cryptic crosswords

Wordplay-based grid challenges

Cryptic crosswords are puzzles where each clue contains two paths to the answer: a definition and wordplay.

The wordplay might involve anagrams, hidden words, double meanings, or other linguistic tricks.

Unlike standard crosswords that offer straightforward definitions, cryptic clues are deliberately misleading riddles that reward lateral thinking: I spent an hour on one cryptic crossword clue before the anagram clicked.

Related

solver · solution · grid · definition · misdirection · newspapers · charade · container · double entendre · setter · homophone · riddle · rebus · wordplay · reversal · abbreviation · down · acrostic

Categories
Opposites
clue directness

cryptic crosswordsvocabulary quizzes

Assessments of lexical knowledge

cognitive demand type

cryptic crosswordstrivia quizzes

Games testing obscure facts

pub quizzes · spelling tests · word searches

puzzle accessibility

cryptic crosswordsword searches

Grid-based vocabulary hunts

hangman · coloring books

Family

cryptic, crossword, crypt, crypts, cryptically, encrypt, encrypted, encryption, decrypt

Familiarity
Top 500,000
Profile
Timeless · Concrete · Rated G