Editing Crossword (section)

=== Types of cryptic clues ===
There are several types of wordplay used in cryptics. One is straightforward definition substitution using parts of a word. For example, in one puzzle by Mel Taub, the answer ''IMPORTANT'' is given the clue "To bring worker into the country may prove significant". The explanation is that to ''import'' means "to bring into the country", the "worker" is a worker ''ant'', and "significant" means ''important''. Here, "significant" is the straight definition (appearing here at the end of the clue), "to bring worker into the country" is the wordplay definition, and "may prove" serves to link the two. Note that in a cryptic clue, there is almost always only one answer that fits both the definition and the wordplay, so that when one sees the answer, one knows that it is the right answer—although it can sometimes be a challenge to figure out ''why'' it is the right answer. A good cryptic clue should provide a fair and exact definition of the answer, while at the same time being deliberately misleading.

Another type of wordplay used in cryptics is the use of [[homophone]]s. For example, the clue "A few, we hear, add up (3)" is the clue for ''SUM''. The straight definition is "add up", meaning "totalize". The solver must guess that "we hear" indicates a [[homophone]], and so a homophone of a synonym of "A few" ("some") is the answer. Other words relating to sound or hearing can be used to signal the presence of a homophone clue (e.g., "aloud", "audibly", "in conversation", etc.).

The double meaning is commonly used as another form of wordplay. For example, "Cat's tongue (7)" is solved by ''PERSIAN'', since this is a type of cat, as well as a tongue, or language. This is the only type of cryptic clue without wordplay—both parts of the clue are a straight definition.

Cryptics often include [[anagram]]s, as well. For example, in "Slipped a disc – it's cruel (8)" an anagram is indicated by "slipped", with the definition to aim for being "cruel". Ignoring all punctuation, "a disc – it's" produces "SADISTIC". [[Colin Dexter]] advised that "Usually the indicator will be an adjective (drunk, fancy, unusual, and so on); an adverb (badly, excitedly, unexpectedly); a past participle (altered, broken, jumbled) or indeed any phrase giving a similar meaning."<ref name="Dexter how to - Anagrams">{{cite news |last1=Dexter |first1=Colin |author1-link=Colin Dexter |title=How to solve crosswords |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2005/sep/19/features11.g21 |access-date=11 July 2024 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=19 Sep 2005}}</ref>

Embedded words are another common trick in cryptics. The clue "Bigotry aside, I'd take him (9)" is solved by ''APARTHEID''. The straight definition is "bigotry", and the wordplay explains itself, indicated by the word "take" (since one word "takes" another): "aside" means APART and I'd is simply ID, so APART and ID "take" HE (which is, in cryptic crossword usage, a perfectly good synonym for "him"). The answer could be elucidated as APART(HE)ID.

Another common clue type is the "hidden clue" or "container", where the answer is hidden in the text of the clue itself. For example, "Made a dug-out, buried, and passed away (4)" is solved by ''DEAD''. The answer is written in the clue: "maDE A Dug-out". "Buried" indicates that the answer is embedded within the clue.

There are numerous other forms of wordplay found in cryptic clues. Backwards words can be indicated by words like "climbing", "retreating", or "ascending" (depending on whether it is an across clue or a down clue) or by directional indicators such as "going North" (meaning upwards) or "West" (right-to-left); letters can be replaced or removed with indicators such as "nothing rather than excellence" (meaning replace E in a word with O); the letter ''I'' can be indicated by "me" or "one;" the letter ''O'' can be indicated by "nought", "nothing", "zero", or "a ring" (since it visually resembles one); the letter ''X'' might be clued as "a cross", or "ten" (as in the [[Roman numeral]]), or "an illiterate's signature", or "sounds like your old flame" (homophone for "ex"). "Senselessness" is solved by "e", because "e" is what remains after removing (less) "ness" from "sense".

With the different types of wordplay and definition possibilities, the composer of a cryptic puzzle is presented with many different possible ways to clue a given answer. Most desirable are clues that are clean but deceptive, with a smooth ''surface reading'' (that is, the resulting clue looks as natural a phrase as possible). The [[Usenet]] newsgroup ''rec.puzzles.crosswords'' has a number of clueing competitions where contestants all submit clues for the same word and a judge picks the best one.

In principle, each cryptic clue is usually sufficient to define its answer uniquely, so it should be possible to answer each clue without use of the grid. In practice, the use of checks is an important aid to the solver.