A guide to solving cryptic crosswords: part one

I'd only consider spending money on a newspaper for its puzzle page.  There, I said it: celebrity gossip, share prices and mawkish crime reports be damned.  Leaving aside numerical manifestations of Japanese masochism, the Telegraph and Guardian have decent quick crosswords, but the Times cryptic crossword (and Saturday's jumbo in particular) is my absolute favourite.  I can't think of a better way to spend a lazy Sunday morning, train journey or law lecture.  What can I say - I guess I've always craved Inspector Morse's approval.

I know cryptic crosswords can seem impenetrable at first, so I thought I'd explain how I go about solving them.  This isn't intended to be an exhaustive or technical guide because I couldn't possibly write one.  All the examples are taken from yesterday's Times cryptic jumbo.

The first step?  Start simple.  Draw in dividing lines to show where answers with more than one word are going to be split.  It's always good to get your pen warmed up.  And yes, I said pen - stay optimistic.

Let's turn to the clues.  Each clue will include a definition of the answer, as well as everything you need to deduce that answer, within the framework of a plausible sentence.  Every word in the clue is there for a reason.  The most important thing to remember is that the definition will either come at the start or the end of the clue.  So, for example, the answer to "Grand Chinese dynasty that leads a nation (5)" will probably either be a synonym of 'grand' or the name of a country.  In this case, the answer is TONGA. 

There are several different types of crossword clue - some are easier to solve than others.  I always start by looking for anagrams to get the ball rolling - preferably ones where the answer to the clue will be entirely composed of rearranged letters written in that clue.  Partial anagrams are a little harder to solve, but we'll get to that later.  Identifying anagrams isn't difficult - just look for a signpost in the clue. In our crossword, words like 'reorganisation', 'brought about' and even 'crackers' were all included in clues to indicate that the answers would be anagrams.  Once you know you're looking for an anagram, you should be able to work out both which words to rearrange (they're usually sitting next to the signpost), and what the answer should mean, from the rest of the clue.  Remember, every word is there for a reason.  Here's an example: "Properly treated, lilac root's something giving a regular output (10)". 'Properly treated' is the signpost.  The answer will be an anagram of the letters from 'lilac root's', and will mean 'something giving a regular output'.  The answer is OSCILLATOR. 

One of the simplest (and therefore rarest) types is a 'hidden word' clue.  The answer is written out sequentially somewhere in the clue.  It could be backwards or forwards; it could be within one word or run across several.  Signpost words could be 'some', 'in', 'within', and perhaps also 'goes back', 'flipped' or 'overturned' if the answer's letters are reversed in the clue.  In our crossword, "Only some fortnightly returns? It's a start (5)" gives the answer INTRO.  A variation of this type of clue would see the answer's letters written alternately throughout the clue - keep an eye out for the signifying words 'odd' or 'even'. 

Still with me?  Perhaps this is a good time for a nice cup of tea and a sit down.  In part two, we'll fill in all the blanks by deconstructing some more complicated clues.  See you then.