Transcript Introduction to Cryptic Crosswords

Introduction to Cryptic
Crossword Clues
Wei-Hwa Huang
January 2010
Link to this Presentation on my Blog:
onigame.livejournal.com
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
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
Types of Cryptic Clues (“Tricks”)
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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
Cryptic Definition Clues
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
• There may often be a more natural answer
that won’t fit in the grid
Soldiers often get them cut short (6)
LEAVES
• 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
Double Definition Clues
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
• “Surface reading” might not be a valid
definition
Evil structure in St. Louis (4)
ARCH
Evil = ARCH
structure in St. Louis = ARCH
• Trick: Different parts of speech
Having a ball (7)
BEARING
Having = BEARING (verb)
a ball = BEARING (noun)
• Trick: Different pronunciations
River blossom (6)
FLOWER
River = FLOWER (something that flows)
blossom = FLOWER
• Connector words
Holder for writing implement (3)
PEN
Holder = PEN
for = (connector)
writing implement = PEN
(Digression) Connector Words
• Connector words (or link words) separate the
two “halves” of the clue
• Generally mean “is”
• Examples
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(definition) is (definition)
(definition) – it’s (definition)
(definition) as (definition)
(definition) for (definition)
(definition) becomes (definition)
(definition) or (definition)
(definition)’s (definition)
Hidden Word Clues
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
• Tip: Easiest type of clue to find
Callous engineer has bug (5)
LOUSE
CalLOUS Engineer = fodder
has = hidden word indicator
bug = LOUSE (definition)
• Two parts can come in either order
Car in immense danger (5)
SEDAN
Car = SEDAN (definition)
in = hidden word indicator
immenSE DANger = fodder
• Tip: Ignore capitalization, punctuation, spaces
Salesman: “I sell hides, spice” (5)
ANISE
SalesmAN I SEll = fodder
hides = hidden word indicator
spice = ANISE (definition)
• Style: Cryptic and surface readings have to make
sense!
Salesman: “I sell hides or spice” (5)
Bad style: ANISE is not “or spice”
Something hidden by “salesman I
sell” or spice (5)
Bad style: Surface reading makes no sense
Some Hidden Word Indicators
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(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)
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(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)
Reversal Clues
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)
Brag about clothing (4)
GARB
Brag = fodder
about = reversal indicator
clothing = GARB (definition)
• Down clues may use “up” as indicators; Across
clues might use “left”
Bundle up components (5)
PARTS
Bundle = STRAP
up = reversal indicator
components = PARTS (definition)
• The fodder might be multiple words
High-powered vehicle upended garbage truck (7)
TRACTOR
High-powered vehicle = TRACTOR (def.)
upended = reversal indicator
garbage = ROT (noun)
truck (verb) = CART
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
Reversal Hidden Word Clues
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
Priestess always holds back blessings (6)
ASSETS
PriesteSTESS Always = (fodder)
holds = hidden word indicator
back = reversal indicator
blessings = ASSETS (definition)
(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!
Charade Clues
Charade Clues
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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
• Good Style: The charade “parts” and the actual
word should be unrelated
Declare delay can be avoided (9)
AVERTABLE
Declare = AVER
delay = TABLE (verb)
can be avoided = (definition)
• Abbreviations are common, as well as grabbing
parts of words
Around start of lunchtime, love soft
sound of horse’s hoof (4)
CLOP
Around = C (“circa”)
start of “Lunchtime” = L
love = O (tennis score)
soft = P (music, “piano”)
sound of horse’s hoof = (definition)
• Some fodder may be literal
Morning in Oregon is key (1,5)
A MINOR
Morning = A.M.
in = IN
Oregon = OR
is = (connector)
key = (definition)
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)
• Knowledge of foreign language may be helpful
Plaster the French fortress (6)
CASTLE
Plaster = CAST (noun)
“the” French = LE
fortress = (definition)
• The charade need not be in order as long as the
clue indicates it
Happy boy follows gram (4)
GLAD
Happy = (definition)
boy = LAD
gram = G (unit of weight)
LAD follows G = GLAD
Container Clues
Container Clues
• Fodder is put inside other fodder
• Indicator suggests some sort of
containment
• Good Style: both fodders should be
unrelated to the answer
Russian money in tome is
inconvenient (11)
TROUBLESOME
Russian money = ROUBLES
tome = (fodder)
ROUBLES in TOME = T(ROUBLES)OME
is = (connector)
inconvenient = (definition)
• 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
• Fodder may often be single letters
Head of pig found in excellent meal (6)
SUPPER
Head of “pig” = P
excellent = SUPER
P found in SUPER = SUP(P)ER
excellent meal = (definition)
• Charades, containers, and reversals are often
combined
“Two From Virginia Holding Back Attack,” editor
confirmed (8)
VERIFIED
Two From VIrginia = VI
Attack = FIRE
Back FIRE = ERIF
VI Holding ERIF = V(ERIF)I
editor = ED
confirmed = V(ERIF)I+ED (definition)
Some Container Indicators
(“container” side)
(“contents” 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.)
• 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.)
Homophone Clues
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)
Sounds like oil country (6)
GREECE
Sounds like = homophone indicator
oil = GREASE
country = (definition)
• Fodder might be multiple words
My lizard is said to be small (6)
MINUTE
My lizard = MY NEWT
is said = homophone indicator
to be = (connector)
small = (definition)
• Watch out for regional accents
Vocally communicate moment of force
to the audience (4)
TALK
Vocally communicate = (definition)
moment of force = TORQUE
to the audience = homophone indicator
Some Homophone Indicators
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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
Anagram Clues
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!
• Fodder often is multiple words
Alas, I’m crazy for Italian sausage (6)
SALAMI
ALAS IM = (fodder)
crazy = anagram indicator
for = (connector)
Italian sausage = (definition)
• May be mixed with containers, reversals, or
charades
After faculty holds out insane aunt, we go
back for a soft drink (8,3)
MOUNTAIN DEW
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)
Some Anagram Indicators
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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
Anagram Indicator Classes
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Chaotic/Disarray
Crazy/Foolish
Bad/Evil
Mistake/Problem
Break/Bend
Strange/Weird
Mix/Blend
Confuse/Tangle
Hidden/Fake
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New/Original
Different/Change
Fix/Modify
Assort/Arrange
Compose/Generate
Move/Circulate
Fluid/Free
Could be/Perhaps
Pieces/Ingredients
Deletion Clues
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:
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Beheadment: First letter deleted
Curtailment: Last letter deleted
First and Last letter deleted
Central letter (or letters) deleted
Indicated letters deleted
• Good Style: words should be unrelated
Actual kingdom is detailed (4)
REAL
Actual = (definition)
kingdom = REALM
is detailed = curtailment indicator
• Watch out for multiple words
After commencement, waste time for stew (6)
RAGOUT
After commencement = beheadment indicator
waste time = DRAG OUT
for = connector
stew = (definition)
Deletion Indicators
Beheadment
Curtailment
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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
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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
• Other letters can be missing as well
Bemoans heartless commandments (4)
RUES
Bemoans = (definition)
heartless = “without the middle letter”
commandments = RULES
• “Every other letter” can be seen occasionally; the
fodder should be literal
Take in penalty every second (3)
EAT
Take in = (definition)
pEnAlTy = (fodder)
every second = indicator
Initialism Clues
Artistic lithography involving Van Eyck
starts to be active (5)
ALIVE
Artistic Lithography Involving Van Eyck = (fodder)
starts = initialism indicator
to be = (connector)
active = (definition)
Punctuation
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
• In an “& lit.” (“and literally so”) clue, the clue is both the
“wordplay” half and the “straight definition” half
Traitor’s chief purpose! (7)
TREASON
Traitor’s chief = T
purpose = REASON
Questions?