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---
title: Cunning Cryptic Crossword Clues
description: In abbreviations found in Daily Telegraph cryptic crossword clues, and other clues.
keywords: crossword, crosswords, cryptic, cryptic crosswords, Daily Telegraph, Daily Telegraph cryptic crossword, clues, hints, abbreviations, help
layout: hh
---

<p><a href='picture/photo/england/shopsdam.jpeg'><img src='picture/photo/england/shopsdam_s.jpeg' width='198' height='125' alt='Lancing, England, where I grew up' title='Lancing, England, where I grew up' style='float:right'></a>
	Daily Telegraph crossword clues often contain words which stand for one or two letters, rather than a word. I found that this made the crosswords rather hard until I started recognising some of the more <strong>common abbreviations</strong>,	which I have listed below.</p>

<p>It is unlikely that these lists will be of much help in solving cryptic
crosswords other than the Daily Telegraph's. For a comprehensive explanation
of cryptic crosswords in general, including hints on solving them, consult
the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for rec.puzzles.crosswords</p>

<h2>one-letter abbreviations</h2>

<p>
<strong>A</strong> A. 
<strong>east</strong> E. 
<strong>energy</strong> E. 
<strong>I</strong> I. 
<strong>large</strong> L.
<strong>left</strong> L. 
<strong>north</strong> N. 
<strong>one</strong> A, I. 
<strong>page</strong> P. 
<strong>right</strong> R. 
<strong>river</strong> R.
<strong>small</strong> S. 
<strong>south</strong> S. 
<strong>west</strong> W.
</p>

<!-- Potential additions
   about	C. 
   black	B. 
   circular	O.
   cold		C.
   conservative	C. 
   learner	L. 
   name		N. 
   nothing	O. 
   round	O. 
   soft		P. 
   student	L. 
-->


<h2>two-letter abbreviations</h2>

<p>
<strong>about</strong> 	RE. 
<strong>army volunteers</strong> TA. 
<strong>Bible</strong> 	OT, NT.
<strong>church</strong> 	CH. 
<strong>doctor</strong> 	MO. 
<strong>Edward</strong> 	ED. 
<strong>exercise</strong> 	PE. 
<strong>firm</strong> 	CO. 
<strong>games</strong> 	PE. 
<strong>gold</strong> 	AU. 
<strong>Irish</strong> 	IR. 
<strong>male</strong> 		HE. 
<strong>Mayfair</strong>  	WI. 
<strong>motoring organisation</strong>  AA. 
<strong>silver</strong> 	AG. 
<strong>way</strong> 		ST.
<p>


<h2>other tips</h2>

<h3>anagram alerters!</h3>

<p><a href='picture/photo/germany/berlin_tacheles.jpeg'><img src='picture/photo/germany/berlin_tacheles_s.jpeg' width='169' height='125'   style='float:right'></a>
	A typical Telegraph crossword seems to contain about half a dozen 
	anagram clues. In this type of clue there will be a word or phrase which indicates that the adjacent word or words form an anagram of the solution.</p>

<p>A fairly common example of an anagram indicator word is <strong>perhaps</strong> .
So that you get the idea, some more examples are <strong>organised</strong>, <strong>restored</strong>,
<strong>change</strong>, <strong>dire</strong>, <strong>prepared</strong>, <strong>disastrously</strong>, <strong>wrongly</strong>,
<strong>translation</strong> .</p>


<h3>pull-out pointers</h3>

<p>The most commonly used word indicating that the solution is a straight
pull-out from the clue is <strong>in</strong> . Other possibilities include <strong>from</strong>,
<strong>some of</strong>, <strong>held</strong>, <strong>a little</strong> : for example, 

<ul>
	<li>'Someo<strong>near</strong> rested <strong>held</strong>  close (4)' is 'near'.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
</p>


<h3>foreign words</h3>

<p>Foreign words, usually indicated by the name of the language, crop up often
enough to merit a mention. For example,

<ul>
	<li>'the Spanish' is EL</li>
	
	<li>'Regrets the ways of the French (4)' is 'rues' (c.f. 'way' above).</li>	
</ul>
</p>

<p><strong><SMALL>photo, top (Robert): Lancing, England, where I grew up</SMALL></strong></p>