2. The sandwich clue
A sandwich can be considered as bread outside some filling. Similarly in this clue type, the solution can be built from one part being either put outside another part or being put inside another part.
This is an example of outside (with an abbreviation to be made in wordplay):
SANDWICH CLUE: Simple mug holding one litre (6)
This is an example of inside with a clear instruction as to what’s to be done:
SANDWICH CLUE: Family member put us in the money (6)
Note that about has multiple uses in crosswords (see Chapter 10).
| SOME INDICATORS FOR SANDWICH CLUES | |||
| OUTSIDE | contains | clothing | boxing |
| houses | harbours | carries | |
| grasping | enclosing | including | |
| restrains | protecting | about | |
| INSIDE | breaks | cuts | boring |
| piercing | penetrating | fills | |
| enters | interrupting | amidst | |
| held by | occupies | splitting |
3. The homophone clue
In this type, the solution sounds like another word given by the wordplay. The clue is often fairly easy to recognize but it may be harder to find the two words which sound alike.
HOMOPHONE CLUE: Reportedly makes pots (4)
Indicators for homophone clues:
Anything which gives an impression of sounding like another word such as so to speak, we hear, it’s said acts as an indicator. This extends to what’s heard in different real-life situations; for example, at home it could be on the radio; in the theatre it could be to an audience; in the office it could be for an auditor.
4. The hidden clue
A hidden clue is arguably the easiest type to solve. That’s because the letters to be uncovered require no change: they just need to be dug out of the sentence designed to conceal them. In the first example, the indicator is in:
HIDDEN CLUE: Parched in the Kalahari desert (4)
Indicators for hidden clues:
Commonly some (in the sense of a certain part of what follows), some of, partly, are unique to hidden clues; within, amidst, holding and in can be either hidden or sandwich indicators.
A variant of the hidden clue is where the letters are concealed at intervals within the wordplay, most commonly odd or even letters. You are asked to extract letters that appear as, say, the first, third and fifth letters in the wordplay section of the clue sentence and ignore the intervening letters. Note that there would not normally be superfluous words in such a clue sentence, making it easier to be certain which letters are involved in the extraction.
Here is one such clue in which you have to take only the odd letters of culture for the solution.
HIDDEN CLUE: Odd bits of culture such as this (4)
Some indicators for hidden-at-intervals clues:
Oddly, evenly, regularly, ignoring the odds, alternately.
5. The takeaway clue
A takeaway clue involves something being deducted from something else. This can be one or more letters or a whole word. In the example below it’s one letter, R, which is an abbreviation of right, and get is an instruction to the solver. It should be noted that sometimes you will find abbreviations signposted, e.g. ‘a small street’, more usually not, e.g. ‘street’. You will find in the Appendices a list of those most frequently appearing in crosswords and all of those used in the clues and puzzles of this book.
TAKEAWAY CLUE: Get employed right away in Surrey town (6)
In our second example, it’s the first letter that is to be taken away to leave the solution:
TAKEAWAY CLUE: Possess a topless dress (3)
Indicators for takeaway clues:
These tend to be self-explanatory, such as reduced, less, extracted, but, beware, they can be highly misleading, such as cast in
