lock' is hiding the word ATONAL.
Finding the 'indicator' word is the key to solving a clue. Throughout this series, I'll not only explain how each kind of clue works but also help you spot these various indicator words that setters use.
In the meantime, here's a 'hidden word' clue for you to try:
Tribe from nice Nigernian area (5)
