Learn the clue types

• Anagram — Some letters in the clue are shuffled to make the answer. A nearby word tells you to mix them up, and the letters you need are written out in full in the clue.
• Reversal — A word, or a synonym for it, is written backwards to give the answer. In down clues, setters often say the word goes 'up', because reading a down answer backwards means reading it from the bottom up.
• Hidden word — The answer is sitting in plain sight, spelt out in consecutive letters across one or more words in the clue. A small word tells you it's hidden inside.
• Container — One set of letters is placed inside another. Each part usually comes from a synonym or an abbreviation, and a word like 'in', 'about' or 'holding' tells you which part goes where.
• Deletion — A word loses some letters to make the answer: its first letter, its last letter, its middle, its outside, or a named piece. The indicator tells you which part goes.
• Charade — The answer is built in pieces, like a game of charades: each piece is a synonym or abbreviation, and they are written one after another in order.
• Initial letters — Take the first letter of each word in a phrase and they spell the answer. Occasionally it's the last letters instead.
• Alternate letters — The answer is made from every other letter of some words in the clue. 'Oddly' takes letters 1, 3, 5 and so on; 'evenly' or 'regularly' takes letters 2, 4, 6.
• Double definition — The clue is just two definitions side by side, and both point to the same word. There is no wordplay; the trick is that the word has two quite different meanings.
• Homophone — The answer sounds like another word. The clue gives you a synonym of the sound-alike, then an indicator tells you to listen rather than read.
• Replacement — Take a word and swap one letter for another. The clue tells you which letter to change (first, last or middle) and gives you the new letter, usually as an abbreviation.
• Cryptic definition — The whole clue is one playful definition that seems to mean one thing but means another. There is no wordplay to take apart, just a pun or a change of viewpoint.