What is a cryptic crossword?
If you ever see a crossword puzzle where the answers don’t seem to cross enough and the clues look really weird, it is probably a cryptic crossword puzzle!
One reason that the answers don’t fully cross is that the information needed to confirm that you have the right answer is contained in the clue. A cryptic clue typically has two parts: the definition (similar to a regular crossword clue) and the wordplay (another description of the answer).
For example, the clue:
Obvious disagreement for one in court (9)
has the answer PLAINTIFF.* The definition part of the clue is “one in court”, with the rest of the clue playing charades PLAIN (obvious) + TIFF (disagreement). There are many other types of clues, described in the resources below:
Getting Started
- Cryptic Crossword Tutorial (from Best for Puzzles)
- Cryptic Word Searches (excellent book by Matt Mayfield)
- Let’s do a cryptic crossword! (bonus episode from Escape this Podcast)
Other resources
- Internet Anagram Server (for when you suspect anagrams)
- Dictionary grep/search (from the National Puzzler’s League, for when you have some letters of the clue)
- The usual suspects (from Cryptic Crosswords from Big Dave, a collection of elements commonly used in the wordplay of cryptic crosswords)