How to Solve Cryptic Crosswords: A Beginner's Guide

The first time you read a cryptic crossword clue, it looks like nonsense — a little sentence that seems to have nothing to do with any real answer. That feeling is normal, and it's also the whole point. Cryptic crosswords hide the answer in plain sight using wordplay, and once you learn the handful of tricks setters use, the nonsense turns into a code you can crack. This beginner's guide to cryptic crosswords breaks down how the clues actually work, so you can start solving instead of staring. If you're brand new to crosswords in general, our regular crossword puzzles and the crossword rules page are the gentler place to start.

Every cryptic clue has two halves

Here is the single most important idea, the one that unlocks everything else: a cryptic clue is really two clues to the same answer, stuck together.

One half is a straight definition — exactly the kind you'd see in a normal crossword. The other half is wordplay that spells out the same answer a second way. The definition always sits at the beginning or the end of the clue, never in the middle. Your first job on any clue is to figure out where the definition stops and the wordplay starts.

Because you get the answer twice, cryptics are actually fairer than they look. If your wordplay gives you a word and it matches the definition at the other end of the clue, you can be almost certain you're right — far more certain than guessing at a vague one-line clue in a standard puzzle.

The number in brackets is your friend

After every cryptic clue you'll see a number in parentheses, like (7) or (3,4). This is the enumeration, and it tells you the length of the answer. A single number is a single word; (3,4) means a two-word answer of three letters then four ("THE COAT" would be (3,4)). A hyphenated answer shows up as (5-2).

New solvers often ignore the enumeration. Don't — it's free information. Knowing you need a seven-letter word rules out most of your wrong guesses before you even start.

The main types of cryptic clues

Almost every cryptic clue uses one of a small set of wordplay devices. Learn to recognise these and you've learned most of the game.

Anagrams

The most common device. Some of the letters in the clue, rearranged, spell the answer. The trick is that an anagram indicator — a word suggesting disorder or change — tells you a jumble is happening. Words like confused, broken, drunk, cooked, mixed, strange, out, wild, mad are classic indicators.

Example: "Mixed-up cider produced tears (5)" → the indicator is "mixed-up," the fodder is CIDER (five letters, matching the answer), and rearranged it gives CRIED, which fits the definition "produced tears."

The practical tip: whenever you see a word meaning "messed up" sitting next to a word that has the same number of letters as the answer, try anagramming it.

Hidden words

The answer is sitting inside the clue already, spelled out straight, hidden across the boundary between words. Indicators include in, some of, part of, held by, contains.

Example: "Religious image found in chic ones (4)" → ignore the word breaks and read straight through chi-c-o-n-es; hidden inside "chic ones" is ICON, matching "religious image." The indicator is "found in." Hidden-word clues are the easiest to spot once you train your eye to scan letters across the spaces instead of word by word.

Charades

You build the answer in pieces, one chunk after another, like charades acted out syllable by syllable. The clue gives you small bits to join.

Example: "Vehicle plus a tame animal make a floor covering (6)" → CAR (vehicle) + PET (tame animal) = CARPET, the floor covering. You assemble the parts left to right. Common building blocks setters reuse: PA or DAD (father), MA (mother), CAR, PET, and short joining words like AT, IN, ON and RE.

Containers (and insertions)

One group of letters is placed inside another. Indicators include in, inside, around, holding, swallowing, eating.

Example: "Thanks going into sin leaves a mark (5)" → put TA ("thanks") inside SIN to get S(TA)IN = STAIN, which fits "leaves a mark." The indicator "going into" tells you to nest one piece within another.

Reversals

A word is written backwards. Indicators include back, returning, going west (in an across clue), up or rising (in a down clue, since down answers run downward).

Example: "Dog turning into a deity (3)" → DOG written backwards is GOD, the deity. The indicator is "turning."

Homophones

The answer sounds like something else. Indicators point to hearing or speech: we hear, reportedly, on the radio, said, aloud.

Example: "Medieval soldier, we hear, brings the evening (5)" → KNIGHT sounds like NIGHT, which brings the evening. The indicator "we hear" tells you to listen for the answer rather than spell it.

Double definitions

The simplest cryptic clue of all: two straight definitions of the same word, side by side, with no wordplay indicator at all.

Example: "Money holder on the river's edge (4)" → BANK means both a place that holds money and the edge of a river. If a short clue reads like two unrelated definitions jammed together, suspect a double definition.

A simple method for your first puzzles

1. Read the clue and ignore the surface story. "Drunk sailor loses ship" is meant to paint a picture — the picture is a deliberate distraction. Look past it.
2. Find the definition. It's at one end. Underline the first and last word or two as candidates.
3. Spot the indicator. Is there a word meaning "mixed up" (anagram), "hidden in" (hidden word), "backwards" (reversal), or "sounds like" (homophone)? The indicator tells you which device is in play.
4. Use the enumeration. Solve toward an answer of exactly the right length.
5. Confirm with the crossing letters. As with any crossword, the letters from intersecting answers are your safety net. A wordplay answer that also fits the crossings is almost always correct.

Start with puzzles labelled "quick cryptic" or "cryptic for beginners" — these use the friendliest indicators and shorter words. The famous principle from the setter Afrit sums up the unwritten contract between you and the setter: a clue need not mean what it says, but it must say what it means. The wordplay is always there. You just have to learn to see it.

Keep your everyday crossword skills sharp too

Cryptics reward a big vocabulary and quick pattern recognition — exactly the muscles you build by solving ordinary crosswords every day. If the cryptic clues feel like too much at once, spend a week on standard grids first. Our easy crosswords ease you in, and the mini crossword is a fast daily warm-up. Then come back to the cryptic clue types above — they'll make a lot more sense once straight clues feel automatic.

Ready to practise the basics that every cryptic solver leans on? Play a crossword now, and when a clue stumps you, remember: find the definition, spot the indicator, count the letters.

Frequently asked questions

What is a cryptic crossword?

A cryptic crossword is a crossword where each clue contains both a straight definition of the answer and a piece of wordplay that spells the same answer a second way. The wordplay uses devices like anagrams, hidden words and homophones, with the definition placed at the start or end of the clue. They are most popular in Britain, Ireland, Australia and India.

How do you solve cryptic crossword clues for beginners?

Start by separating the clue into two parts: the definition (at the beginning or end) and the wordplay (the rest). Look for an indicator word that signals the type of wordplay — words like "confused" or "mixed" mean an anagram, "in" or "some of" mean a hidden word, and "we hear" means a homophone. Use the number in brackets to confirm the answer's length, then check it against the crossing letters.

What is an anagram indicator?

An anagram indicator is a word in a cryptic clue that signals the letters of a nearby word should be rearranged to make the answer. Common indicators suggest disorder or change — for example "confused," "broken," "drunk," "cooked," "mixed," "wild" or "out." If you see one of these next to a word with the same number of letters as the answer, try anagramming that word.

Are cryptic crosswords harder than regular crosswords?

Cryptic crosswords have a steeper learning curve because you must first learn the wordplay conventions, but they are not necessarily harder once you know the rules. Many solvers find them fairer than standard crosswords, because each clue effectively gives the answer twice — once as a definition and once as wordplay — so a confirmed solution feels more certain.