MacGougan at Large

Notes on Word Puzzles - 6

Cryptic Crossword Basics

For my money, one of the best kinds of puzzle is the cryptic crossword. Unfortunately, the basics of how such a puzzle works aren’t obvious to the uninitiated. The clues can appear bizarrely confusing.

So here’s a quick primer on how to go about solving a cryptic crossword puzzle. Any good book such puzzles will have a better introduction than what I’ll provide below. The Catch-22, though, is that anyone who doesn’t already understand how cryptic crosswords work is unlikely to buy such a book.

The key starting point for understanding the clues is that the word is defined TWICE. The two definitions are then run together to look like a single clue, often in a way that’s deceptive or misleading.

Therefore, when deciphering a cryptic clue, the first question to consider is where one definition stops and the other definition starts.

Often, one definition is fairly straightforward, similar to a standard crossword clue, while the other definition plays around with the letters or sounds of the word.

Here are some examples of cryptic clues for the word: CRATER.

• Person who boxes circle on the moon. (6)

This is the Two Meanings approach. A CRATER can be a person who boxes - not a boxer in the fighting sense, but someone who puts things in crates. A CRATER can also mean a circle on the moon.

Note that cryptic clues usually end with the number of letters by word in parentheses. This is helpful if the entry is more than one word. For example, a clue for BOOM BOX would end with (4, 3).

• Tracer arranged impact area. (6)

This is the Anagram approach. “Tracer” arranged can be CRATER. Impact area is just another way of referring to a moon CRATER.

• Republican invested in providing food for crash site. (6)

This is the Deconstruction approach. Republican can be shortened to the letter R. To provide food for is to cater. R invested in cater is CRATER. Crash site is just another way of referring to a moon or moon-like CRATER.

• Moon spot found in aristocrat erasure. (6)

This is the Enjambment or Hidden Word approach. Moon spot is just one more paraphrase for a moon CRATER. “Found in” suggests something hidden, and sure enough the word CRATER is hidden at the end of aristoCRAT and beginning of ERasure.

Here are some additional examples, this time cryptic clues for the word: CRUISE.

• Ride a boat looking for someone to pick up. (6)

Two Definitions.

• Beginning of urgency detected in distorted cries traveling on water. (6)

Deconstruction. Beginning of urgency is the letter U. Distorted cries refers to rearranging the letters in the word cries. Put them together with U and you can make CRUISE.

• Ecru is eggshell - that’s a trip! (6)

Enjambment or Hidden Word. Word is hidden in eCRU IS Eggshell.

• Listeners hear boat staffs on the boat trip. (6)

This is the Homophone approach. Something that we didn’t have for Crater. Another term for boat staffs that listeners might hear is “crews”.

What I like about cryptic crosswords is that each clue is its own little puzzle that can be satisfying to solve on its own.

What I don’t like is that sometimes I want to share a particularly clever one with somebody else - but, unless I happen to be sitting next to a fellow Cryptic Maven, it takes too much explaining.