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Introduction to Cryptic Crossword Clues
Wei-Hwa HuangJanuary 2010
Link to this Presentation on my Blog:onigame.livejournal.com
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What is a Cryptic Crossword?
• Crossword puzzle with “cryptic” clues that use wordplay heavily
• Found in most major UK newspapers and a few major Canadian and US publications
• Uses a “sparse” grid where only half the letters in each word cross
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Where to Find Easy Cryptics
• Easiest: Lovatts Cryptic Crossword Magazine– http://www.lovatts.com.au/– Australian (has slightly different style
than American or British cryptics)– Excellent tutorial on their website
• Easy: “101 Cryptic Crosswords” edited by Fraser Simpson– Originally appeared in The New Yorker
from 1997-1999– American
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Types of Cryptic Clues (“Tricks”)
• Cryptic Definition Clues• Double Definition Clues• Hidden Word Clues• Reversal Clues• Reversal Hidden Word Clues• Charade Clues• Container Clues• Homophone Clues• Anagram Clues• Deletion Clues• Initialism Clues• “& lit.” (And Literally So) Clues
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Cryptic Definition Clues
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Cryptic Definition Clues
• Earliest type of clue• Evolved from normal crosswords• Clue has a misleading “surface reading” but
gives the correct answer when interpreted the right way
• Rarely seen in American cryptic crosswords, but still common outside the US
• Often is signified by ending with a question mark
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Soldiers often get them cut short (6)
LEAVES
• There may often be a more natural answer that won’t fit in the grid
• The (6) is called an “enumeration”; it tells you how many letters the answer has• SHORE LEAVES would get the enumeration (5,6)• Harder crosswords may omit the enumeration
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Double Definition Clues
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Double Definition Clues
• Clue can be split into two parts
• Each part is a definition of the answer
• Style: the two meanings of the word are unrelated or, better yet, have different etymologies
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Evil structure in St. Louis (4)
Evil = ARCH
structure in St. Louis = ARCH
ARCH
• “Surface reading” might not be a valid definition
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Having a ball (7)
Having = BEARING (verb)
a ball = BEARING (noun)
BEARING
• Trick: Different parts of speech
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River blossom (6)
River = FLOWER (something that flows)
blossom = FLOWER
FLOWER
• Trick: Different pronunciations
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Holder for writing implement (3)
Holder = PEN
for = (connector)
writing implement = PEN
PEN
• Connector words
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(Digression) Connector Words
• Connector words (or link words) separate the two “halves” of the clue
• Generally mean “is”• Examples
– (definition) is (definition)– (definition) – it’s (definition)– (definition) as (definition)– (definition) for (definition)– (definition) becomes (definition)– (definition) or (definition)– (definition)’s (definition)
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Hidden Word Clues
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Hidden Word Clues
• Clue can be split into two parts
• One part is a “straight definition” (may be cryptic)
• Other part has the answer “hidden” inside it, with an indicator that there is hiding going on
• Uncommon in British crosswords
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Callous engineer has bug (5)
CalLOUS Engineer = fodder
has = hidden word indicator
bug = LOUSE (definition)
LOUSE
• Tip: Easiest type of clue to find
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Car in immense danger (5)
Car = SEDAN (definition)
in = hidden word indicator
immenSE DANger = fodder
SEDAN
• Two parts can come in either order
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Salesman: “I sell hides, spice” (5)
SalesmAN I SEll = fodder
hides = hidden word indicator
spice = ANISE (definition)
ANISE
• Tip: Ignore capitalization, punctuation, spaces
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Salesman: “I sell hides or spice” (5)
• Style: Cryptic and surface readings have to make sense!
Bad style: ANISE is not “or spice”
Something hidden by “salesman I sell” or spice (5)
Bad style: Surface reading makes no sense
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Some Hidden Word Indicators• (fodder) characters
• (fodder) content
• (fodder) extract
• (fodder) letters
• (fodder) in part
• (fodder) partly
• (fodder) selection
• (fodder) somewhat
• partial (fodder)• some (fodder)
• (definition) in (fodder)
• (definition) from (fodder)
• (definition) within (fodder)
• (definition) inside (fodder)
• (definition) of (fodder)
• (fodder) has (definition)• (fodder) hides (definition)• (fodder) hiding (definition)• (fodder) hid (definition)• (fodder) conceal(s/ing/ed) (definition)• (fodder) display(s/ing/ed) (definition)• (fodder) exhibit(s/ing/ed) (definition)• (fodder) display(s/ing/ed) (definition)• (fodder) featur(es/ing/ed) (definition)• (fodder) provid(es/ing/ed) (definition)• (fodder) smuggl(es/ing/ed) (definition)• (fodder) veil(s/ing/ed) (definition)• (fodder) secreting (definition)• (fodder) helping to make (definition)• (fodder) has hidden (definition)• (fodder) has internal (definition)
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Reversal Clues
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Reversal Clues
• Clue can be split into two parts
• One part is a “straight definition” (may be cryptic)
• Other part has “fodder” and an indicator to “reverse” the fodder
• Fodder may be direct (literal) or indirect (defined)
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Brag about clothing (4)
Brag = fodder
about = reversal indicator
clothing = GARB (definition)
GARB
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Bundle up components (5)
Bundle = STRAP
up = reversal indicator
components = PARTS (definition)
PARTS
• Down clues may use “up” as indicators; Across clues might use “left”
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High-powered vehicle upended garbage truck (7)
High-powered vehicle = TRACTOR (def.)
upended = reversal indicator
garbage = ROT (noun)
truck (verb) = CART
TRACTOR
• The fodder might be multiple words
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Some Reversal Indicators• about, around, round, brought
about, coming around, going round
• back, backed, backing, backward, back-to-front, coming back, going back, looking back, sent back
• retreat, retreating, retrograde
• counter, revolutionary, turn, turns, turning, turned
• flipped, flipping, in reverse, reversed
• from the east, going west, westbound
• from the right
• over, overturned
(Down clues only)• ascending, raised, raising, rising,
lifted
• up, upended, upset
• brought up, coming up, looking up, sent up, shown up, written up
• from the bottom
• from the south, going north, northbound
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Reversal Hidden Word Clues
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Reversal Hidden Word Clues
• Clue can be split into two parts
• One part is a “straight definition” (may be cryptic)
• Other part has the answer “hidden backwards” inside it, with an indicator that there is hiding and reversal going on
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Priestess always holds back blessings (6)
PriesteSTESS Always = (fodder)
holds = hidden word indicator
back = reversal indicator
blessings = ASSETS (definition)
ASSETS
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(Digression) See a Pattern?
• Clue can be split into two parts• One part is a “straight definition” (may be cryptic)• Other part is a “cryptic half”, with indicators that
there is some sort of wordplay going on• Wordplay is often some sort of action (“indicator
word”) being done to some text (“fodder”)• Fodder can be direct (“use these letters”) or
indirect (“find your own letters”)– Good Style: Hidden words must be direct!
• Surface reading should make sense!
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Charade Clues
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Charade Clues
• Most common type of Clue
• Named after the game of Charades
• Pieces of the answer are clued
• Unlike the game, it is the letters that are clued, not the sounds
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Declare delay can be avoided (9)
Declare = AVER
delay = TABLE (verb)
can be avoided = (definition)
AVERTABLE
• Good Style: The charade “parts” and the actual word should be unrelated
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Around start of lunchtime, love soft sound of horse’s hoof (4)
Around = C (“circa”) start of “Lunchtime” = Llove = O (tennis score)
soft = P (music, “piano”)sound of horse’s hoof = (definition)
CLOP
• Abbreviations are common, as well as grabbing parts of words
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Morning in Oregon is key (1,5)
Morning = A.M. in = IN
Oregon = ORis = (connector)key = (definition)
A MINOR
• Some fodder may be literal
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Some Abbreviations• Chemistry: “sodium” = NA; “temperature” = T• Geography: “Idaho” = ID; “Switzerland” = CH (Confoederatio
Helvetica); “Australia” = OZ• Money: “bob” = S (shilling); “coin” = D (denarius); “debt” = IOUS• Games: “knight” = N (chess); “duck” = O (cricket)• Jobs: “doctor” = MD ; “copper” = PC (police constable)• Roman numerals: “six” = VI; “grand” = M• Measurements: “pound” = LB; “inch” = IN• Slang: “car” = T (Model T); “sweat” = BO (Body odor)• Music: “key” = B; “note” = MI; “loudly” = F• Latin: “about” = C (circa); “this month” = INST (instante mense);
“right eye” = OD (oculus dexter)• British abbreviations: “gunners” = RA (Royal Artillery); “jolly” = RM
(Royal Marine); “king” = GR (King George, Rex); “medal” = OBE (Order of the British Empire); “posh” = U (Upperclass); “Ulster” = NI (Northern Ireland)
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Plaster the French fortress (6)
Plaster = CAST (noun)
“the” French = LE
fortress = (definition)
CASTLE
• Knowledge of foreign language may be helpful
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Happy boy follows gram (4)
Happy = (definition)
boy = LAD
gram = G (unit of weight)
LAD follows G = GLAD
GLAD
• The charade need not be in order as long as the clue indicates it
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Container Clues
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Container Clues
• Fodder is put inside other fodder
• Indicator suggests some sort of containment
• Good Style: both fodders should be unrelated to the answer
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Russian money in tome is inconvenient (11)
Russian money = ROUBLEStome = (fodder)
ROUBLES in TOME = T(ROUBLES)OME is = (connector)
inconvenient = (definition)
TROUBLESOME
• Could have used “book” instead of “tome” to make the clue even harder
• ROUBLES is plural, but cryptic reading requires singular; fortunately, “money” is usefully ambiguous
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Head of pig found in excellent meal (6)
Head of “pig” = P
excellent = SUPER
P found in SUPER = SUP(P)ER
excellent meal = (definition)
SUPPER
• Fodder may often be single letters
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“Two From Virginia Holding Back Attack,” editor confirmed (8)
Two From VIrginia = VI Attack = FIRE
Back FIRE = ERIF VI Holding ERIF = V(ERIF)I
editor = ED confirmed = V(ERIF)I+ED (definition)
VERIFIED
• Charades, containers, and reversals are often combined
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Some Container Indicators(“container” side)• admit, allow, contain, take in,
introduce
• about, around, box, circle, encircle, frame, ring, round
• besiege, capture, catch, flank, surround
• clutch, embrace, enfold, envelop, grasp, hold, swallow, wrap
• bridge, harbor, house, shelter
• cover, external, outside, without
• passive form of “contents” verbs (“entered by,” “splitted by,” etc.)
(“contents” side)• aboard, boards, enters
• penetrates, pierces
• breaks, divides, interrupts, parts, separates, splits
• content, contents, fills, lines, occupies, packs, stuffs
• amidst, inside, internal, within
• “ing” form of verbs (“stuffing,” “piercing,” etc.)
• passive form of “container” verbs (“admitted,” “beseiged,” etc.)
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Homophone Clues
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Homophone Clues
• Fodder sounds like the answer word
• Indicator suggest some sort of sounding out
• (Strictly speaking, these should be called “heterographic homophone” clues, as the fodder and the answer should have different spellings)
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Sounds like oil country (6)
Sounds like = homophone indicator
oil = GREASE
country = (definition)
GREECE
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My lizard is said to be small (6)
My lizard = MY NEWT
is said = homophone indicator
to be = (connector)
small = (definition)
MINUTE
• Fodder might be multiple words
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Vocally communicate moment of force to the audience (4)
Vocally communicate = (definition)
moment of force = TORQUE
to the audience = homophone indicator
TALK
• Watch out for regional accents
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Some Homophone Indicators• said, say
• announced, pronounced, reported(ly), sounded
• audible, aurally, vocal, voiced
• as we hear, overheard
• audience’s, auditor’s, hearer’s, listener’s, speaker’s
• for the audience/etc., to the audience/etc.
• in audition, in conversation, in speaking, in recital
• on the radio
• according to hearsay, by the sound of it, so it’s said, so to speak, so we hear
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Anagram Clues
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Anagram Clues
• Fodder has its letters rearranged
• Indicator suggests some sort of rearrangement or mixing or chaos
• Second-most common type of clue (most common in poor constructions)
• Good Style: fodder should be literally in the clue. “Indirect” anagrams are considered very bad construction!
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Alas, I’m crazy for Italian sausage (6)
ALAS IM = (fodder)
crazy = anagram indicator
for = (connector)
Italian sausage = (definition)
SALAMI
• Fodder often is multiple words
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After faculty holds out insane aunt, we go back for a soft drink (8,3)
faculty = MIND out = O (baseball)
insane AUNT = UNTA (anagram)MIND holds O+UNTA = M(OUNTA)IND
WE go back = EW (reversal)After MOUNTAIND, EW = MOUNTAINDEW
for = (connector)a soft drink = (definition)
MOUNTAIN DEW
• May be mixed with containers, reversals, or charades
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Some Anagram Indicators• abnormal, about, absurd, adapt, adapted, addled, adjust, adjusted, adjustment, adrift, afresh, after a fashion, agitated, all over, alter,
alteration, altered, altering, amiss, anew, another way, anyhow, around, arrange, arranged, arrangement, arranging, askew, assemble, assembled, assembling, assembly, assorted, assortment, astray, at odds, at sea, at sixes and sevens, awful, awfully, awkward, awkwardly, awry, bad, badly, bananas, bastard, bats, battered, batty, beaten, beaten up, become, becomes, becoming, bend, bent, bizarre, blend, blended, boil, boiled, boiling, break, breaking, brew, brewed, brewing, broadcast, broken, build, building, built, by arrangement, by mistake, can be, careless, carelessly, cast, cavort, cavorting, change, changed, changes, changing, chaos, chaotic, characters, chop, chopped, circulate, circulated, cocktail, complicate, complicated, components, compose, composed, composing, composition, compound, comprise, concealed, concealing, conceals, confuse, confused, confusing, constituents, construct, conversion, convert, converted, convertible, cook, cooked, correct, corrected, corrupt, corrupted, corruption, could be, crack, cracked, crackers, cracking, crazed, crazy, criminal, cuckoo, cunningly, curious, curiously, damage, damaged, dance, dancing, dealt, deform, deformed, demolished, deploy, deployed, derived from, design, designed, develop, developed, deviation, devious, dicky, different, differently, disarray, disfigure, disfigured, disguise, disguised, dishevelled, dislocation, dismantled, disorder, disordered, disorderly, dispersed, disposed, disruption, disseminated, distressed, disturbance, disturbed, disturbing, diversified, dizzy, doctor, doctored, dodgy, dotty, dreadful, dreadfully, dressed, drunk, dud, duff, eccentric, edit, edited, engendering, engineered, ensemble, entangle, entangled, erratic, erupting, essentials, excited, exotic, explode, exploded, exploding, extraordinary, fabricate, fabricated, false, fanciful, fancy, fantastic, fashion, fashioned, fashioning, faulty, fermented, fiddle, fiddled, find, fluid, flurried, foolish, foolishly, for a change, forced, forge, forged, form, fractured, fragmented, fragments, free, freely, fresh, freshly, frolicking, fudge, funny, garbled, generating, gets, gives, giving, grotesque, ground, haphazard, hash, havoc, haywire, hide, hiding, higgledy-piggledy, ill, ill-disposed, ill-formed, ill-treated, improper, improperly, in a ferment, in a jumble, in a mess, in a whirl, incorrect, incorrectly, in disarray, in disguise, in error, ingredients, in ruins, interfered with, involve, involved, irregular, irregularity, jittery, juggled, jumbled, jumping, kind of, kinky, knotted, lawless, letters, liquid, loose, loosely, lunatic, mad, made, made up, madly, make-up, malformed, malfunction, maltreated, managed, mangled, manoeuvre, mash, massaged, maybe, may be, meandering, medley, mess, messy, minced, mishandle, misplaced, misshapen, mistake, mistaken, misuse, mix, mixed, mixture, mobile, modelled, modified, moving, muddle, muddled, mutilated, mutinous, naughty, new, newly, not in order, not properly, not right, not straight, novel, nuts, nutty, odd, off, order, ordered, orderly, organise, organised, original, originally, otherwise, out, out of joint, out of sorts, peculiar, perhaps, perverse, perversely, pervert, perverted>, phoney, pie, pitching, plastic, playing, poor, poorly, possible, possibly, potential, potentially, prepare, prepared, problem, processing, produce, production, pseudo, put out, put right, put straight, queer, queerly, questionable, quirky, ragged, rambling, random, randomly, recollected, rectified, reeling, reels, reform, reformed, regulated, repair, repaired, replaced, resort, reveal, revealed, review, reviewed, revolting, revolutionary, rigged, riot, rioting, riotous, rock, rocking, rocky, rotten, rough, roughly, round, ruin, ruined, ruinous, rum, run, running, runs, rupture, ruptured, sad, sadly, scatter, scattered, set off, set out, shake, shaken, shaking, shaky, shambles, shift, shifted, shifting, shot, silly, sloppy, smash, smashed, smashing, snarled, somehow, spill, spilled, spin, spinning, spoil, spoilt, spread, spun, stagger, staggered, staggering, stew, strange, strangely, stray, substitute, substituted, surprising, surprisingly, suspect, swimming, swirl, swirling, switch, switched, tangled, tattered, tidied, tipsy, tortuous, train, trained, training, transform, transformed, transformer, translate, translated, treat, treated, treatment, tricky, trim, trouble, troubled, tumbling, turn, turned, turning, turns, twist, twisted, twister, undone, unnatural, unrestrained, unruly, unsettle, unsettled, unsteady, untidy, unusual, unusually, upheaval, upset, used, vague, vaguely, variation, varied, variety, version, volatile, wander, wandering, warp, warped, wayward, weave, weaving, weird, wild, wilder, wildly, worked, working, worried, wound, woven, wrecked, writhing, wrong, wrongly
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Anagram Indicator Classes
• Chaotic/Disarray• Crazy/Foolish• Bad/Evil• Mistake/Problem• Break/Bend• Strange/Weird• Mix/Blend• Confuse/Tangle• Hidden/Fake
• New/Original• Different/Change• Fix/Modify• Assort/Arrange• Compose/Generate• Move/Circulate• Fluid/Free• Could be/Perhaps• Pieces/Ingredients
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Deletion Clues
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Deletion Clues
• Fodder loses some letters• Indicator suggests some sort of deletion• The deleted letters are NOT clued (otherwise it would be
a charade); only their position in the fodder is• Several varieties, the first two being common enough to
get their own name:– Beheadment: First letter deleted– Curtailment: Last letter deleted– First and Last letter deleted– Central letter (or letters) deleted– Indicated letters deleted
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Actual kingdom is detailed (4)
Actual = (definition)
kingdom = REALM
is detailed = curtailment indicator
REAL
• Good Style: words should be unrelated
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After commencement, waste time for stew (6)
After commencement = beheadment indicator
waste time = DRAG OUT
for = connector
stew = (definition)
RAGOUT
• Watch out for multiple words
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Deletion Indicators
Beheadment• after start, after commencement
• beheaded, decapitated, headless, leaderless
• first off, head off, start off
• losing opener, missing the first, not beginning, not starting, unstarted
• beginning to go, start to go
• needing no introduction
• scratch the head
• initially lacking
• uninitiated
Curtailment• before the end• curtailed, tailless, endless• back off, end off, finish off• missing the last, unending,
unfinished, without end• almost, incomplete, most, mostly, not
completely, not quite, not fully• lacking finish• abridged, clipped, fall short• for the most part• fall short• Interminable• detailed
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Bemoans heartless commandments (4)
Bemoans = (definition)
heartless = “without the middle letter”
commandments = RULES
RUES
• Other letters can be missing as well
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Take in penalty every second (3)
Take in = (definition)
pEnAlTy = (fodder)
every second = indicator
EAT
• “Every other letter” can be seen occasionally; the fodder should be literal
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Initialism Clues
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Artistic lithography involving Van Eyck starts to be active (5)
Artistic Lithography Involving Van Eyck = (fodder)
starts = initialism indicator
to be = (connector)
active = (definition)
ALIVE
![Page 67: Introduction to Cryptic Crossword Clues Wei-Hwa Huang January 2010 Link to this Presentation on my Blog: onigame.livejournal.com](https://reader038.vdocuments.us/reader038/viewer/2022102713/56649e565503460f94b4eddf/html5/thumbnails/67.jpg)
Punctuation
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Punctuation
• Almost all punctuation can (should) be ignored; they’re for the surface reading
• A trailing “?” is an exception; it indicates that the wordplay or definition is questionable or involves a bad joke
• A trailing “!” is the other exception; it indicates an “& lit.” clue
• Not all constructors follow these rules, so be careful
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Traitor’s chief purpose! (7)
Traitor’s chief = T
purpose = REASON
TREASON
• In an “& lit.” (“and literally so”) clue, the clue is both the “wordplay” half and the “straight definition” half
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Questions?