Clue Types

Anagrams are arguably the most common type of cryptic clue. In essence, the clue will indicate that you should "mix up" other letters in the clue (the "fodder") to form the answer.

A good clue should never ask you to anagram letters that are not explicitly in the clue, like a synonym of a word. This is called an "indirect anagram", and it's a big no-no.

The provided anagram indicator might have you scramble enough letters to determine the entire answer, or it may just give a subset of the solution ("partial anagram").

In a reversal clue, the indicator instructs you to reverse a set of letters. This can either be direct fodder given in the clue, or a synonym of the fodder (“indirect reversal”).

Some reversal indicators can only be used for vertical clues, like "going up", for example.

This common clue type involves surrounding one subset of the provided fodder with another. The indicator can instruct the solver to do this in two ways: either place one word inside the other, or put one word outside the other. These two scenarios may seem very similar (they’re accomplishing the same thing, after all), but the indicators used for these options can be drastically different.

A hidden clue will literally have the answer spelled out, verbatim, within the wording of the clue itself. Hidden indicators tend to be more subtle, since the answer can often be spotted just by reading through the clue. Once the solver has the faintest suspicion that a hidden construction is in play, the clue is basically already solved after some quick parsing.

The best hidden clues will have solutions that are incredibly hard to detect when reading the clue’s surface.

Homophone clues require you to think of a synonym of the provided fodder, and the correct one will sound like the solution. The closer the word sounds to the answer, the better. But it can vary. More iffy ones tend to punctuate the clue with a question mark.

Nearly all homophone indicators will refer to audio in some way, whether it's speaking, hearing, broadcasting, or otherwise.

Commonly just a double definition (though I’ve seen triples before), a multiple definition clue will have no wordplay - just multiple synonyms of the solution. The best clues of this type make it seem like there is wordplay by using inventive synonyms of the answer (almost like a Cryptic Definition clue - we’ll get there), when there actually isn’t.

Cryptic definition clues don't really involve wordplay - they just want you to think laterally. You've probably even encountered them in regular crosswords. The surface reading will intentionally make it sound like wordplay is involved, or maybe misguide you with a lesser known definition of a word. They're intentionally tricky, but satisfying to solve if the solution isn't a stretch.

Cryptic definition clues tend to be punctuated with a question mark. If the clue isn't purely a singular cryptic definition, it may be structured like a multiple definition clue (see the second example).

A very rare clue type. Spoonerism clues ask the solver to come up with a synonym to a word or phrase, then swap two consonant sounds to create the solution. Indicators are usually very transparent - you should always know when you encounter a Spoonerism. To account for this, the answer may be intentionally difficult to come up with.

The crème de la crème of cryptic clues: the &lit. This magical kind of clue can be fully read as either the definition or the wordplay needed to reach the solution. These are few and far between, and will usually be indicated by an exclamation point at the end.