The Secondary Indicator

Most cryptic clues will be made up of a definition or a cryptic definition combined with a secondary indicator. The definition part of the clue will always be at the beginning or the end of the clue and may be a word or a phrase.

The secondary indicator is another way to get to the same answer.

At its simplest, the secondary indicator will be another definition (see earlier post - the double definition clue). At its next level of complexity the secondary indicator will require the use of a single technique to get you to the answer. The most complex indicators require you to use a range of different techniques and decode instructions about how to combine them.

In an elegantly written clue, the setter's misdirection should make it hard to spot immediately which part of the clue is the definition and which the secondary indicator.

4. Middle Eastern terrorists on BBC panel show (5)

In this example of a simple charade clue the definition could plausibly be: 'Middle', 'Middle Eastern', 'Middle Eastern terrorists', 'show', 'panel show' or 'BBC panel show'.

Note that the definition will never be *'terrorists' or *'terrorists on BBC' because the definition must start or conclude a clue. 

Some common techniques that will be explained in coming posts:

The anagram.

The hidden word.
The reversal.

The homophone.

The Spoonerism.

The charade.

The deletion.

The acronym. 

The Double Definition Clue

All quick crossword compilers secretly want to be cryptic crossword compilers. So you will often find the double definition clue in both types of crossword.

The extra information provided by a second definition gives the solver a helping hand. In a simple category item definition clue such as:

2. Vehicle (3)

the solver has no way to choose between solutions CAR, BUS and VAN until other solved clues in the grid provide a helpful consonant.  

The double definition clue solves this problem and is the ancestor of the cryptic clue. The solution is defined in two ways. In a simple crossword these definitions will usually be helpfully separated by a semi-colon or an em-dash:

2. Front (military slang); Vehicle (3)

A cryptic compiler writing a double definition clue for the same answer would leave out the helpful information and punctuation and perhaps throw in a little extra misdirection by making the first word more ambiguous:

2. Lead vehicle (3)

When you see a two word clue in a cryptic crossword, you should mentally fill in the semi-colon. You are not being asked to find a solution for the whole clue. Rather, you are being asked to find the same solution for each half of the clue.