#Cryptic crosswords how to
#Cryptic crosswords full

So, for example, ‘These lead the way in present transport system’ could be reindeer, playing on the twin meanings of ‘present’ as gift and current. With these ones, you will find that the answer is given in a somewhat misleading way. Or ‘press down’ would be ‘decrease’, playing on the double meaning of reducing or decreasing or ironing clothes.īeware, sometimes these kinds of clues can make use of rather obscure word meanings! 2.Ĝryptic definition So for example ‘alarming disclosure of beauty’ could be ‘bombshell’ with its double meaning of startling revelation and as in blonde bombshell. With these clues, two frequently very different meanings are given of the answer. If you will, consider it a basic little toolkit, and remember that a lot of the fun comes from wondering which tool to use next! 1.ĝouble definition Here are some of the devices setters use most commonly to take you towards solving cryptic clues. “You reckon it’s too crazily easy and that everybody will get it straightaway, and then you’re terribly surprised when they don’t guess it at all.” Cracking your clues The famous crime writer Agatha Christie once said that writing her whodunnits was not unlike setting a cryptic puzzle. Equally, though, most solvers will insist on putting up a fight first. If you’re wondering, most crossword setters are keen, ultimately, to let the solver emerge victorious, with a finished grid and a grin on their face.

#Cryptic crosswords how to

One tip when learning how to solve cryptic crosswords is to try solving a crossword puzzle with a friend in the first instance – it can help to have someone to have ideas you can bounce off.Īnother one, which may seem slightly odd initially, is to actually try and set a few clues yourself, so that you see it from the point of view of the crossword setter. This will hardly ever give you the right solution. Don’t do what many who are new to these kinds of crosswords do, which is to read the entire clue as a single phrase. So bear in mind that you need to tease out which parts of the clue are straight definitions and which are wordplay. Some sort of wordplay – this is known as the ‘fair subsidiary indication’ The first thing to understand is that all cryptic clues tend to be made up of what are called the Ximenean principles – which say that all cryptic clues can be divided into three basic parts:ġ.Ěn exact definition, in much the same way as a conventional or ‘quick’ crossword clueĢ. What’s more, they all follow the same rules, once you understand how those work.Īnd every good crossword will plant a few easier clues, placed strategically, to get the ball rolling. However, the conventions of cryptic crosswords can be picked up more easily and quickly than you may have thought, and are probably fewer in number than you might have thought.

NEAT for example could be Natty, Elegant and Trim Primarily. Puzzles may also demand anagrams and acrostics. And you can find yourself staring at them for what seems like hours, none the wiser. That’s why, to the uninitiated, clues in cryptic crosswords can seem totally nonsensical. A number of people in a theatre could be an anaesthetist – a different meaning to the word numb.īut with the cryptic puzzle, these kinds of double meanings and wordplay are taken to mind-bending new levels. Given its many influences from around the globe, we all speak a unique jumble of words, in which a single word can have various meanings and there is endless ambiguity.įor example ‘Press’ (4) could mean urge, just as much as it could mean iron. One of the reasons they work so well and are so much fun is to do is because of the nature of the English language. In fact, rather than a crossword, it could be called a linguistic workout for the mind. The cryptic crossword that you find in the UK is a very different sort of beast.

#Cryptic crosswords full

The British cryptic crossword is nothing like its quicker counterpart, or indeed anything you are likely to find in crosswords from other nations – these tend to be full of general knowledge questions, the answers of which are either known or can be looked up within seconds.

Doing crosswords may be incredibly addictive, but the good news is that it’s a healthy addiction!Ī good puzzle can really reboot your mind, and it’s something that you can return to several times throughout the day when you have a few minutes, or are on the train to and from work.