If the word is inside or around the cryptic indicator (Container), look out for indicator words such as “holding”, “surrounding,” or “swallowing.” You can tell if it is Container or Content using the cryptic indicator hint word. However, with this new category, you have to wrap the outer word around the inner word (Container) or you have to put the inner word within the outer word (Content). Containers and ContentsĬontainers and Contents are similar to Charades as they contain words or phrases that can be broken up into separate parts one after the other. This would be made from the “weapon” being a lance, and the Round Table knight would make this Lancelot. Separate parts are defined one after another.įor example, in the cryptic crossword “Weapon used by many a Round Table knight (8)”, the answer would be “Lancelot”. CharadesĪnother type is Charades, which is when a word or phrase is broke up into separate parts, as in a game of Charades. In this case, “Do legal owners” is the anagram fodder, “birds” is the definition hint, so the answer is “Long-eared owls”. The indicator word comes next to the phrase that is anagram fodder and needs its letters reshuffling. There is a list of indicator words to learn here.įor example, in the cryptic crossword “Do legal owners free birds? (4-5,4)”, “free” would be the indicator word alerting you to the fact it is an anagram puzzle.

These puzzles are indicated by a hint word such as “muddled”, “strange”, “wild” or “drunk” – so look out for these words. The different types of cryptic puzzles include anagrams, double definitions and charades

One might follow a crack crossword clue