Over the last year I’ve finally learnt how to do cryptic crosswords. My grandfather was always a big fan of them but I could never get into them as a kid. Having now got into them properly, I can understand why he always had a newspaper and a thesaurus next to his armchair.

This is my quick guide to some of the resources that helped me get started.

The Basic Anatomy of a Clue

Many (but not all) clues are made up of three parts:

  • A definition - The start or end will be a synonym for for the answer
  • A wordplay indicator - for example “jumbled” might indicate that you need an anagram of another word, or “leaders” might indicate you should take the first letters of a some words
  • “Fodder” words that you need to manipulate in line with the wordplay indicators

There are some other types of clues that that turn up too:

  • &lit; clues, where the whole clue is both the definition and the wordplay. These will often end in !?
  • Double meanings, where both parts of the clue are definitions, e.g. “Set off for holiday” = “LEAVE”. “Leave” is a synonym for both “Set off” and “holiday”.
  • Charades - This is where you build the answer from synonyms for words in the clue. e.g. “Obtains specialist remedies” = “PROCURES”. Specialist -> “PRO”, “remedies” -> “CURES”, and “Obtains” is the definition.

A Quick Note on Setters

Each puzzle is set by a “setter”, who go by pseudonyms. You will probably find that you find some setters easier than others. Each setter has their own style, which experienced solvers learn over time. There are a couple of Guardian setters who I find particularly hard to solve. There is something about how they set clues that I find particularly hard to spot.

Learning to Solve Crypitcs

The best way to learn how to solve cryptics is just to do them. And when you can’t solve one, find the solution and learn how the clue works. The more clues you see the quicker you will spot the patterns.

You may find that sometimes you just get stumped by most of a puzzle. Don’t worry if that happens, that’s just how these things go. Cryptic crosswords are meant to be tricky.

Minute Cryptic

The gateway drug was the wonderful website Minute Cryptic. MC presents you with one cryptic clue each day.

To help you out they have:

  • A guide to how cryptic clues are structured
  • Hints that you can choose to take for the indicator, definition or fodder
  • The option to get one or more letters
  • And at the end, a short video explaining how to solve that clue presented by the lovely Angas.

In addition, if you sign up for their subscription you get access to their weekly mini-cryptic crossword with about a dozen clues.

On the whole, their clues are a little more straightforward than many of those found in the papers. They are a great way to get started.

Don’t feel you have to solve every one. Give it a good try, but take the hints when you struggle. A lot of the solving of clues comes down to spotting the patterns that are used. The more you do, or read, the better you will get.

The Guardian Newspaper App

This is particularly good for learning crosswords. For all crosswords, apart from the weekly prize one, you can ask it to check the answer, or you can cheat on a word and reveal the answer. For a full crossword I will normally cheat on a few of them, which will give me a little extra help solving the others.

The Quick Cryptic

Each Saturday there is a “Quick Cryptic” crossword (also available in the physical paper). This is smaller than a normal crossword, and if you click on the ? in the top right it will explain which clue types they have used that week, and how each type works. Having only a limited number of types in the puzzle makes it much easier to work out what’s going in in each clue.

The Quiptic

This is only available in the app, not the paper. It’s a full sized cryptic puzzle, and the full range of clues may be used. However, the clues will generally be easier than the main puzzle. It is aimed at people who are are new to crosswords, but have perhaps graduated from doing the quick cryptic.

15 Squared

This is a wonderful site where people will discuss and post solutions to cryptic crosswords.

For all the major crosswords you will find that there is a full solution with an explanation of how the clue worked. Reading these after you have given a puzzle a good do is a great way to learn.

My Cryptic Week

Every day I do the Minute Cryptic daily puzzle. I’m in a WhatsApp chat with a group of friends just for this.

On Saturday I do the Minute Cryptic weekly mini puzzle and the Guardian’s Quick Cryptic. I might have a few clues to finish off on Sunday. I will try to do both of these without taking any hints or cheating on any words, but if there are any at the end of the weekend I will take a couple of hints or cheats to let me finish them.

Then, during the rest of the week I will try to finish the Quiptic. As I noted above, I find some setter’s puzzles easier than other. So some weeks I might finish the Quiptic in a day, and other times I won’t finish it all week. At the end of the week, if I have not finished it, I will find the full solution to the Quiptic on 15squared to find out what I missed.

If I’m just getting nowhere on the Quiptic, or if I finish it quickly, then I will also do the Monday Guardian crossword. This tends to be easier than the rest of the week’s puzzles. As with the Quiptic, I’ll check out 15squared for any answers I didn’t get.