![]() ![]() The wordplay, meanwhile, is one of several different types of verbal shenanigan: things like anagrams, homophones, hidden words and so much more. ![]() For example, in the clue Change boots just a little for morale improvement, the answer is "boost" and the definition is "morale improvement" in the clue Aunt cooked fish, the answer is "tuna" and the definition is "fish". The definition is, you know, a literal definition of the answer to the clue: a synonym, elaboration, or category name. Look at you, already a cryptic crossword solver.Įvery cryptic clue is composed of two parts: the wordplay and the definition. Cryptic clues work on a similar principle: the ordinary meaning of the sentence, which we call the "surface sense", masks a different parsing hidden underneath. Or Why does no one like Matryoshka dolls? ![]() Maybe you know a joke like: The problem with kleptomaniacs is that they always take things literally. Surface SenseĬryptic clues are designed to have a misleading “surface sense” which hides a different, trickier meaning. Once you’ve learned each of the components of the cryptic separately, you'll be able to put them all together, and the joy you get from juggling unicycles while riding a plate will last you the rest of your life. In the next three minutes, you'll be solving your first clues with our in-built clue game: this will not be quite as fun as a real cryptic crossword, but it should come close. In order to get around this problem, we’re going to break cryptics down into each of their components. But as a beginner you don’t have any expectations to subvert, so rather than a clever gymnastical balancing act you end up with a sad mangled pile of plates/juggling balls/unicycles/you. It’s like trying to learn to juggle while riding a unicycle and spinning a plate on top of your head, when you don't yet know how to do any of those things.Ĭryptics are a truly twisted challenge – as some wag said, "the gift of one warped mind to another" – and the whole fun is in the way a good clue subverts your expectations. The problem with cryptics is the learning curve. Cryptic crosswords are like a kid's view of kissing – they're absolutely disgusting, till you get into them, and then you find you can think of nothing else. ![]()
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