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. 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.
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