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.

The Basics

If we are going to solve crosswords together then we are going to need a common language in which to talk about them. Let's start with the obvious:

A typical crossword is made up of an empty numbered grid of black and white squares and a set of numbered clues that contain all the information you need to enter a correct solution into the grid.

The number at the start of each clue corresponds to a numbered square in the grid. This number indicates where you should enter the first letter of the solution. The number in brackets at the end of each clue tells you how many letters the solution contains.

The clues are divided into a list of 'across' clues and a list of 'down' clues. These titles indicate which direction you should write when filling in your answer.

In a simple, quick or easy crossword the clue will be a definition and the task is to find a synonym or category item that fits the definition and enter it into the grid.

A synonym is a different word with the same meaning, eg: (priest/vicar, noise/racket, running/jogging). There are few if any true synonyms (i.e words that have identical meanings in every context) and, for the purposes of crossword solving, two words are synonymous if one can be swapped for the other in at least one context without a change in meaning. So the (noise/racket) pair contains synonyms because they have identical meaning in the sentences:

The noise was coming from the neighbour's house.
The racket was coming from the neighbour's house.

As one context is sufficient, it is irrelevant that 'racket' can mean other things in other contexts (a tennis racket, a gangster's racket, etc.)


A category item is a definition in which the solver is given a category and tasked with finding an example from within that category, eg: (pet/cat). Even in these simpler crosswords, solvers are not told which type of definition they have been given. So the answer to the clue,

1. Pet (6)

could be a synonym, STROKE (to pet a cat is to stroke a cat) or a category item, GERBIL (a gerbil is an animal that falls into the category 'pet')

Maybe this is obvious to you. If it is, good, it is nice to feel smart! But we'll need all the terms introduced in this opener when we start to deconstruct some cryptic clues.