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cryptic instr 87
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2022-08-26
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C R Y P T I C C R O S S W O R D
In Cryptic Crosswords, part of the
clue is a definition for the word;
the rest of the clue is a wordplay on
the word. You never know whether the
wordplay comes at the beginning or
end of the clue. That's for you to
figure out. The charm of this kind
of crossword is that you will feel
great every time you figure one out.
There are several different types
of wordplay that are used. I wrote
to DELL Publications and they sent me
a listing of them.
\
-ANAGRAMS: The example above is an
anagram clue. There will usually be
a word like "wrong", or "mixed", or
"crazy" that tips you off that one of
the words in the clue needs to be
anagrammed.
-CHARADES: The answer has been broken
into two or more consecutive parts,
and clues for both are given. The
trick is that the words are often
broken in a surprising place. For
instance, "The skinny ruler is
pondering (8)" turns out to be
"thinking". "Thin king". Grrrr.
\
-CONTAINERS: Similar to CHARADES,
this type of clue has a word found
"inside" another word. "A beam
inside hastened to get splashed (7)"
becomes "sprayed" when you notice
that "ray" (beam) is inside "sped"
(hastened).
-HIDDEN WORDS: Sometimes the answer
is given directly in the clue, but is
disguised. "James' cape helped him
make getaway (6)" has the word
"escape" imbedded in the clue.
"Getaway" is the definition.
\
-HOMOPHONES: The answer sounds like
the word defined by the clue. There
will almost always be a a word like
"sounds" or "hears" to tip you off to
look for a homophone. "We heard the
black suit being neutered (5)" could
only be "spade", which sounds like
"spayed". If it were a six-letter
word we were looking for, it would be
"spayed".
\
-REVERSALS: The answer will spell
something else backward. If it's a
horizontal clue, there will be a
tipoff phrase such as "to the left"
or "westward". A vertical word will
have a word like "rising" or "upward".
"Flower part rises late, perhaps? (5)"
would be a good clue for the down
word "petal", which is found backwards
in the clue.
\
Here, once again in a nutshell,
is how to solve a cryptic crossword.
Each definition contains a true
synonym to the word, as well as some
form of wordplay on the word. The
trick is to figure out which is which.
Most of my wordplays are anagrams.
For instance,
AN IFFY CURE IS A SEA TRIP.
A sea trip is a cruise which is what
you get if you anagram "cure is".
There is usually an adjective like
"bad" or "mangled" before the word(s)
to be anagrammed.
Check out the "explanation" for
the cryptic on Puzzle Page for more
examples.