In the example clues below, I explain the two parts of each: the definition of the answer and the wordplay – the recipe for assembling its letters. In a genuine puzzle environment, of course, you also have the crossing letters, which greatly alleviate your solving load. The explanations contain links to previous entries in this series on such matters as spelling one word backwards to reveal another. And setters’ names tend to link to interviews, in case you feel like getting to know these people better.
Half of crosswords’ clues are the ones that go down. Like their horizontal cousins, they sometimes span most or all of the grid, opening up frontiers to those who’ve solved them.
Like across clues, downs sometimes sit helpfully on the perimeter; especially helpful are those on the left, revealing handy initial letters of acrosses.
Acrosses and downs are identical, except when they aren’t. We’ve looked here before at one way they differ: in a clue with wordplay which gives you the answer in reverse, the letters of a down can be said to be “heading north”, or to have been “written up” – or, more plainly, to be “upside down” – in a way that isn’t available when the clue’s an across.
Another is the way the solver sees some bits of the answer relative to the rest.
For example, here’s Picaroon …
23d 1 under 100 could be 99 (4)
[ wordplay: the word ‘one’ (‘1’) after (‘under’) Roman numeral for ‘100’ ]
[ ONE after C ]
[ definition: could be 99 ]
… with an ingenious route to the CONE which could be a 99 – the one which used to have a Cadbury Flake in but nowadays might have a German imitation. And you can read more about when the solver gives an example of the sort of thing the answer is … here.
Likewise, the bottom section of the answer might be thought of as propping up the rest. So here’s Philistine …
20d The woman’s supporting the Guardian guides (6)
[ wordplay: synonym for ‘the woman’s’ after (‘supporting’) synonym for ‘the Guardian’ ]
[ HERS after US ]
[ defintion: guides ]
… where “the woman’s” becomes not SHE IS but HERS, under US (us at the Guardian) for USHERS.
It works the other way of course, even when it might not seem to on first glance. For example, when Rufus says “above all” …
14d What the driver needs above all is to be sober (8)
[ wordplay: golfing implement (‘what the driver needs’) on top of (‘above’) synonym for ‘all’ ]
[ TEE on top of TOTAL ]
[ definition: sober ]
… we are to put the TEE above a word meaning ALL for TEETOTAL. And in clues which use the imagery of one part propping up another, the uppermost letters may come first. We’ve just had “supporting”; here’s Provis …
7d Immoral act supported by the church from that time on (5)
[ wordplay: synonym for ‘immoral act’ on top of abbrev. for Church of England (‘the church’) ]
[ SIN on top of CE ]
[ definition: from that time on ]
… with some SIN supported by the CE for SINCE.
“Crowned by”, “superior to”; “held up by”; “topped with” … the imagery goes on. Beginners: any questions? Seasoned solvers: any favourites?
Finally, something we’ve alluded to before and worth returning to from time to time: do across clues count for just a little bit more than downs? Even if only subconsciously?
More guidance
Cryptic devices: hidden answers; double definitions; defining by example; cryptic definitions; soundalikes; spoonerisms; stammering; containers; reversals; initial letters; alternate letters; cycling; replacing one thing with another; taking most of a word; percentages of a word; naked words; first and last letters; middle letters; removing middle letters.
Bits and bobs: Roman numerals; Nato alphabet; Greek letters; chemistry; abbreviations for countries; foreign words; points of the compass; more points of the compass; playing cards; capital letters; boys and girls; clothes; apostrophes; cricket; alcohol; the church; politics; Latin; royals; newspapers; doctors; drugs; hospitals; railways; music; animals; cars; money; jobs; cities; rivers; boats; when the setter’s name appears; when the solver appears; “cheating”.
Individual letters: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O.