Cryptic crossword puzzle clues point to the answer in two ways: the definition and the wordplay. The definition is basically a standard crossword clue. The wordplay defines the answer in one of several different methods, like an anagram, a homophone, etc. The overall clue combines the definition and the wordplay into a surface reading that often has nothing to do with answer. Here is an example:

Auto Club of U.S. - even parts of Canada

Remember that part of the clue (either at the beginning or the end) is the definition, and the other part is some sort of wordplay. In this case, the definition is at the beginning:

Auto Club of U.S.

The wordplay is the rest of the clue:

even parts of Canada

The even numbered letters in the word "CANADA" are A, A, and A. The Auto Club of U.S. is the A.A.A. (American Automobile Association). The cryptic clue gives you two ways to the same answer.

Let's look at more examples and examine the different types of wordplay that may be involved.

Anagrams

When an anagram is used as the wordplay, the clue includes a word or phase to tip off the solver that the letters need to be rearranged. This is called an indicator. Consider this example:

Scrambled Marine pilots (6)

The "6" in parentheses at the end of the clue tells the solver how many letters are in the answer. I left it off of the first example for simplicity, but it is typically included as a courtesy.

"Scrambled" is the indicator. It lets us know that another word or words (in this case, "Marine") can be anagrammed into a word meaning pilots. "AIRMEN" is an anagram of "Marine" that means pilots. Notice that the definition came at the end of this clue.

In the next example multiple words are anagrammed.

Time has changed disbelief in God (7)

"Time has" can be changed to form "ATHEISM", which is disbelief in God.

Homophones

Homophones are words or phrases that are pronounced alike but are spelled differently (e.g., throughout and threw out). Consider this example:

Inform hearing of an award (7)

The definition (inform) is at the beginning this time. The phase "hearing of" hints that a homophone is present. A prize is an award. To apprise means to inform. Once again we have two ways of getting to the answer: APPRISE.

Rock sounds more daring (7)

In this example the word "sounds" is the indicator that we are using a homophone, but it could refer to "rock" or to "more daring". What two words have these two different definitions but sound alike?

Bolder is more daring; boulder is a rock. Which word is the answer and which is the homophone? We are looking for a seven-letter answer, so BOULDER is the answer.

Notice in this example that the overall clue seems to have a cover sense, or surface reading, that is different from the answer. The clue seems to be referring to rock and roll music that is more adventurous. This meaning (called the surface reading of the clue) is a form of misdirection common in cryptic clues. Many of the best clues have a cover sense that misleads the solver. You'll see more in later examples.

Two Meanings

The simplest form of cryptic clue is to have two definitions for the same word. In this case it is impossible to tell which definition is the wordplay. These clues are often easy to spot because they may consist of only two words.

Air filter (6)

The surface reading might lead you to an auto parts store, but the answer is STRAIN. A musical air is a strain, and to strain a liquid is to filter it.

Misrepresent divinity (5)

A synonym for misrepresent is fudge. One definition for divinity is a type of fudge.

Willing subject (7)

To be willing to accept something is to be content with it. The subject of a report is its content. In this example content is pronounced differently for each definition, but the entry in the crossword grid is the same.

Charades

There are many different wordplay techniques for fabricating a word or phrase from various component parts. A charade is the simple coupling of two or more words to form a larger word. Each of the components is defined (or sometimes stated outright) in the proper sequence. Consider this example:

Utterly defeat N.E. state land measure (8)

Let's break the clue into three parts: 1) utterly defeat, 2) N.E. state, and 3) land measure. N.E. stands for New England in this case. As in regular crossword puzzles, the use of an abbreviation in the clue often indicates that the defined answer is an abbreviation, as well. Massachusetts is a New England state, and one of its abbreviations is MASS. An ACRE is a land measure. Put the two words together and it forms MASSACRE, which is a word meaning utterly defeat.

Sometimes the components of a charade don't come in the proper sequence. In these cases, the proper sequence may be indicated by descriptive words like before, following, and trails.

Was in debt after invoice ballooned (8)

Was in debt defines OWED. Invoice defines BILL. If you put OWED after BILL, you get BILLOWED, which is a word meaning ballooned. Notice that the surface reading again misdirects the solver into thinking about financial matters.

Charades can string together more than two words and/or abbreviations. The following example illustrates several complications that can occur in cryptic clues.

Start to jeer each stinking green-eyed monster (8)

In this case, three components are assembled to form a word meaning green-eyed monster. "Start to jeer" must be transformed into the letter "J" (the start of the word jeer). Each is transformed into its abbreviation (EA). When these two are combined with the word LOUSY (a synonym for stinking), it yields the answer (JEALOUSY). Cryptic clues can get even more complicated.

Reversals

A reversal is a special case of an anagram. It simply reverses the letters of the wordplay answer to form the defined word. The reversal is indicated by a word or phrase such as returning, back, flipped, or counter. Here is a simple example:

Honor draftsman in return (6)

Honor defines REWARD, which is DRAWER (draftsman) in reverse. Here is another reversal:

Yell, "Up, running back, block!" (6)

Sometimes the puzzle designer puts the actual word or words being reversed into the clue. If you don't solve this kind of clue, you're likely to kick yourself even more. The answer to the above example is PULLEY. It is defined by block, as in "block and tackle". It is "YELL UP" running back. Notice that the punctuation and capitalization are misleading. This is common in cryptic clues.

Hidden

A cryptic clue's answer can be hidden in plain sight within the text of the clue like this example:

And I am on duty guarding gem (7)

The phrase "and I am on duty" is guarding a word meaning gem. Ignore spaces and punctuation to find the answer (DIAMOND) in "anD I AM ON Duty". The word guarding is the indicator that this is a hidden clue. Other indicators might be some, part of, in, from, housing, trim, etc.

Be careful. Most hidden clues read such that the embedded letters are pronounced differently from the answer word. Consider this one:

Made money hiding fiend (5)

By saying made money out loud, you don't hear the word demon that is concealed within. Hiding is the indicator, and fiend is the definition.

You can also have a hidden reversal where the answer is displayed letter-for-letter but in reverse order.

Some get a gap or pause in return broadcast (9)

Some is the indicator that "get a gap or pause" contains our answer. In return is the indicator telling us we need to reverse the sequence of letters. Broadcast is a definition for PROPAGATE, which is hidden in reverse order in the clue.

Containers

A container is like a charade except that one component in put inside the other component, instead of next to it. Here is an example in its simplest form:

Manger cradles a leader (7)

Put "A" into MANGER (manger cradles a) and get a word meaning leader. The answer (MANAGER) is shown in two pieces with instructions as to how to assemble them. Now consider an example where the components must be determined by first solving two definitions.

Gun carried by devout prior (8)

Prior defines the answer. Gun and devout define the two components. Carried by is the indicator. The word meaning devout (PIOUS) surrounds the word meaning gun (REV). The end result is PREVIOUS.

Equatorial river interrupts current (8)

This clue sounds like an analysis of the Amazon entering the Atlantic Ocean, but not so. "R" (an abbreviation for river) is put into (interrupts) TOPICAL (a word meaning current) to form TROPICAL (defined by equatorial).

This illustrates the use of abbreviations in cryptic crosswords. Clues often require solvers to convert words into their abbreviations: time becomes "T", female becomes "F", south becomes "S", etc. Other transformations are less obvious. Quietly can lead to "P" because musical notation uses "p" to stand for piano, meaning "play more softly." Roman numerals (one for "I", fifty for "L", etc.) and atomic symbols ("Au" is gold, "W" is tungsten, etc.) are frequently used. "O" may be clued by "zero" or even by "love," which is tennis jargon for zero score.

Deletions

Deletions are like the inverse of charades or containers. They provide a word or phrase and then take letters away from it. Consider this example:

Endlessly talk over field event (6)

Endlessly is the indicator that we must curtail DISCUSS (talk over) to form DISCUS (a field event).

The following is a more complex example. To COMPROMISE means to give and take. Remove 30% (the first three letters) of COMPROMISE and get the answer PROMISE (defined by swear).

Swear to give and take 30% off (7)

Here's a deletion that is part of a charade:

Have lost head - act angry, mean (7)

Lost head is the indicator that the word have is beheaded to become AVE. Follow this with RAGE (act angry) and get AVERAGE (a definition of mean).

& Literal

Occasionally, a cryptic clue isn't separated into two parts - instead, the entire clue is both the definition and the wordplay. It has a wordplay construction and literal meaning at the same time.

Evil at heart of course! (8)

The exclamation point at the end of the clue is the indicator that the entire clue is doing double duty. The answer (DEVILISH) is formed by putting EVIL into (at heart of) DISH (a word meaning course).

Famous black model - yes, rate top grade! (4)

A pop culture icon of the early 21st Century is African-American supermodel Tyra Banks. The overall clue certainly defines her. It also spells her name a letter at a time. "T" is represented by famous black model, referring to Henry Ford's Model T. Yes and rate are abbreviated by "Y" and "R", respectively. "A" is a top grade in school.

This may be a good time to warn you about another punctuation mark that sometimes carries a special meaning. A question mark can be used to tell the solver that a pun or coined word is being used instead of the standard meaning of the words in the surface reading. Consider this example:

Loud guards veer off, blinded? (8)

The word blinded defines the answer to the clue, but the dictionary definition isn't what we need. The wordplay is normal in this case: LOUD guards an anagram of VEER (veer off) to form LOUVERED. Blinds are louvers, so the designer uses blinded to mean louvered, even though that isn't a proper meaning for the word.

Burrowing mammal who issues ID's? (6)

This example has two definitions: a burrowing mammal (badger) and someone who issues ID badges (badger). Because badger isn't typically used to mean someone who issues ID's, the question mark tells the solver to use more creative thinking.

Lettering

The final wordplay category, lettering, is really just a special form of charade. We saw a form of it illustrated in the first example about the Auto Club. It usually involves initials like this example:

Table linen: nearly all people keep it neat initially (6)

The indicator here is the word initially. Take the initials of "Nearly All People Keep It Neat" and string them together as NAPKIN, which is a type of table linen.

Starts to sing, only lacking other singers! (5)

Notice that there is an exclamation point to warn us that both the wordplay and the definition use the entire clue. "Starts to" is asking for the initials of "sing, only lacking other singers." These initials spell SOLOS, which is defined by the entire clue.

Conclusion

These various techniques will be thrown at you in bewildering combinations at times.

ROM backup included in secondary school focus? (5)

Backup suggests a reversal, but reversing ROM makes it MOR, which isn't much good. However, when you've included IN, it becomes MINOR. The question mark suggests a non-standard definition for secondary school focus. It doesn't mean a "secondary school" focus; it refers to a secondary "school focus". A school focus would be your major; a secondary school focus would be your MINOR.

Heartless machine ruined the film industry (6)

Heartless implies a deletion of the center letter or letters. Removing the heart of MACHINE leaves MACINE. It is then ruined (anagrammed) into CINEMA, which is a synonym for the film industry.

Some clues will defy classification.

Happy before I became a flower child (5)

I don't know what category to call this, but it seems to be a valid cryptic clue. What was the word HAPPY before "I" became "A"? The answer is HIPPY, which is a flower child.

Watch for indicators in the clues and formats that suggest which clue category is being used. Keep your mind open to different definitions of the same word. Look for hidden words (forwards and backwards) in the clue. Practice anagramming. Once you're hooked on cryptic crossword puzzles, you will never be completely satisfied with regular crosswords again.