Cryptic crosswords are the best type of crosswords. Maybe you've seen in them puzzles in the Times of London or the New Yorker (how anyone does those I don't know). I've also seen them in Israel papers occasionally (even more difficult for me since those are in Hebrew). But I rarely find people who do them, even though they are really fun.
What are cryptic crosswords?
All cryptic crossword clues appear as a single phrase/sentence but are really made up of 2 parts: a definition and then a description of the spelling of the word. But which side of the phrase/sentence is which – that, you have to figure out. The best clues are those where the phrase/sentence seems like a normal phrase/sentence.
Every clue also shows the number of letters in the answer, very important, since many answers are anagrams of parts of the clue.
For example:
Preppy shirt emplem upset a girl a lot
"Preppy shirt emblem" refers to the Izod Lacoste icon, which is an alligator (really a crocodile, but forget about that). The second part of the clue, "upset a girl a lot", refers to how the word is constructed – "upset" suggests an anagram and "a girl a lot" is an anagram of alligator.
There are other types of clues:
Praise one-time tax out loud
Here, the definition is "Praise" and the answer is "extol". The second part of the clue is a homonym, suggested by the words "out loud", with "one-time" = "ex" and "tax" = "toll" – meaning, the answer sounds like "ex" + "toll".
Scoundrel with Irish accent to be beheaded
Here, the definition is "Scoundrel" and the answer is "rogue". The second part of the clue mentions an "Irish accent", or "brogue" which is "beheaded", that is, the first letter is removed.
All of these are from the latest issue of Games magazine, which I've been reading off and on since college, and which now includes 4 cryptic puzzles.
![5478-games-world-of-puzzles-cover-2022-january-1-issue[1].jpg](/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/1308i069882EE28090411/image-dimensions/326x456/is-moderation-mode/true?v=v2 "5478-games-world-of-puzzles-cover-2022-january-1-issue[1].jpg")
My first SAP-related clue
OK, it's easy but it's just the beginning. Here's my first SAP-related clue.
Pa’s mixed up about cloud software company (3)
One more thing: You cannot be credited with solving any cryptic crossword clue unless you can decode the 2 parts of the clue, and understand why the answer fits the clue.
Happy solving, and send in your SAP-related cryptic crossword clue.
