Skip to contentCryptic crossword glossary
- Definition
- The part of a clue, almost always at the start or end, that means the same as the answer.
- Wordplay
- The rest of the clue: a second route to the answer, built from devices such as anagrams and charades.
- Indicator
- A word or phrase that tells you which device the wordplay uses, such as 'wildly' for an anagram.
- Fodder
- The letters or words an indicator acts on, for example the letters to be rearranged in an anagram.
- Enumeration
- The numbers in brackets after a clue, giving the length of each word in the answer: (4,3) is a four-letter word then a three-letter word.
- Surface reading
- How the clue reads as an ordinary sentence. A good surface reading misleads you about how the clue works.
- Link word
- A word such as 'is', 'for' or 'makes' that joins the definition to the wordplay.
- Setter
- The person who writes the crossword, also called the compiler, or the constructor in the US.
- Checked letter
- A letter in the grid shared by an across and a down answer.
- Light
- An answer's run of white squares in the grid.
- Nina
- A hidden message a setter tucks into the grid, often along the edges or diagonals.
- Ximenean
- Strict cluing rules, named after the setter Ximenes, under which every word of a clue must play fair.
- Libertarian
- A looser cluing style that allows more playful liberties than Ximenean rules.
- Grid
- The pattern of black and white squares. UK cryptics are usually 15×15 with around half the letters checked.