9) Standard tips for solving a cryptic crossword? Solutions
Description
This article is from the Crosswords FAQ, by James A. Lundon (jlundon@xstacy.enet.dec.com) with numerous contributions by others.
9) Standard tips for solving a cryptic crossword? Solutions
Normally Answer to be entered in usual fashion, e.g. CROSSWORDS
Diagonally Answer to be entered with letters in normal order, but
running in a diagonal direction, e.g. C
R S
O D
S R
S O
W
S O
S R
O D
R S
C
Reversed Answer to be entered backwards,
e.g. CROSSWORDS -> SDROWSSORC
Directionally Answer to be entered with letters in normal order, but
with direction of entry changing whenever a letter
N (up), S (down), E (right) or W (left) is encountered,
e.g. CROSSWORDS -> CROS
S
SDROW
Squared Answer to be entered in the form of a square (or,
occasionally, some other geometrical figure), e.g.
CROSSWORDPUZZLES -> CROSS C
S W S R
E O E O
L R L S
ZZUPD ZZUPDROWS
Knight's tour Answer to be entered with successive letters being
positioned a (chess) knight's move from the previous,
e.g. CROSSWORDS -> C.....S......
..R.....W...S
.....S...R...
...O...O...D.
Random walk Answer to be entered with letters in normal order,
but moving in a random direction with every letter.
Normally restricted to (up, right, left, down), but
may include diagonal movement as well (in which case
sometimes known as "King's tour"). Either sort may be
self-intersecting. e.g. C
CROSSWORDS - > CRO S C OW R
S RD R SRD DROW
SWO OS S S SS
Wrong number Answer to be entered normally at a different location,
where the clue contains a synonym of the answer.
Hidden in diagram Answer is to be located (or, more typically, a theme
word is to be found) in an unusual location in the
grid, e.g. on the main diagonal, among the unchecked
letters, or in the squares around a fixed location.
Cyclic Answer is to be entered starting at any point in the
word, running to the end and then continuing from the
beginning, e.g. CROSSWORDS -> ROSSWORDSC OSSWORDSCR
SSWORDSCRO SWORDSCROS ... SCROSSWORD
Inside-out The central part of the answer is extracted, split
in half, and placed around the remainder, e.g.
CROSSWORDS -> ROSSCSWORD OSSCRDSWOR SSCRORDSWO
SCROSORDSW
First letter The first letter of the answer is to be moved to
misplaced between any other pair of letters, or after the last
one, e.g. CROSSWORDS -> RCOSSWORDS ROCSSWODRS
ROSCSWORDS ROSSCWORDS ... ROSSWORDCS ROSSWORDSC
Last letter The last letter of the answer is to be moved to
misplaced between any other pair of letters, or before the first
one, e.g. CROSSWORDS -> SCROSSWORD CSROSSWORD
CRSOSSWORD CROSSSWORD ... CROSSWOSRD CROSSWORSD
Transposition A pair adjacent letters of the answer are switched
(or sometimes more than one pair), e.g.
CROSSWORDS -> RCOSSWORDS CORSSWORDS CRSOSWORDS ...
CROSSWODRS CROSSWORSD
CROSSWORDS -> RCSOSWORDS RCOSWSORDS RCOSSOWRDS ...
CROSSOWRSD CROSSWROSD RCOSWSODRS ...
Shuffled The letters of the answer are to be entered in arbitrary
order, e.g. CROSSWORDS -> CSSOWDSROR OOCWDSRSRS
Sometimes the letters are restricted so that none of
them occupies the place where they should be, e.g.
CROSSWORDS -> SSSRRCDOOW
Extra letter An extra letter is to be inserted in the answer before
inserted it is entered into the grid, e.g. CROSSWORDS ->
ACROSSWORDS CROSBSWORDS CROSSWCORDS CDROSSWORDS ...
Beheaded The first letter of the answer is to be omitted,
e.g. CROSSWORDS -> ROSSWORDS
Curtailed The last letter of the answer is to be omitted,
e.g. CROSSWORDS -> CROSSWORD
Letters latent One letter of the answer is to be omitted wherever it
occurs, e.g. CROSSWORDS -> ROSSWORDS COSSWODS
CRSSWRDS CROWORD CROSSORDS CROSSWORS
Deduplicated Double letters in the answer are to be reduced to
single letters, e.g. CROSSWORDS -> CROSWORDS
Vowelless All vowels are removed from the answer before entry,
e.g. CROSSWORDS -> CRSSWRDS
The definition of vowel may include `Y' or `W' in some
circumstances
Consonantless All consonants are to be removed from the answer before
entry, e.g. CROSSWORDS -> OO
Other absent Certain specified letters are to be removed from the
letters answer before entry, e.g. if the letters are NSEW
CROSSWORDS -> CROORD
Absent The answer does not appear in the grid! (e.g. in a
puzzle where the letters NSEW are removed from the
answers before entry, the words "SENSE" and "NEWNESS"
are completely absent).
Symbolic Part of the answer is to be entered as an appropriate
symbol, e.g. CROSSWORDS -> +WORDS
Directionally All compass directions in the answer (usually referring
symbolic to N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW) are replaced by arrows
pointing in the appropriate direction, e.g. {apologies
for ascii graphics} CROSSWORDS -> CRO| /ORD|
vL v
Misprint One of the letters of the answer is to be replaced by
another letter before entry, e.g. CROSSWORDS ->
AROSSWORDS BROSSWORDS DROSSWORDS ...
CAOSSWORDS CBOSSWORDS CCOSSWORDS ...
... CROSSWORDX CROSSWORDY CROSSWORDZ
Internally A substring of the answer is replaced with a synonym,
substituted antonym, association, translation, etc. e.g.
CROSSWORDS -> CROSSHIELDS {sword-shield}
SEEKING -> SEEQUEEN {king-queen}
FOOTWORK -> FOODEUXRK {two-deux}
Replaced by The solution is a homophone of the clue answer, e.g.
hompohone SEEKING -> SEA-KING
COLONEL -> KERNEL
Replaced by synonym The solution is a synonym of the clue answer, e.g
CROSSWORDS -> FORMS
CROSSWORDS -> CRUCIVERBALISMS
Encoded The solution is to be encoded (using a substitution
cypher) before entry, e.g.
(rot13) CROSSWORDS -> PEBFFJBEQF
(a<->z, b<->y, etc.) CROSSWORDS -> XILHHDLIWH
Adacode The alphabet is sorted into a code string consisting
of a keyword (with no repeated letters) plus the
remainder in order, e.g.
QUESTIONABCDFGHJKLMPRVWXYZ {question}
VERACIOUSLYBDFGHJKMNPQTWXZ {veraciously}
and the answer is coded as follows:
the first letter to be entered is the letter
one space after the first letter of the answer;
the second letter to be entered is the letter
two spaces after the second letter of the answer;
and so on, treating the code string as cyclic if
necessary, e.g.
(with QUESTIONABCDFGHJKLMPRVWXYZ)
CROSSWORDS -> DWBNAEGERG
(with VERACIOUSLYBDFGHJKMNPQTWXZ)
CROSSWORDS -> ICLDFAFYQM
Playfair The alphabet (less J) is sorted into a code string
as for the previous, and this code string is placed
in a 5x5 square, e.g. ZANTH SEAFR
OXYLU ONTBC
MBCDE DGHIK
{zanthoxylum} FGIKP LMPQU {seafront}
QRSVW VWXYZ
and the answer is split in to pairs of letters, each
of which is encoded as follows:
if both letters are the same, then they are entered
normally
if both letters are in the same row, then the
letters to the right of them are to be entered
(treating the row as cyclic if necessary);
if both letters are in the same column, then the
letters below them are to be entered
(treating the row as cyclic if necessary);
otherwise, treat the two letters as the corners
of a rectangle, and enter the other two corners
of the rectangle (top right being entered instead
of top left, bottom right being entered instead
of bottom left)
If a word has an odd number of letters, then an extra
letter is added at the end to allow it to be encoded,
and the last letter of the encoded form is ignored.
e.g. (with the squares given above)
CR-OS-SW-OR-DS -> BS-YQ-VQ-XQ-CV
CR-OS-SW-OR-DS -> KC-DO-EV-CS-LO
Sometimes the `J' is reinstated and the digits appended
to give a 6x6 square used similarly, e.g.
with 1976MO
NTREAL
BCDFGH
IJKPQS
UVWXYZ {1976 montreal}
023458
CR-OS-SW-OR-DS -> DT-LZ-KZ-7L-HK
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