Cryptic crossword clues are a type of clue used in crossword puzzles where the solution to the clue is not directly stated, but rather it is encoded in a puzzle or a pun. They are considered to be more challenging than traditional crossword clues and require a different set of skills to solve. Here are a few examples of cryptic crossword clues and their solutions:
"Silly boy embracing one in Greece (4)" - The answer is "IDIOS" (silly boy = IDIOT, one in Greece = OS).
"Feline seen in the company of a king (6)" - The answer is "LEONID" (feline = LEON, seen in the company of = IN, a king = ID).
"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush (7)" - The answer is "TITMOUSE" (A bird = TIT, in the hand = IN, is worth two = MOUSE).
"Time for a drink, with the last of the money (4,4)" - The answer is "LAST ORDERS" (time for a drink = ORDERS, with the last of = LAST)
"The French for "the" is not a word (4)" - The answer is "LE" (The French for "the" is 'le' not a word)
These are just a few examples of cryptic crossword clues, Cryptic clues often require solvers to have a wide-ranging general knowledge and to be able to think laterally to make connections between seemingly unrelated words or phrases.
Cryptic Crossword Abbreviations
Chemical Symbols
| Aluminum | AL |
| Argon | AR |
| Barium | BA |
| Boron | B |
| Calcium | CA |
| Carbon | C |
| Chlorine | CL |
| Chromium | CR |
| Cobalt | CO |
| Copper | CU |
| Fluorine | F |
| Gold | AU |
| Helium | HE |
| Hydrogen | H |
| Iron | FE |
| Lithium | LI |
| Neon | NE |
| Nickel | NI |
| Nitrogen | N |
| Oxygen | O |
| Potassium | K |
| Silicon | SI |
| Silver | AG |
| Sodium | NA |
| Tin | SN |
| Uranium | U |
Country Codes
| Albania | AL or ALB |
| Australia | AUS, AU, or OZ |
| Belgium | BEL or BE |
| Bolivia | BO or BOL |
| Brazil | BR or BRA |
| Cuba | CU or CUB |
| Finland | FI or FIN |
| Germany | DE or DEU |
| Greece | GRC, GR, or GRE |
| India | IN or IND |
| Italy | IT or ITA |
| Malaysia | MY or MYS |
| New Zealand | NZL or NZ |
| Peru | PE or PER |
| Somalia | SO or SOM |
| Switzerland | CHE, CH, SUI, or SWI |
| United Kingdom | GBR or UK |
| United States | USA or US |
| Yemen | YE or YEM |
States
| Alaska | AK |
| Arizona | AZ |
| Australian Capital Territory | ACT |
| Colorado | CO |
| Delaware | DE |
| Florida | FL |
| Hawaii | HI |
| Illinois | IL |
| Kentucky | KY |
| Louisiana | LA |
| Massachusetts | MA |
| Michigan | MI |
| Nevada | NV |
| New York | NY |
| Northern Territory | NT |
| Oklahoma | OK |
| Oregon | OR |
| Pennsylvania | PA |
| South Australia | SA |
| Tasmania | TAS |
| Texas | TX |
| Utah | UT |
| Victoria | VIC |
| Washington | WA |
| Western Australia | WA |
| Wisconsin | WI |
Cricketing Terms
| batting | IN |
| bowled | B |
| caught | C |
| century | C |
| duck | O ( no runs) |
| inning | I |
| maiden | M |
| no ball | NB |
| not out | NO |
| over | O |
| run | R |
| wicket | W |
Greek Letters
| CHI |
| ETA |
| MU |
| NU |
| PHI |
| PI |
| PSI |
| RHO |
| TAU |
| XI |
Latin Terms
| about, around | CA |
| against | VS |
| around, about, approx. | C (circa) |
| by the day | PD (per diem) |
| in this matter, concerning, about | RE |
| note well | NB |
| see | CF |
| that is | IE (id est) |
| the same | ID |
| thus | SIC |
| without issue (children) | SP (sine prole) |
Roman Numerals
| 1 | I |
| 4 | IV |
| 5 | V |
| 6 | VI |
| 10 | X |
| 11 | XI |
| 50 | L |
| 51 | LI |
| 100 | C |
| 101 | CI |
| 150 | CL |
| 151 | CLI |
| 500 | D |
| 501 | DI |
| 1,000 | M |
| 1,001 | MI |
NATO phonetic alphabet
| alfa / alpha | A |
| bravo | B |
| Charlie | C |
| delta | D |
| echo | E |
| foxtrot | F |
| golf | G |
| hotel | H |
| India | I |
| Juliet | J |
| kilo | K |
| Lima | L |
| Mike | M |
| November | N |
| Oscar | O |
| papa | P |
| Qubec | Q |
| Romeo | R |
| sierra | S |
| tango | T |
| uniform | U |
| victor | V |
| whiskey | W |
| x-ray | X |
| Yankee | Y |
| Zulu | Z |
Lesson common or downright weird abbreviations
| ace | AI (as in A1, the number 1 is read as letter I) |
| alien | ET |
| ancient city | UR |
| article | A, AN, THE |
| artists | RA (for Royal Academy) |
| beginner | L (for L-plate on a car) |
| bend | S or U (for S-bend, U-bend) |
| big | OS (outsized) |
| bill | IOU (I owe you) |
| bishop | B (chess) |
| blood group | A, B, AB, O |
| bob | S (for shilling) |
| books | OT, NT (for Old Testament, New Testament) |
| bridge player | N, S, E, W (seating) |
| castle | R (rook in chess) |
| circle, circuit | O |
| clef | C, F |
| current | AC, DC |
| day | D or V (Victory Day) |
| disc | O (it looks like a disc), LP, CD |
| dollar | S (similar to $) |
| egg | O (similar shape) |
| firm | CO (company) |
| first class | A or AI (A1) |
| former | EX |
| forte | F |
| French art | ES (I am, thou art, Je suis, tu es, can you believe it?) |
| gas | CO (carbon monoxide), HE (helium) etc |
| good | A (as in A Grade), G |
| hand | AB (see sailor), L, R |
| hard | H (pencil) |
| high class | U (from upper class) |
| journalist | ED (editor) |
| key | A, B, C, D, E, F, G (music) |
| king | ER (Edwardus Rex), R (Rex), K (chess) |
| kiss | X |
| knight | N (chess) |
| loud | F (forte) |
| love | O (tennis score of zero) |
| measure/printer’s measure | EN, EM |
| model | T (for Model T Ford) |
| novice | L (learner) |
| old boy | OB |
| old city | UR |
| Old English | OE |
| pawn | P (chess) |
| playing, performing | ON (on stage) |
| pole | N, S |
| quarter | N, S, E, W |
| queen | ER (Elizabetha Regina), R (Regina), Q (chess) |
| quiet | P, PP, SH, MUM |
| railway | RY, BR (British Rail) |
| river | R |
| rook | R (chess) |
| round | O |
| Royal Navy | RN |
| sailor | TAR, AB (for able-bodied seaman), OS (ordinary seaman) |
| saint | ST |
| salt | AB (see sailor) |
| Saturday | S |
| scholar | BA |
| second | S |
| ship | SS |
| silence | SH, MUM |
| six-footer | ANT, BEE, etc (an insect has six legs) |
| soft | P (piano), B (pencil) |
| soldier | GI, RM (Royal Marines) |
| state | state abbreviation, often from USA |
| street | ST, AVE, RD, WAY |
| strings | E, A, D, or G (violin strings) |
| student | L (learner) |
| support | BRA |
| tar | AB (see sailor) |
| teas | TT |
| times | X (multiplication) |
| turn | U (U-turn) |
| university | U, OU (Open University) |
| unknown | X, Y, Z (unknowns in equations) |
| upper class | U (rather dated!) |
| variable | X, Y, or Z (see unknown) |
| very loud | FF (fortissimo) |
| very soft | PP (pianissimo) |
| vitamin | A, B, C, D, E, BI (B1) |
| worker | ANT, BEE |
Words from other languages
French
| a / the / articles | UN, UNE, LA, LE, or LES |
| and | ET |
| at / in / to | AU |
| from / of | DE, DU, DES |
| gold | OR |
| good | BON |
| he | IL |
| I | JE |
| in | EN |
| is | EST |
| king | ROI |
| man / men | M (Monsieur), MM (Messieurs) |
| no | NON |
| not | PAS |
| nude | NU |
| of | DE, DES |
| on | SUR |
| one | UN, UNE |
| said / say | DIT |
| sea | MER |
| she | ELLE |
| that | CA, CELA |
| water | EAU |
| we | NOUS |
| what | QUE |
| where | OU |
| word | MOT |
| yes | OUI |
| you | TU, VOUS |
German
| a / an | EIN, EINE, EINER |
| and | UND |
| I | ICH |
| he | ER |
| it | ES |
| no | NEIN |
| one | EIN |
| she | SIE |
| the / this / that | DER, DIE, DAS |
| they | SIE |
| we | WIR |
| where | WO |
| with | MIT |
| yes | JA |
| you | DU, SIE |
Italian
| a / an/ articles | UN, UNO, UNA, IL |
| but | MA |
| east | EST |
| I | IO |
| I was | ERO |
| if | SE |
| not | NON |
| of the | DEL |
| one | UNA, UNO |
| six | SEI |
| south | SUD |
| the | IL |
| three | TRE |
| two | DUE |
| who | CHI |
| yes | SI |
| you | TU |
Spanish
| a, an | UN, UNA |
| articles | EL, LA, LAS, LOS |
| exclamation | OLE |
| gentleman | DON |
| hero | CID (El Cid) |
| I | YO |
| I am | SOY |
| my | MI |
| nobleman | DON |
| one | UNO |
| that | ESE, ESA |
| thousand | MIL |
| two | DOS |
| what | QUE |
| yes | SI |
| you, your | TU |
