Index ~ Crossword Unclued

Friday, September 5, 2008

Index

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A master list of cryptic clue types, indicators, abbreviations and other related information to help you with crossword solving.

If you're new to cryptic crosswords, you might want to start with the 7-Step Guide to Tackling Cryptic Crosswords.

Clue Types At A Glance

The table below gives an overview of types of clues that appear in cryptic crosswords.

Each Clue Type link in the table opens a new page with its details – clue structure, tips for solving and examples.

Most cryptic clues have "indicators" that help you identify the clue type. The links under the Indicators column will give you a list of common indicators for that clue type.

Clue Type	Quick Description	Indicators
Anagrams	Letters are jumbled up to give the solution e.g. TRAP* = PART	Anagram Indicators
Homophones	Solution sounds like another word/phrase indicated in the clue e.g. WHERE {~WEAR}	Homophone Indicators
Hidden Words	Solution is hidden within the clue e.g. "pop artist" gives PART	Hidden Word Indicators
Deletions	Letters deleted to give the solution e.g. {-p}ART = ART	Deletion Indicators
Charades	Words placed in sequence form the solution e.g. FAT + HER = FATHER	No indicator in general, except words like 'before', 'under' when the word sequence is to be changed
Substitutions	Letter(s) substituted for another e.g. {-p + c}ART = CART	Substitution Indicators (coming soon!)
Containers	Word within another word e.g. EAT within TRY = TREATY	Containment Indicators
Acrostics	Solution formed from first letters of a sequence of words e.g. Put Away Redundant Things = PART	Acrostic Indicators
Reversals	Word reversed to give the solution e.g. PART <- = TRAP	Reversal Indicators
Letter Sequences	Selected letters from the clue give the solution e.g. mAsCoT gives ACT	Letter Sequence Indicators
Letter Shifting	Letter moved to form a new word e.g. First letter of HEART moved to the end to form EARTH	Phrases like 'from top to bottom'.
Letter Exchange	Two letters switch positions to form a new word e.g. T and P of TAPE switch positions to form PATE	Words like 'switching', 'internal exchange'
Double Definitions	Two definitions for the same word e.g. quick writer = SWIFT	No indicator
Cryptic Definitions	Lateral definition for the solution.	No indicator, sometimes ends in ?
&lit	Wordplay and definition overlap.	No indicator, sometimes ends in !

Abbreviations And Other References

You need some "general knowledge" to solve cryptic crosswords, but the good news is that you can do pretty well with only surface knowledge. (You might not play golf for example, but if you pick up the basic jargon you can comfortably answer golf-related clues.)

A few articles to help you with the domain knowledge:

Cricket And Cryptic Crosswords: Part I, Part II and Part III – Cricket is a favourite subject of crossword setters. This three-part series of articles covers cricket terminology and how its fits into cryptic clues.
Cryptic Abbreviations: An overview of standard abbreviations that are commonly used in cryptic crosswords.
French Words In Crosswords: Reference list of French words that frequently show up in crosswords.
NATO Phonetic Alphabet In Crosswords

More About Cryptic Wordplay

In addition to the basic clue types, some more cryptic devices:

Tricky Indicators: Part I and Part II
Wordplay Inversion
False Capitalization
Inter-Grid References
Spoonerisms
Cockney Speech and Rhyming Slang

The Crossword Grid

A series of articles that talk about various attributes of a cryptic crossword grid.

ABC of the Crossword Grid: Overview of basic grid properties – shape, size, symmetry, black space distribution.
Checking and Connectivity: What they mean, and how the affect the "fairness" of the puzzle
Pangrammatic Grids
Barred Grid vs Blocked Grid
Nina: Secret message coded into the grid
Create your own Crossword Grid, without using any software
Quick way to count the words inside a grid

What Else?

Patterns/interesting trends in published puzzles, interviews with expert solvers, crossword book reviews, evaluation of setters' styles, and much more…the sidebar has these articles filed under relevant headings, click and read whatever catches your fancy.

You can browse through the content in many other easy ways:

Search using the "Search" box in the header.
Look at the sidebar section "Labels" and click on the labels to view articles under that category. e.g. All articles related to crossword grids can be accessed by clicking on the label "grid".
Navigate via the sidebar section "Archive" to view all the posts in chronological order.
If you're in an adventurous mood, click on the "I'm Feeling Lucky!" icon at the bottom of the sidebar to read a randomly picked article from Crossword Unclued. Keep clicking to see more random articles.

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