[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-1-en-105":3,"doc-seo-573802-105":53,"doc-detail-573802-en":120},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,14,19,24,29,34,39,44,49],{"id":8,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":11,"show_sort_weight":12,"slug":13},11,1,"Template","Presentations",90,"presentations",{"id":15,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":16,"show_sort_weight":17,"slug":18},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":20,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":21,"show_sort_weight":22,"slug":23},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":25,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":26,"show_sort_weight":27,"slug":28},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":30,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":31,"show_sort_weight":32,"slug":33},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":35,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":36,"show_sort_weight":37,"slug":38},17,"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":40,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":41,"show_sort_weight":42,"slug":43},18,"Letters",30,"letters",{"id":45,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":46,"show_sort_weight":47,"slug":48},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":50,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":51,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":52},158,"General","general-158",{"code":4,"msg":54,"data":55},"ok",{"site_id":56,"language":57,"slug":58,"title":59,"keywords":60,"description":61,"schema_data":62,"social_meta":113,"head_meta":115,"extra_data":117,"updated_unix":119},105,"en","the-wall-street-journal-guide-to-cryptic-crosswords","The Wall Street Journal - Guide to Cryptic Crosswords","","Guide to Cryptic Crosswords explains how cryptic crossword clues work, with each clue containing a standard definition plus a wordplay hint. It details core clue mechanisms—double definitions, anagrams, hidden answers, homophones, charades, containers, reversals, deletions, and complex combined clues—showing how signal words and letter manipulation lead to the intended answer. The guide concludes with encouragement to solve and check the sample clues.",{"@graph":63,"@context":112},[64,80,95],{"@type":65,"itemListElement":66},"BreadcrumbList",[67,71,74,77],{"item":68,"name":69,"@type":70,"position":9},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":72,"name":10,"@type":70,"position":73},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/",2,{"item":75,"name":51,"@type":70,"position":76},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/general/",3,{"item":78,"name":59,"@type":70,"position":79},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/the-wall-street-journal-guide-to-cryptic-crosswords/573802/",4,{"url":78,"name":59,"@type":81,"author":82,"headline":59,"publisher":85,"fileFormat":88,"inLanguage":57,"description":61,"dateModified":89,"datePublished":89,"encodingFormat":88,"isAccessibleForFree":90,"interactionStatistic":91},"DigitalDocument",{"name":83,"@type":84},"Jake","Person",{"url":68,"name":86,"@type":87},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-14",true,{"@type":92,"interactionType":93,"userInteractionCount":4},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":94},"ViewAction",{"@type":96,"mainEntity":97},"FAQPage",[98,104,108],{"name":99,"@type":100,"acceptedAnswer":101},"What are the two parts of a cryptic crossword clue?","Question",{"text":102,"@type":103},"Each clue has a normal definition of the answer plus an additional wordplay hint. 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The guide recommends looking for signals like “caught in,” “buried in,” “part of,” and “housed by.”","https://schema.org",{"og:url":78,"og:type":114,"og:title":59,"og:site_name":86,"og:description":61},"article",{"robots":116,"canonical":78},"index,follow",{"doc_id":118,"site_id":56},573802,1791946980,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":121},{"doc_id":118,"user_id":122,"nickname":83,"user_avatar":123,"doc_module":9,"category_id":50,"category_name":51,"doc_title":59,"doc_description":61,"doc_content":124,"file_id":125,"file_url":126,"file_type":127,"file_size":128,"view_count":4,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":9,"is_downloadable":9,"audit_status":9,"page_count":9,"language":129,"language_code":57,"site_id":56,"html_lang":57,"table_of_contents":130,"faqs":131,"seo_title":132,"seo_description":61,"update_tm":119,"read_time":4},962084928904,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","THE WALL STREET JOURNAL  \nGuide to Cryptic Crosswords  \nWHAT MAKES A CROSSWORD CRYPTIC?  \nFor those new to the game, we reveal the secret in a nutshell: The clues each have two parts. One part is a normal definition of the answer; the other is an additional hint using wordplay.  \nHaving two hints in each clue might seem a big giveaway to solvers. Why aren’t these clues twice as easy? The hitch: Either hint may come first. The definition may appear before or after the wordplay hint, often without any punctuation to mark the point of division. The challenge and fun of a cryptic puzzle is to see through the puzzle writer’s deceptions, to tease out the definition by rethinking the clue’s wording.  \nAnd now without further fanfare, we reveal the basic tricks of the cryptic trade.  \n1. DOUBLE DEFINITIONS  \nThe simplest kind of wordplay hint in a clue is a second definition. For example, HOOD can mean “gangster” or “a cover for the head.”So a clue for HOOD might read:  \n􀁘 Cover for the head gangster (4)  \n(The number in parentheses indicates how many letters are in the answer.) Here is another clue of this type for you to solve:  \n􀁘 Trim a tree (6)  \n(For answers, see the end of this introduction.)  \n2. ANAGRAMS  \nA clue may show you what the letters of the answer would look like when scrambled, also giving a signal word such as “mixed,”“aimless” or “fractured.” An anagram clue for STEW (which scrambles into WEST), could be:  \n􀁘 Wild West dish (4)  \nHere is another clue of this type:  \n􀁘 Noises in restless slumber (7)  \n3. HIDDEN ANSWERS  \nSometimes the answer will be hidden inside a longer word or phrase (as PLEAD is tucked inside “apPLE A Day”). Look for signals such as “caught in,”“buried in,”“part of” and “housed by.”For example, CAT could be clued as:  \n􀁘 Lover of birds imprisoned in Alcatraz (3) Here’s another example:  \n􀁘 Karen always displays an engagement ring? (5)(Though punctuation is usually mere dressing in a clue, question  \nmarks are traditionally reserved for indicating stretchy definitions or outright puns.)  \n4. HOMOPHONES  \nThe wordplay hint may tell you that the answer has the same sound as another word or words, giving a signal such as “we hear,”“so it’s said” or “orally.” A homophone clue for BEAR (which sounds like “bare”) could be:  \n􀁘 Animal is naked, we hear (4) See if you can solve this one:  \n􀁘 Piece of gossip stated out loud for a lodger (6)  \n5. CHARADES  \nA clue may break the answer into two or more convenient parts and define them sequentially, as in the game of charades. FARMING (agriculture) breaks into “far”(remote) and “Ming”(Chinese dynasty), and could be clued as:  \n􀁘 Agriculture in remote Chinese dynasty (7) Here is another charade:  \n􀁘 A combo on leave (7)  \n6. CONTAINERS  \nIf the answer breaks into convenient parts not side by side but one within the other, the clue may say that one part“contains,”“holds,”“grips” or even “swallows” the other. CALLOW (inexperienced, green) has “all” inside “cow,” yielding the clue:  \n􀁘 Bovine has eaten everything green (6) A container for you to solve:  \n􀁘 Mr. Crosby keeps it sharp (6)  \n7. REVERSALS  \nThe wordplay hint may tell you that the solution when seen backward makes another word or words. SMART (keen) is the word “trams”(railway cars) backward. Its clue could be:  \n􀁘 Keen—railway cars in reverse (5) Here’s another:  \n􀁘 Strike friend’s back (4)  \n8. DELETIONS  \nSometimes a clue will invite you to lop off the front, back or central piece of a longer word. For example, ENTRY could come from SENTRY missing its leading letter, with the clue:  \n􀁘 Guard behind the front doorway (5) Here’s one involving a last letter:  \n􀁘 Horse with no tail damage (3)  \n9. COMPLEX CLUES  \nSometimes (especially with longer words) these different kinds of hints may be used in combination. But however complicated the operations may seem, full instructions will always be available for obtaining the answer. Here is one example to test your wits:  \n􀁘 Furniture wire wrapping broken d","cbCaigWE9hhtfHL7","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaigWE9hhtfHL7","pdf",58021,"English","# What Makes a Crossword Cryptic?\n## Double Definitions\n## Anagrams\n## Hidden Answers\n## Homophones\n## Charades\n## Containers\n## Reversals\n## Deletions\n## Complex Clues","[{\"question\":\"What are the two parts of a cryptic crossword clue?\",\"answer\":\"Each clue has a normal definition of the answer plus an additional wordplay hint. Either part may come first, and division is often not marked by punctuation.\"},{\"question\":\"How does an anagram clue work in cryptics?\",\"answer\":\"An anagram clue signals that the answer’s letters are scrambled. It often includes a signal word such as “mixed,” “aimless,” or “fractured.”\"},{\"question\":\"What does it mean if a clue uses a hidden answer?\",\"answer\":\"The answer is embedded inside a longer word or phrase. The guide recommends looking for signals like “caught in,” “buried in,” “part of,” and “housed by.”\"}]","The Wall Street Journal - Guide to Cryptic Crosswords | PDF"]