How a Times cryptic clue works
Every clue has two parts: a straight definition (at the very start or the very end) and some wordplay that spells the same answer a second way. Solve both, confirm they meet, and you have your answer. The number in brackets is the enumeration — the letter count.
- Anagram
- Rearrange the letters of the fodder. An indicator (confused, broken, cooked…) flags the jumble.
- Charade
- Write pieces one after another, each clued separately (synonyms or stock abbreviations like R = river).
- Hidden word
- The answer sits in consecutive letters of the surface, flagged by some, part of, hidden in…
- Reversal
- Another word written backwards, flagged by returned, recalled, going up…
- Container
- One word placed inside another, flagged by in, around, holding…
- Deletion
- A longer word with a letter dropped from an end, flagged by almost, endless, beheaded…
- Double definition
- Two definitions side by side, no separate wordplay.
Clues are generated automatically. Word validity, anagrams and hidden-word carriers use a bundled English dictionary and common-word list loaded from jsDelivr; synonyms and definitions come from the Datamuse API, filtered against the dictionary (with an offline fallback). The cryptic mechanics are always sound; the surface reading may sometimes need a setter's polish.