![]() ![]() The answer BOTHERING (“interrupting”) is made of BO (“Ms. Charades may also have more than two parts: Interrupting Ms. The answer TARGETS (“goals”) can be broken into TAR (“sailor”) and GETS (“attains”). In the parlor game of charades, words are acted out in pieces similarly, some cryptic answers can be broken into smaller words that are clued individually: Sailor attains goals (7) Hints for spotting this type: Look for a word or phrase suggesting mixing, and a word or group of consecutive words with the same number of letters as the answer. ![]() “Model” looks like a noun here, but it’s actually an imperative verb, telling you to model the letters of the phrase “in a studio” to get AUDITIONS (“tries out for part”). The answer TARANTINO (“Pulp Fiction director”) comes from the snarled letters of “Tarnation.” Here’s another: Model in a studio tries out for part (9) For example: “Tarnation!” snarled Pulp Fiction director (9) The rearranged letters are always immediately preceded or followed by a word or phrase that suggests the mixing, such as wild, drunk, repair, or in a muddle. In an anagram clue, the wordplay half actually gives all the letters of the answer, albeit in mixed order. Here are the eight common methods by which hints are given via wordplay, and hints for spotting them: For example, the word putter in a clue may appear to refer to a golf club but actually mean dawdle or even one who puts.Ĭryptic clues are followed by a number or numbers in parentheses indicating the length of the answer: (5) means it’s a five-letter word, while (2,3,4) indicates a three-word phrase like “in the know.” Also, both parts may contain words that appear on the surface to mean something different from what they actually indicate. But the devious creators cleverly join the two halves of the clue in ways that make it hard to tell them apart. With two routes to the answer, you might expect cryptic clues to be easier to solve than standard crossword clues. Either half may come first, but there will always be a point at which the clue can be divided into these two parts. The clues rely on wordplay, letter-play and ambiguity of meaning in words.Every cryptic clue has two parts: a definition of the answer and an indication of the answer’s literal makeup through wordplay. Cryptic crosswords exist in other languages, but they are not quite the same as English cryptics. As well as Britain, they are popular in Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and several other English-speaking countries. The cryptic crossword has never really taken off in the States in a big way. His successor Azed (Jonathan Crowther) came up with these 3 simple elements: 1. After him came Ximenes (Derrick Macnutt) who devised some guidelines for setting fairclues. His clues were fairly obscure and difficult to solve. The first all-cryptic crossword in English was created in 1926 by poet and translator Edward Powys Mathers, who called himself Torquemada after the Spanish Grand Inquisitor. N/A – no ranking, you used a Hint.Īlthough the crossword puzzle was invented in the United States (by an Englishman), cryptic crosswords are a British creation. If you use a Hint, you won’t get a ranking.Ĭompletion Click/tap Continue to show the Scorecard with your time, rank and RETURN option so you can play again. Word Fills in the correct word for the space or clue you’ve highlighted. Letter Fills in the correct letter for the square you’ve highlighted. Click/tap the Reveal button indicated by the tick icon to display incorrect letters in red for 5 seconds OR select the red Clear button to remove any incorrect letters from the grid. Reveal Provides a 5-second peek at the entire solution.Ĭheck Checks for mistakes. (Click/tap the Hint button again to go back to Menu options). Hints Click/tap the Hint button to display the hint options in the top menu bar. Reset Click/tap on the Reset button indicated by the circle arrow to clear the grid and restart the crossword. Click/tap Resume when you wish to restart play. Pause To pause during play, click/tap the Timer (or the pause icon on your smartphone). Click/tap Show to restore your view of the Timer. If you do not like working against the clock, select Menu then Hide at the top of the puzzle. ![]() Timer The Timer indicated by the clock icon begins counting as soon as you start the crossword. Once the square is highlighted, use the Backspace key to delete the letter OR click/tap on the square you want to change and simply type in a new letter. Delete/Change Letter Click/tap on the letter you wish to delete. ![]()
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