cryptics
Indirect crossword clues
Cryptics are cryptic crossword puzzles—crosswords where clues contain wordplay rather than straightforward definitions.
Each clue typically includes both a definition and a secondary hint involving anagrams, hidden words, or other linguistic tricks: I spend my Sunday mornings with the cryptics.
The term is mainly British, where cryptics dominate puzzle culture.
Clue-based letter grid
- clueSolving aid
- gridFramework of intersecting lines
- anagramReshuffled letter word
- solverOne who finds solutions
setter · compiler · indicator · definition · wordplay · down · across · libertarian
Puzzling and obscure
- inscrutableImpossible to understand
- arcaneUnderstood by few
- esotericAccessible to few
- abstruseDifficult to comprehend
impenetrable · opaque · unfathomable · perplexing · mysterious · sphinxlike · ambiguous · nebulous
Kept out of sight
- veiledConcealed or obscured
- obscuredMade hard to perceive
- shroudedCovered and hidden
- camouflagedVisually hidden by coloring
masked · covert · clandestine · furtive · surreptitious · incognito · disguised · undercover
Hidden writing system
- plaintextUnencoded readable information
- ciphertextEncoded, unreadable message
- keyLock-opening device
- algorithmFinite problem-solving procedure
Enigma · Bletchley · codebreaker · steganography · intercept · crack · Turing · Colossus
crossword
Clue-based letter grid
solver · setter · compiler · indicator · definition · wordplay · down · across · libertarian · charade
enigmatic
Puzzling and obscure
- inscrutableImpossible to understand
- arcaneUnderstood by few
- esotericAccessible to few
abstruse · impenetrable · opaque · unfathomable · perplexing · mysterious · sphinxlike · ambiguous · nebulous · inexplicable
hidden
Kept out of sight
camouflaged · masked · covert · clandestine · furtive · surreptitious · incognito · disguised · undercover · secretive
cipher
Hidden writing system
- plaintextUnencoded readable information
- ciphertextEncoded, unreadable message
- keyLock-opening device
algorithm · Enigma · Bletchley · codebreaker · steganography · intercept · crack · Turing · Colossus · substitution
- obscuritiesmysteries, secrets, enigmas, puzzles, riddles
- puzzlespuzzles, sudoku, jigsaw puzzle, puzzle cube, crossword
crypticsstraight talk
Honest, direct communication
plain language · plain speech · transparencies · clarities · explicitness
- cryptic messageObscure, puzzling communication
- cryptic crosswordGrid solved through wordplay
- cryptic cluePuzzle hint with misdirection
- cryptic symbolsObscure meaningful marks
- cryptic behaviorDeliberately obscure actions
- cryptic languageDeliberately unclear expression
cryptic, encryption, cryptically, encrypting, decryption, decrypting