Elision, and questions of fairness

Consider this clue from a recent Hindu crossword:

THC 10279 (Gridman): Streamline New York's backward borough? (8)

The answer is BROOKLYN (defn: borough);
the wordplay is BROOK (stream) L (line), NY (New York) reversed.

Gridman's clue uses what is known as elision – the practice of omitting spaces between the cryptic components of a clue. "Streamline" is a single word but needs to be read separately STREAM + LINE to give BROOK + L.

In contrast to the wordplay device of omitting the space between indicator and fodder (e.g. INDEED - see tricky indicators), elision with charades has grammatical validity. In the answer BROOKLYN, there is no space between BROOK and L – it can be argued that this maps perfectly to STREAM and LINE, without a space in between.

But then, grammatical validity does not immediately equal fairness.

This clue from Anax's debut puzzle in the Independent used a similar clue with a helpful indicator, "apparently".

Indy 7088 (Anax): Withstand, apparently, one who's treacherous (6) WEASEL
W (with) STAND (easel)

The blogger on fifteensquared wrote:

Misled by the elision of the wordplay elements into “withstand” which some would complain about.

As it happened, nobody complained on that thread, one commenter wrote in support of the clue.

What do you say?

1. Is the use of elision in cryptic clues fair? If yes, would you expect a hint in the clue that something unusual is going on?

2. How far can this be taken? Should there be a cap on the number of components, position of the join? If you say STREAMLINE = STREAM+LINE is justified, will you say the same for STREAMLINE = ST + REAM + LINE?

Related Posts:

• The Irregular Ways of "Regularly"
• Implied Indicators
• The Ximenean Scale for Single Letter Indicators

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Verbal Indicators In Disguise

Take a look at the typical clue type indicators: "breaking" for anagrams, "swallowing" for containers, "returning" for reversals. The function of the indicator seems obvious in each case, doesn't it? For a wily crossword setter, this will not do. The setter strives not only to make the indicator unambiguous in the cryptic reading but also inscrutable on the clue's surface.

How does the setter do it?

One devious device is to play tricks with parts of speech. Many clue type indicators happen to be verbs. The setter dresses the verbal indicator to masquerade as a noun or adjective.

A classic example from Tim Moorey's How To Master The Times Crossword:

Times: Composer of lines for Russian city (10)

In this clue, the word "lines" reads like a noun on the surface, a synonym for poetry. In the cryptic reading, "lines" is the verb that means "fills". The wordplay:

OF lines i.e. fills PRO (for) KIEV (Russian city), which gives the answer PROKOFIEV.

Solve These

Every clue in this list contains a disguised verbal indicator. Solve and enjoy.

Independent 7642 (Anax): Pop, as do bubbles? (4)
Guardian 25374 (Crucible): Frank's in gym regularly taking hooks (4)
Guardian 25374 (Crucible): Wordy half of book’s boring poems (7) 
FT 13403 (Loroso): Tight-lipped guards work in exhibition centre (6) M_____

Read more about disguising verbal anagrinds: Camouflaging Anagrams and Verbal Anagrammar.

I wanted to set the RSS icon on my blog's sidebar to a Diwali-themed one this week. Could find no such icon on the web, so I made one. You are welcome to use it on your own site. Free for personal use.

Related Posts:

• Double-Edged Indicators
• Tricky Indicators
• How To Interpret Punctuation In Clues

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The Irregular Ways Of "Regularly"

Experienced solvers will recognize "regularly" as an indicator to pick odd or even letters from a word/phrase in the clue.

Standard "regularly" clues look like the ones below.

Even letters:
Independent (Crosophile): Soft pedal, say, when regularly used (4) EASY
Even letters of 'pEdAl SaY'

Odd letters:
Guardian 24938 (Puck): Poet writes, dipping into sherry regularly (7) SPENSER
PENS (writes) in SER (odd letters of 'ShErRy')

But there is more to "regularly". The word means "at fixed intervals", and those intervals can be wider than a single letter.

Intervals > 2:
Guardian 25109 (Puck): Language coming from Jack and Vera, regularly (4) JAVA
J (Jack) + every third letter of 'AndVerA'

Another clue with a more helpful indication for picking every third letter:

Times 24747: Ornament and tattoo-marks cut when couples go out regularly (4) TORC
From the letters of 'taTtoOmaRksCut', pairs of letters are dropped in symmetry - the letters that remain spell TORC.

Though theoretically defensible, I haven't come across a clue that uses "regularly" for gaps larger than three - stretching beyond that can make the clue too long, unwieldy and possibly unfair.

Finally, beware of the case in which "regularly" is present in the clue but you aren't supposed to go letter picking at all!

No letter picking:
FT 13701 (Redshank): Drink and travel regularly, showing flexibility (6) SUPPLY
SUP (drink) PLY (travel regularly, as in "On which route does this bus ply?")

Solve These

Guardian 25374 (Crucible): Frank's in gym regularly taking hooks (4)
Enigmatic Variations 969: Welfare state provides regular contributions for bridge player (4)
Times 24810: Staff annoy team by regularly showing up (5)

Annotate this ->
Azed 1898: Clots regularly feeding eggs to dogs? (7) The answer is CRUORES. Can you see how?

Related Posts:

• Letter Picking
• An Odd Question
• Letter Picking Indicators

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The Ximenean Scale for Single Letter Indicators

Single letters picked from words in clues must be indicated grammatically, Ximeneans say.

India's capital = I, the fourth of July = Y, Romania's leader = R, dog's tail = G all pass the Ximenean test. The wordplay and surface grammar are in perfect harmony.

Opinions begin to get divided with constructs like East End = T. "East End" isn't the grammatical equivalent of "East's End", but many don't object to it. As Alberich says in this excellent article, a sort of justification can be found in that "we talk about the "Jones house" to mean the house of the Joneses or the "Federer serve" to mean Federer's serve".

We step into murkier waters with clues that don't just skip the apostrophe but also the space between words: redhead = R, midnight = G etc. Redhead is not the same as to "red's head", midnight is not equal to "mid of night". The device isn't grammatical, it won't win you the CCCWC, but many fair, reputed setters use it:

Guardian 24916 (Brendan): Poet, novelist and critic providing wild parties after midnight (6) GRAVES
[ni]G[ht] RAVES (wild parties)

THC 9471 (Gridman): Luxury stuff gathered around redhead (5) FRILL
FILL (stuff) around R[ed]

What do you think of this?

This clue appeared in the Guardian yesterday, with a single letter indicator I was unprepared for:

Guardian 25190 (Boatman): Vessel attending in the Mediterranean, perhaps French marine zone (7) STEAMER

SEA is "Mediterranean, perhaps", MER is "French marine zone", and "vessel" the definition. Where did T come from? It turned out that T = attending, since attending = ATT ending.

Is this going too far? Or does it make you say yay, bring on those "R=trending and L=startle"s?

Related Posts:

• Tricky Indicators: Part I
• Tricky Indicators: Part II
• Letter Picking

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Double-Edged Indicators

Most clue type indicators tell us exactly which way the wordplay works.

For example:

A swallowing B => A is the outer word, B the inner in a container clue.
A held in B => A is the inner word, B the outer in a container clue.
A lacking B => letter of B are to be removed from A in a deletion clue.
A discarded by B => letters of A are to be removed from B in a deletion clue.

Not all indicators are so clear-cut; some can logically work both ways. Here's a look at some such indicators.

Stopping

To stop is:

1. to fill or close, as in stopping a hole
2. to check or intercept, as in stopping a landslide

So, A stopping B in a cryptic clue can mean:

1. A acting as stopper inside B
   Times 24633: Stopping revolt at last, become elevated as emperor (5) TITUS
   [revol]T, in SUIT (become) reversed
   

2. A taking hold of B
   Times 24692: Heart stopping left a problem (7) TICKLER
   TICKER (heart) around L (left)

Leaving 

To leave is:

1. to go away from, as in boy leaving hometown
2. to neglect or let go of, as in boy leaving math lessons (to study literature, maybe)

So, A leaving B in a cryptic clue can mean:

1. A going away from B
   ET3382: Airmen leaving flashy angle (5) FISH
   RAF (airmen) going away from RAFFISH (flashy)
   

2. A letting go of B
   Times 23712: Notices ducks leaving river by double bend (5,3) SMALL ADS
   S (double bend) MALLARDS (ducks), letting go of R (river)

Out of

"Out of" implies:

1. lacking, as in pen out of ink
2. going away from, as in PM out of country

So, A out of B in a cryptic clue can mean:

1. A lacking B
   Everyman 3341: Fish cigarette out of front of sideboard (5) GAPER
   GASPER (cigarette) lacking S[ideboard]
   

2. A going away from B
   ET 3150: Top performer right out of the running (3) ACE
   R (right) going away from RACE (running)

Packing

To pack is:

1. to cover or envelop, as in packing oneself in warm woollens
2. to fill, as in crowds packing a train

So, A packing B in a cryptic clue can mean:

1. A covering B
   Guardian Quiptic (Pan): Take a gamble, packing thin cover for bed (7). BLANKET
   BET (take a gamble) covering LANK (thin)

2. A filling B
   Times 24406: Way to pack fodder to be able to last through the winter (5) HARDY
   RD (way) filling HAY (fodder)

Solve These

Enjoy solving these clues with double-edged indicators.

Times 24390: Frugal poet stopping penny payment (9) __O__D___
Times 22604: What transvestite does to thwart coercion, leaving university (5-5) C____ ____S
Times Championship Final 2010: Girl married out of spite (5)

Related Posts:

• Without Ado: Another multi-purpose indicator
• Reverse Anagrams: Anagram fodder and anagrind in the answer, not in the clue!
• Wordplay Inversion: When you're supposed to do the opposite of what the indicator says

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Cryptic Clues And The Effects Of Drinking

There may be good reasons why you shouldn't drink so much as to lose clarity of speech, but don't blame the crossword setter for not pointing them out to you. How else would the setter produce clues of this kind:

Times 24245: Rather frail partners holding hands getting a peck from a drunk (7) WEAKISH
W E (partners holding hands, in the game of bridge) A KISH (peck from a drunk)

'peck' is KISS, which a person in inebriated state would pronounce as KISH.

Times 24592: Pal, shy when drunk? (4) TOSH
TOSS (shy), sounds like TOSH when slurred.

Generally the indication of drunken pronunciation in a clue converts the 'S' sound into 'SH'. Have you come across any variations? Do leave a comment about it.

One for you to solve. Cheers.

Guardian 25033 (Araucaria): Foolish girl being drunk won't make up her mind (6-6)

Related Posts:

• Wordplay on Regional Dialects
• Not Quite Homophones To The Indian Ear
• Rhyming Slang

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Reversal Indicators

As regular readers might have noticed, I've been putting together a list of clue type indicators. Reversals this time. (Check out the other indicators by clicking on the Index button on the site's header.) 

To recap, reversal clues are those in which a word/phrase is turned around to give the solution.
e.g. (from NIE) Rising star, nonsense! (4) RATS <-

A specialty of reversal indicators: many indicators will work only for ACROSS clues and not for DOWN clues, and vice-versa.

1. ACROSS clue reversal indicators suggest a change of direction horizontally. e.g. going west, to the left.
2. DOWN clue reversal indicators suggest a change of direction vertically. e.g. going up, mounting, rising.
3. Generic reversal indicators such as around, back can be used for both ACROSS and DOWN clues.

[Given that, quick question: where in the puzzle can you expect to see the above clue "Rising star, nonsense! (4)" – the Across set, the Down set, or either of the two?]

Here's a compilation of frequently seen reversal indicators, grouped into those three categories – ACROSS only, DOWN only, and Generic.

Reversal Indicators – ACROSS only

FROM THE EAST FROM THE RIGHT

GOING WEST TO THE LEFT

WESTBOUND

Reversal Indicators – DOWN only

ASCENDING BROUGHT UP CAST UP CLIMBING COMING UP FROM THE BOTTOM FROM THE SOUTH

GOING NORTH GOING UP HAULED UP LIFTED LOOKING UP NORTHBOUND RAISED RAISING

SENT UP SHOWN UP TURNS UP UPSET UPRISING UPWARDLY MOBILE WRITTEN UP

Reversal Indicators – Generic

ABOUT AROUND BACK BACK-TO-FRONT BACKED BACKING BACKWARD BROUGHT ABOUT COMING BACK COUNTER

FLIPPED FLIPPING GOING BACK GOING ROUND LOOKING BACK OVER OVERTURNED RETIRING RETREAT RETREATING RETROGRADE

RETROSPECTIVE RETURN REVERSED REVERSING REVOLUTIONARY ROUND SENT BACK TURN TURNED TURNING

Thanks to Ganesh for his inputs in compiling this list.

Related Posts:

• Reversal Clue Type
• Other Indicators

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Letter Sequence Indicators

A compilation of indicators for letter selection clues.

This covers the following clue types:

• Initialisms or acrostics – the first letters of a sequence of words spell out the answer
• Odd or even letters/alternate letters – every other letter from a sequence of words form the answer
• Any other uniform letter selection pattern

Acrostic Indicators

BEGINNERS BEGINNINGS FIRST FIRSTLY FOR STARTERS

HEADS INITIALLY INITIALS LEADERS

LEADING LEADS SOURCES STARTERS

Select Letters

ALTERNATELY EVENLY EVERY OTHER

EVERY SECOND ODDLY

ODDS REGULARLY

Drop Letters

EVENS OUT NOT EVEN

NOTHING ODD ODDLY LACKING

REGULAR LOSSES SECONDS OUT

Other Patterns

ENDS OF, TAILS EDGES OF, EXTREMES OF, EXTREMELY HEADS OFF, INITIALLY AWAY THIRDS OF

Indicates picking last letters of a series of words e.g. feaR nO thornS herE = ROSE Indicates picking one or both edges of a series of words e.g. RituparnO SpokE = ROSE All letters except the first from a series of words. The indicators for this pattern are similar to "Delete The Head" subtraction indicators, but here the indicator acts on a sequence of words instead of a single word. The indicator is generally in the plural e.g. HEADS OFF instead of HEAD OFF. Third letters of a series of words

Notes:

• There is a plenty of overlap between letter selection indicators and subtraction indicators, where the letter sequence involves discarding letters. In fact, the "Drop Letters" style can be viewed as a special kind of deletion.

Related Posts:

• Acrostic Clue Type
• Odd/Even Letters and More Sequences
• Deletions
• Other Indicators

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Deletion Indicators

The post on deletions touched upon different ways in which a clue could prompt you to subtract letters from a word. To recap, the deletion clue type could lead you to:

• Subtract letters from the "head" (beginning) of a word e.g. STOP – S = TOP
• Subtract letters from the "tail" (end) of a word e.g. TOPE – E = TOP
• Subtract letters from both edges of a word: e.g. AUTOPSY  - {AU,SY} = TOP
• Subtract letters from the middle of a word: STROP – R = STOP
• Subtract specific letters from any position: e.g. TEARDROP – {EAR DR} = TOP

Here is a sample set of indicators that go with each type of deletion.

Delete The Head

AFTER COMMENCEMENT BEGINNING TO GO BEHEADED BEHEADING DECAPITATED FIRST OFF HEADLESS HEAD OFF

INITIALLY LACKING LEADERLESS LOSING OPENER MISSING THE FIRST NEEDING NO INTRODUCTION NOT BEGINNING NOT COMMENCING

NOT STARTING START OFF START TO GO SCRATCH THE HEAD STRIKE THE HEAD UNINITIATED UNSTARTED WITHOUT ORIGIN

Delete The Tail

ABRIDGED ALMOST BACK OFF CLIPPED CURTAILED CUT SHORT DETAILED EARLY CLOSING ENDLESS

FALLING SHORT FINISH OFF FOR THE MOST PART INCOMPLETE INTERMINABLE LACKING FINISH MISSING THE LAST MOST MOSTLY

NEARLY NOT COMPLETELY NOT FULLY NOT QUITE SHORT SHORTENING TAILLESS UNENDING UNFINISHED WITHOUT END

Delete Both Ends

EDGES AWAY LACKING WINGS LIMITLESS LOSING MARGINS

SHELLED SIDES SPLITTING TRIMMED

UNLIMITED WINGLESS WITHOUT LIMITS

Delete The Middle

CORED DISHEARTENED EMPTIED EMPTY

EVACUATED FILLETED GUTTED HEARTLESS

HOLLOW LOSING HEART UNCENTERED

Delete Specific Words/Letters

CUTTING ERASED GOES OUT OF LEAVES

MISSING NO NOT REMOVED

SHORT OF STRUCK WITHOUT

Related Posts:

• Deletion Clue Type
• Other Indicators

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Tricky Indicators: Part II

Tricky Indicators: Part I dealt with a special kind of indicator that is encapsulated in a bigger word; the bigger word needs to be dismantled to separate out the indicator + fodder. The dismantling is simple enough: take a word like INGRATE, break it into IN + GRATE and read it as a container where GRATE is the outer word.

This technique is taken a step further when the indicator is not spelt out but has to be derived through the wordplay.

Consider this clue:
               State experiencing financial trouble, persisted? (8) RE{MAINE}D

Persisted is the definition, state = MAINE. Where does RE{..}D come from?
"experiencing financial trouble" = IN THE RED, which gives the c/c indicator (in) and the outer word (RED).

Implied Indicators

The indicator and associated fodder as in the example above, are not explicitly stated but implied. Here are more examples.

Word	Cryptic Meaning	How?
asleep, retired	c/c with BED as the outer word	asleep = IN BED
establish	TES	establish = SET UP = SET reversed
in debt, overdrawn	c/c with RED or THERED as the outer word	in debt / overdrawn = IN THE RED
regained	NOW	regained = WON BACK = WON reversed

Solve These

A couple of clues from the Times/FT archives:

Perplexed when you dream where you'd expect to dream? (7)
See what? (6)

Previous Post Of The 2-Part Series: Encapsulated Indicators

Related Posts:

• Reverse Anagrams
• False Capitalization
• Wordplay Inversion

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Tricky Indicators: Part I

Most types of cryptic clues such as anagrams, hidden words, deletions etc. have indicators to signal the clue type. A container clue, for example, must have a word/phrase to point out that one word needs to be embedded inside another.

Consider a standard container clue:
NIE 01-Apr-09: Doctor about to employ thought (5) M{USE}D
The outer word (doctor = MD) and inner word (employ = USE) are clearly distinguished, with "about" indicating that MD will go around USE.

Indicators are not always so explicit. The next clue shows a trickier style of clueing container clues.

NIE 9697: Sad bearer of news indeed (9)
Here the outer word and indicator are combined in the word INDEED, which is to be read as "in DEED". The word for "bearer of news" = PRESS is put inside DEED to give the solution DE{PRESS}ED.

INDEED is a the most common example of this type – most often it's there in the clue not to express emphatic agreement but to give the letters DE{ }ED for the solution.

Other words starting with IN- can also be used in the same way. So, INTERN can be used to clue TER{RAI}N and INMATE to clue MAT{T}E.

Such wordplay is considered "unXimenean" (refer to the "Derringer's exploits" clue in the link for more on this), and you will not come across this kind of clue in crosswords like the Times. Many Libertarian setters do use this device though, so it's good to prepare yourself.

Encapsulated Indicators

For the sake of differentiating them from regular indicators, I'm calling these "encapsulated indicators" – indicators that are part of a bigger word; for solving we need to take apart this word to form [indicator + fodder] and do as indicated with the fodder.

Some more examples to help you recognize encapsulated indicators. These are often within compound words and give fragments of the solution in complex clues.

Word	Encapsulated Indicator	Cryptic Meaning
BACKBONE	BACK, reversal indicator	Reverse a word that means BONE, such as MARC<-
INTENSE	IN, container indicator	Put the inner word of the container clue inside a word for TENSE
SCATTERBRAIN	SCATTER, anagram indicator	Anagram the letters of BRAIN
SWEETHEART	HEART, deletion/selection indicator	Take the central letters WEE or E from SWEET
UNDERPASS	UNDER, position indicator in a charade DOWN clue	Place the other charade component below a word for PASS
UPKEEP	UP, reversal indicator in a DOWN clue	Reverse a word that means KEEP, such as EROTS<-, NIER<-

Caution! Don't expect to find encapsulated indicators all the time - BACKBONE can easily mean "spine". Check what works in the context of the clue.

As you can see, such indicators are pretty easy to spot once you know the trick. In the next post we'll look at clue indicators with a little more twist – the implied indicator.

Related Posts:

• Tricky Indicators: Part II
• What are Ximenean clues?
• Of Ximeneans and Libertarians
• Cryptic Clue Types

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Hidden Word Indicators

A collection of hidden word/telescopic clue type indicators.

Hidden Word Indicators

APPEARS IN BURIED IN CAMOUFLAGES CHARACTERS CONCEALED CONCEALING CONCEALS CONTAINED CONTENT CONTENTS CONTRIBUTING DEMONSTRATES DISPLAYING DWELLS IN ECLIPSING ENCLOSES EXHIBITING EXTRACT FEATURING

FROM FURNISHES GIVES HAS HELD BY HELPING TO MAKE HIDDEN HIDES HIDING HOLDS IN IN PART INHERENT IN INSIDE INTERNAL INTRINSIC LETTERS FROM LETTERS OF

OF PART PARTIAL PARTLY PROVIDING SECRETING SEGMENT OF SELECTION SHOWING SMUGGLING SOME SOMEWHAT STORES VEILED VEILING VEILS WITHHOLDS WITHIN

Thanks to Ganesh for his inputs in compiling this list.

Related Posts:

• Telescopic Clue Type
• Other Indicators

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Anagram Indicators

Anagram indicators, or anagrinds as they've come to be called, give wide scope for play to the clue writer. Of all clue types that take indicators, setters seem to get most creative with anagrams. In essence, any word/phrase that suggests reordering of its adjacent letters can work as an anagrind.

The validity/fairness of indicators often leads to debate; that happens a lot with anagrinds (and I'm not talking about Nita Jaggi's anagrinds such as 'loud', 'large' in The Hindu – those are not okay by any yardstick). A classic point of contention is nounal anagrinds. One school of thought (which includes setters like Ximenes and Azed) is strictly against them, others setters/solvers find them acceptable in certain conditions. So an anagrind like 'different' (adjective) would be indisputable, but 'difference' (noun) tends to stir controversy.

Anagrinds By Letters Of The Alphabet

Here's a compilation of frequently seen anagram indicators. A huge set when compared to other indicators, and yet there are many more possibilities.

The indicators are placed in dictionary order. Click any letter for indicators that start with that letter.

Note: The list mentions one form of the word, consider its variants too. For example, BLEND => BLENDS, BLENDED, BLENDING and so on. Which grammatical form to use depends on the structure of the clue; note that the wordplay grammar must work for the cryptic reading as well as the surface. More on this here: Camouflaging Anagrams and Verbal Anagrammar.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Anagrinds Starting With 'A'

ABERRANT ABNORMAL ABOUT ABSURD ACCIDENTAL ADAPTED ADDLED ADJUSTED ADRIFT ADVERSELY AFFECTED AFFLICTED AFRESH AFTER A FASHION AGITATED AIMLESS ALL AT SEA

ALL OVER THE PLACE ALL WRONG ALTERED ALTERNATIVE ALTERNATIVELY AMALGAMATE AMBIGUOUS AMENDED AMISS AMOK ANEW ANOMALOUS ANOTHER ANOTHER WAY ANYHOW ANYWAY APPEARING AS

ARISING FROM AROUND ARRANGED ASKEW ASSEMBLED ASSORTED ASTRAY AT FAULT AT ODDS AT SEA AT SIXES AND SEVENS AT VARIANCE AWFUL AWKWARDLY AWRY

Anagrinds Starting With 'B'

BADLY BAFFLED BATTERED BEATEN UP BECOMES BEFUDDLED BENDS BENT BEWILDERED BIZARRE

BLEND BLUNDER BOTCHED BREAK DOWN BREAK OUT BREAK UP BREAKING BREWED BROADCAST BROKE

BROKEN DOWN BROKEN UP BUCKLES BUILT BUNGLED BUSTED BY ACCIDENT BY ARRANGEMENT BY MISTAKE

Anagrinds Starting With 'C'

CALAMITOUS CAN BE CAPRICIOUSLY CARELESSLY CATASTROPHIC CAUSES CAVORT CHANGE CHANGEABLE CHAOTIC CHEW UP CHOPPED UP CHURN CIRCLING CIRCULATED CLUMSY COCKTAIL COLLAPSE COMBINATION COME TO BE COME TO GRIEF COMES TO

COMIC COMICAL COMPLICATED COMPOSE COMPOSED COMPRISES CONCEALING CONCOCT CONFOUNDED CONFUSE CONSTITUENTS CONSTRUCT CONSTRUCTED CONTORT CONTORTED CONTRAPTION CONTRARIWISE CONTRARY CONTRIVANCE CONTRIVED CONVERSION CONVERT

CONVERTED CONVULSE COOK CORRECTED CORRUPT COULD BE CRACK UP CRACKED CRACKED UP CRASHED CRAZILY CREATE CROOKED CROSS CRUDE CRUMBLING CRUMPLED CRUSH CUNNING CURIOUSLY

Anagrinds Starting With 'D'

DAMAGE DANCE DEALT WITH DECOMPOSED DEFECTIVE DEFORMED DEMENTED DEMOLISHED DEPLORABLY DEPLOYED DERANGE DERIVED FROM DESIGN DESTROYED DEVASTATED DEVELOP DEVIANT DEVIATING DEVIOUSLY DEVISED DIFFERENT DIFFICULT DILAPIDATED

DISARRANGED DISARRAY DISASTROUS DISCLOSE DISCOMPOSED DISCONCERTED DISCORD DISCORDANT DISFIGURED DISGUISE DISHEVELLED DISINTEGRATED DISLOCATE DISMANTLED DISORDER DISORGANISED DISORIENTED DISPERSE DISPOSED DISQUIETED DISRUPTED DISSEMBLING DISSEMINATED

DISSIPATED DISSONANT DISTORTED DISTRACTED DISTRAUGHT DISTRESSED DISTRIBUTED DISTURB DITHERING DIVERGENT DIVERSIFIED DIVERT DIVERTED DIZZY DOCTOR DODDERY DOTTY DOUBTFULLY DREADFUL DRESSED DRUNKEN DUBIOUSLY

Anagrinds Starting With 'E'

ECCENTRIC EFFECT EMBODIES EMBROIL EMEND ENGENDERING

ENGINEERED ENSEMBLE ENTANGLED EQUIVOCAL ERRATICALLY ERRING

ERRONEOUS ERUPTING EXCEPTIONAL EXCITED EXOTIC EXPLODED EXTRAORDINARILY

Anagrinds Starting With 'F'

FABRICATE FAILING FALLACIOUS FALSE FALTERING FANCIFUL FANTASTIC FASHION FAULTY FERMENTED FICKLE FIDDLE FIGURING IN FIXED

FLAWED FLOUNDER FLUCTUATING FLUMMOXED FLURRIED FLUSTER FOOLISHLY FOR A CHANGE FORCED FORGED FORM OF FORMS FORMULATING FRACAS

FRACTURED FRAGMENT FREAKISH FREE FRENZIED FRESH FRISKY FROLICKING <soln> FROM <fodder> FUDGE FUNCTION FUNNILY FUNNY FUSED

Anagrinds Starting With 'G'

GARBLED GENERATING GET-UP GETS FACE-LIFT GIVES GIVES RISE TO GO AMOK

GO ASTRAY GO BAD GO BERSERK GO OFF GO STRAIGHT GO TO PIECES GO TO POT

GO TO THE DOGS GO WRONG GONE OFF GROTESQUE GROUND GYRATES

Anagrinds Starting With 'H'

HAPHAZARD HAPLESS HARASSED HASH HAVOC

HAYWIRE HELTER-SKELTER HIDDEN HIDE HIGGLEDY-PIGGLEDY

HORRIBLE HOTCHPOTCH HYBRID

Anagrinds Starting With 'I'

IDLY ILL ILL-DISPOSED ILL-FORMED ILL-MADE ILL-TREATED ILL-USED IMPAIRED IMPERFECT IMPROPER IN A BAD WAY IN A FASHION IN A FERMENT IN A FRENZY IN A HEAP IN A JUMBLE IN A KNOT IN A MESS IN A MUDDLE

IN A RIOT IN A TANGLE IN A TIZZY IN A TUMULT IN A TURMOIL IN A WHIRL IN CHAOS IN COMMOTION IN CONFUSION IN DISARRAY IN DISGUISE IN DISORDER IN ERROR IN KNOTS IN ORDER IN OTHER WORDS IN PIECES IN REBELLION IN REVOLT

IN RUINS IN SHREDS IN TROUBLE IN UPROAR INACCURATE INCOHERENT INCONSTANT INCORRECT INDUCE INFIRM INJURED INORDINATELY INSANELY INTERFERED WITH <fodder> INTO <soln> INTRICATE INVOLVED IRREGULAR IRRITATED

Anagrinds Starting With 'J'

JERKY JITTERY

JOGGLE JUGGLED

JUMBLED

Anagrinds Starting With 'K'

KIND OF

KINKY

KNOTTED

Anagrinds Starting With 'L'

LAWLESS LET LOOSE LIQUID

LOOSELY LOUSILY LOUSY

LUDICROUS LUNATIC

Anagrinds Starting With 'M'

MAD MADDENING MADE MADE FROM MADE OF MADE UP MAKE MAKE A BUNGLE OF MAKE A HASH OF MAKE A MESS OF MAKE-UP MALADJUSTED MALADROIT MALFORMATION MALFORMED MALFUNCTION MALTREATED MANAGED MANGLED MANIFEST MANIPULATE MANOEUVRE MARRED MASHED MATERIAL FOR

MAULED MAYBE MAYHEM MEANDERING MEDLEY MELT MELTED MENDED MERCURIAL MESS MESSED MESSILY MESSY METAMORPHOSIS MINCED MINGLED MISAPPLIED MISBEHAVED MISCONSTRUED MISERABLE MISHANDLED MISHAP MISREPRESENTED MISSHAPEN MISTAKE

MISTREATED MISUSED MIX MIX-UP MIXED MIXTURE MOBILE MODEL MODELLED MODIFICATION MODIFIED MODIFY MOLESTED MONGREL MOULD MOULDED MOVING MUDDIED MUDDLE MUDDLY MUTABLE MUTATIVE MUTILATED MUTINOUS MYSTERIOUS

Anagrinds Starting With 'N'

NASTY NAUGHTY NEGOTIATED NEW NEW FORM OF NEW ORDER

NEW STYLE NEWLY FORMED NEWLY MADE NOT EXACTLY NOT IN ORDER NOT PROPERLY

NOT RIGHT NOT STRAIGHT NOVEL NUTTY

Anagrinds Starting With 'O'

OBSCURE OBSTREPEROUS ODD ODD LOOKING ODDLY OFF OPERATE ORDERED

ORGANISE ORIGINALLY OTHERWISE OUT OUT OF OUT OF GEAR OUT OF JOINT OUT OF HAND

OUT OF ORDER OUT OF SORTS OUTCOME OF OUTED OUTLANDISH OVERTHROW OVERTURN

Anagrinds Starting With 'P'

PECULIAR PECULIAR LOOKING PECULIARLY PERFIDIOUS PERHAPS PERMUTATION PERPLEXED PERVERSELY PERVERTED PHONEY

PLACED PLAGUED PLASTIC PLAYED POORLY POSITIONED POSSIBLY POTENTIALLY POWDERED PREPARED

PROBLEMATIC PROCESSING PROPERLY PULVERISED PUT ANOTHER WAY PUT OUT PUT RIGHT PUT STRAIGHT

Anagrinds Starting With 'Q'

QUARRIED

QUEER

QUESTIONABLE

Anagrinds Starting With 'R'

RABID RAGGED RAMBLING RAN AMOK RAVAGE RAVELLED RE-ORDERED READJUSTED REARRANGED REARRANGEMENT REASSEMBLED REBEL REBELLIOUS REBUILT RECALCITRANT RECAST RECOLLECTED RECONSTRUCTED RECREATE RECTIFIED REDESIGNED REFINE REFORM REFRACTORY

REGENERATE REGULATED REMADE REMODELLED RENDERING RENOVATED REORGANISED REPACK REPAIR REPLACED REPRESENT REPRODUCE RESETTLE RESHAPE RESHAPED RESHUFFLED RESOLVED RESORT RESULTING FROM RESULTING IN REVEAL REVIEWED REVISE REVISED

REVOLTING REVOLUTIONARY REVOLVING REWORD REWRITE RICKETY RIDICULOUS RIGGED RIOTOUS ROCKY ROTTEN ROUGH ROVING RUDE RUFFLED RUINED RUINOUS RUINS RUM RUMPLED RUN AMOK RUNNING WILD RUPTURED

Anagrinds Starting With 'S'

SADLY SCATTER SCRAMBLED SCRUFFY SEQUENCED SERVED UP SET SET DIFFERENTLY SET OFF SET OUT SETTING SHAKEN SHAKY SHAMBLES SHAPED SHATTERED SHIFT SHILLY-SHALLY SHUFFLE SHUFFLED

SILLY SINGULAR SKITTISH SLIPPING SLIPSHOD SLOPPY SLOVENLY SMASH SOMEHOW SORRY SORT SORT OF SORTED SPINNING SPLIT SPOILT SPORTING SPURIOUS SQUIGGLY

STAGGERED STEWED STIR STIRRED STORMY STRAIGHT STRANGE STRANGELY STRAYING STRICKEN STUMBLING STUPID SUBSTITUTE SUBTLE SUBVERT SURPRISINGLY SWAPPED SWIRLING SWITCHED

Anagrinds Starting With 'T'

TAMPERED WITH TANGLED TATTERED TEMPER TEMPESTUOUS TENTATIVE TERRIBLY THE RESULT OF THROWN TIDIED TIPPED TIPSY

TOPSY-TURVY TORN TORTUOUS TOSSED TOUSLE TRANSFORM TRANSLATED TRANSMUTED TRANSPORT TRANSPOSED TREACHEROUS TREATED

TRICK TROUBLED TUMBLE-DOWN TUMBLING TUMULTUOUS TURBULENT TURNED TURNED OUT TWIST

Anagrinds Starting With 'U'

UNCERTAIN UNCLEAR UNCOMMON UNDECIDED UNDISCIPLINED UNDOING UNDONE UNEASY UNFAMILIAR UNHAPPY UNNATURAL UNORTHODOX

UNRAVELLED UNRELIABLE UNREST UNRESTRAINED UNRULY UNSETTLED UNSETTLING UNSOUND UNSTABLE UNSTEADY

UNTIDY UNTIE UNUSUAL UNWONTED UPHEAVAL UPSET USAGE USE <fodder> FOR <soln>

Anagrinds Starting With 'V'

VACILLATING VAGUE VANDALISE VARIABLE

VARIABLE VARIED VARIETY VARIOUSLY

VARY VERSION VIOLENTLY VOLATILE

Anagrinds Starting With 'W'

WANDERING WARPED WARRING WAVERING WAY OUT WAYWARD WEAVE WEIRDLY WELL-FORMED

WELL-ORDERED WELL-ORGANISED WELL-VARIED WENT OFF WENT TO PIECES WHIRLING WILD WILTS WOBBLY

WOOLLY WORK OUT WORRIED WOVEN WRECK WRITHING WRONGLY

Thanks to Ganesh for his inputs in compiling this list.

Related Posts:

• Anagram Clue Type
• Index Of All Clue Types
• Reverse Anagrams

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Homophone Indicators

Neyartha's recent puzzles in The Hindu Crossword have carried well-disguised homophones, such as "team report" for CIDE{~side} and "closing word for the auditor" for YAWS{~yours}.

So I thought of putting together a set of homophone indicators. The basic trait of these words/phrases is a reference to sound or hearing.

Homophone Indicators

ACCORDING TO HEARSAY ACCORDING TO REPORT ANNOUNCED ALOUD AS WE HEAR AUDIBLE AUDIBLY AUDITOR'S AUDITIONED AURALLY BY THE MOUTH BY THE SOUND OF IT DICTATED DISCUSSED FOR THE AUDIENCE FOR THE AUDITOR FOR THE LISTENER HEARD

HEARER'S IN AUDITION IN CONVERSATION IN RECITAL IN SPEAKING IN SPEECH IT IS SAID LISTENER'S ON THE RADIO ORALLY OVERHEARD PRONOUNCED REPORT REPORTED REPORTEDLY SAID SAY

SO IT'S SAID SO TO SPEAK SO WE HEAR SOUND SOUNDED SOUNDING SOUNDS LIKE SPEAKER'S SPOKEN THEY SAY TO THE AUDIENCE TO THE AUDITOR TO THE LISTENER VOCAL VOICED WE HEAR WHEN HEARD

Related Posts:

• Homophone Clue Type
• Other Indicators

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Container and Content Indicators

The last post described container clues and the indicators that go with this clue type.

Here's a compilation of frequently seen containment indicators, grouped into two categories: content indicators describe putting the inner word within the outer word, and container indicators describe wrapping the outer word around the inner word.

Content Indicators - Inner Word Inside Outer Word

ABOARD ACCOMMODATED ADMITTED AMIDST BESIEGED BETWEEN BOARDING BOXED BREAKING BRIDGED BURIED CARRIED BY CAUGHT CIRCLED CONTAINED CONTENTS COVERED CLUTCHED DIVIDING EMBRACED

ENCIRCLED ENFOLDED ENTERING ENVELOPED FILLING FLANKED GRASPED HARBOURED HELD HOUSED IMBIBED IN INCLUDED IN INSIDE INTERNAL INTERRUPTING INTRODUCED INWARDLY LINING

OCCUPYING PACKING PARTING PENETRATING PIERCING RESTRAINED RINGED SEPARATING SHELTERED SPLITTING STUFFING SURROUNDED SWALLOWED TAKEN IN TUCKED INTO WITHIN WRAPPED

Container Indicator -  Outer Word Around Inner Word

ABOUT ACCEPTS ADMITS AROUND BESIEGES BOXES BRIDGES CAPTURES CARRIES CATCHES CIRCLING CLUTCHES CONCEALING CONTAINING COVERS EMBRACING

ENCIRCLES ENFOLDS ENVELOPING ENVELOPS EXTERNAL FLANKS FRAMES GRASPING HARBOURING HOLDS HOUSES HOUSING INCLUDING OUTSIDE OUTWARDLY OVERWHELMS

PROTECTS RECEIVES RESTRAINS RINGS ROUND SHELTERING SURROUNDINGS SURROUNDS SWALLOWS TAKES IN TRAPS WITHOUT WRAPS

Notes:

• Consider variants of the word as well – e.g. COVERS => COVER, COVERING etc.
• Words that act as indicators may not always be indicators e.g. ABOUT can be an abbreviation for RE or CA, COVERS can be part of a charade clue to mean TENTS.
• This is an illustrative list, not a comprehensive one. Expect the unexpected, that's half the charm of crossword-solving.

Related Posts:

• Container Clue Type
• Reverse Containers
• Other Indicators

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