Questions tagged [cryptic-crosswords]
Cryptic crosswords are a special type of crossword puzzle where clues combine a definition with wordplay. Use [crosswords] where the clues don't obey the conventions of cryptic crosswords; [cryptic-clues] or [crossword-clues] for clues not assembled into whole crosswords.
322
questions
107
votes
1
answer
17k
views
Cryptic Clue Guide
This post is not a puzzle. There is nothing puzzly hidden inside it or the self-answer, posted at the same time.
What exactly is a cryptic crossword clue, and how do I write one?
- 143k
68
votes
1
answer
3k
views
The Two-Trench Truce
This is an entry into the Fortnightly Topic Challenge #41.
The 100th anniversary of the end of World War I just passed a few days ago! In memory of this, in this puzzle we're going to reconstruct an ...
- 2,106
54
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Japanese Fusion Alphabet Soup
The Dish...
...is an intriguing blend, with a base of classic Western flavours, and a twist of the Orient at its heart.
The Ingredients...
...are diverse and are combined in such an unexpected - dare ...
- 36.9k
49
votes
2
answers
2k
views
A crossword to appease all
(Click for full size)
Across
1. Steal extremely experimental metal song or 26-across maybe (6)
4. "Wardrobes malfunctioned", most rang for short interval (8)
10. Future engineer edits New York, USA'...
- 7,387
45
votes
9
answers
4k
views
A Page of Puzzling
I found this puzzle page from a newspaper and found it absolutely confounding. The sudoku had question marks and other things all over it, the logic puzzle made no sense, the cryptic crossword was ...
- 11.9k
42
votes
4
answers
2k
views
40
votes
1
answer
2k
views
What xkcd Means
What xkcd Means
This is a variety cryptic inspired by the comic "What xkcd Means" (linked above) and the work of Ucaoimhu. It is also an entry into the 35th Fortnightly Topic Challenge: ...
- 143k
30
votes
1
answer
672
views
Station to Station
The gang can't wait for their upcoming trip. Whereabouts are they headed?
...
- 7,387
29
votes
1
answer
715
views
Arc (&) Reactors
(Note: This puzzle may require a small amount of research if you aren't familiar with the work from its theme.)
It was exactly 11 years ago -- April 14, 2008, in Sydney -- that the first Iron Man ...
- 143k
28
votes
1
answer
635
views
A Ghastly Cryptic
Oh no! Hallowe'en has weakened the borders between this realm and the spirit realm, allowing some tenebrous nogoodnik to release several ghosts from other universes upon you!
In this cryptic, each ...
- 7,009
27
votes
2
answers
674
views
Popularity Within a Target Audience
This is a metapuzzle with four component puzzles and a final meta.
Creations of CSIRO
The Australian research institute CSIRO is notable for producing inventions such as gene shears, the insect ...
- 7,387
26
votes
1
answer
886
views
A Cryptic Crossword in Indonesian Language (TTS Kriptik Bahasa Indonesia)
The cryptic crosswords are actually new for me and I even struggled to solve one as English is not my first language. So I decided to look for a cryptic crossword in my language, Indonesian... And I ...
- 33.9k
26
votes
1
answer
929
views
Plot Twist (variety cryptic)
This is an entry into the 36th Fortnightly Topic Challenge: "Twisted Classics".
Each clue/answer pair in this puzzle has been affected by one of these types of plot twist:
28 of the clues have ...
- 143k
25
votes
8
answers
4k
views
Headless horseman claims new head
Solve the clues and fit the answers into the grid so that each of the coloured squares contains exactly four different letters.
Sahara desert capitals of historically African region in ...
- 69.4k
25
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Across and… um, no
Across
Where one eats chiefly men and women (3)
Bulldog's run backward, endless miles (3)
Ferrari with rear end replaced by young mechanic? I'm concerned, principally, of perhaps causing a breakdown (...
- 11.3k
23
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Emojional cryptic crossword
ACROSS
3. 🌟½☥🐪🚫👣 (9)
7. 🏆❌🖽⚔️ (3)
8. ½🍔🇫🇷🌊🏢 (6)
11. ♉½🇬🇷✉️ (3)
12. 🔫⭐⏺️♥️🗽🎭 (5)
13. 🍈♥️🇨🇴🏙️⏮️🍟🔚💐 (6)
14. 👂♀️🦌💰 (5)
16. 🎩👦♻️🐴🦄☝️🗾🏝️ (6)
19. 🐏💪🔀 (3)
...
- 69.4k
23
votes
1
answer
420
views
O Cryptic! My Cryptic!
An entry in Fortnightly Topic Challenge #48: Unusual tag mix
Please find below a poetic cryptic crossword. A very tiny cryptic crossword, because each cryptic clue is a poem. I must beg your ...
- 25.5k
23
votes
1
answer
768
views
A cryptic crossword is in order
There are no word boundaries in the grid. Answers are placed on the row or column indicated by their number in the order given (first a, then b etc.). Successive answers on the same row or column are ...
- 69.4k
22
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Suspected felicide in the Schrödinger household
Police officers entered the home of Dr. Erwin Schrödinger. The neighbours had reported that the doctor had locked his cat in a box and was subjecting it to "particle physics", whatever ...
- 69.4k
22
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Plenty of Clues in the Crossword
This is a variety cryptic. Each clue or answer will be modified in one of four ways:
ONE CLUE: These clues are lonely.
TWO CLUE: These clues are twins - they have a bit of an identity crisis.
...
- 143k
20
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Cryptic with missing capitals
Solve the clues and fill the grid. Each clue is missing a different European capital city.
Across
1. Funny beret men strike $??$ to convene (4)
3. Containers found in a $??$ plaza (...
- 69.4k
20
votes
6
answers
2k
views
The Unfinished Puzzle Section
Simply complete the sudoku and crossword, happy puzzling.
Across
1. Achieved acclaim by being knowledgable about strange apron (3, 6)
Down
2. Explode asteroid five to refrain from inactivity or ...
- 21k
19
votes
2
answers
696
views
Up, down, left, right
Right
1. Stop behind fashionable content (6)
4. Wingspan is chosen to cover language for left clues (8)
10. Former students crossed feet and consumed metal compounds (9)
11. Six losses to start with? ...
- 69.4k
19
votes
1
answer
541
views
What is a Cryptic Cross Word™?
Glad you asked! Here is an example of a cryptic crossword.
Across
1. Lady losing head for man (4)
3. Sink back to bottom and be covered by extensive dirt surfaces (5)
9. To a larger extent, gritty ...
- 69.4k
19
votes
1
answer
503
views
Just a little adventure in cylindrical crosswordland
Grid in plaintext
This is a cylindrical cryptic crossword. Some "across" clues go beyond the right-hand edge of the grid and continue from the left-hand side. The black part between the two ...
- 69.4k
19
votes
2
answers
926
views
The friendly cryptic where nobody has to die!
Warning: This puzzle may contain spoilers about Undertale and its plot. Please don't proceed if you don't want to be spoiled, since nothing will be in hide tags!
Undertale was released for the Switch ...
- 2,106
19
votes
1
answer
300
views
Getting All Riled Up
Recently, there's been an awful lot of Riley riddles across PSE. Why are they so prolific? I think there's three main reasons: they're quick to write, quick to solve, and apart from its minor gimmick ...
- 2,106
18
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Cryptic cross... with words
Solve the clues and fit the answers into the grid.
Far north Silicon Valley's research & development leaders surround Jessica (8)
Pop star loses British-American distribution ...
- 69.4k
18
votes
2
answers
815
views
Deceptive Diagramless
Note: You will probably want some form of graph paper, square paper, crossword-constructing program, spreadsheet software, or some tool for inputting things into a grid to solve this. A blank 25x25 ...
- 2,351
18
votes
1
answer
741
views
PSE Advent Calendar 2021 (Day 10): The distracted gridsmith
This puzzle is part of the Puzzling StackExchange Advent Calendar 2021. The accepted answer to this question will be awarded a bounty worth 50 reputation.< Previous Door Next Door >
My grid ...
- 69.4k
18
votes
2
answers
429
views
PSE Advent Calendar 2022 (Day 10): A Cryptmas Carol
This puzzle is part of the Puzzling Stack Exchange Advent Calendar 2022. The accepted answer to this question will be awarded a bounty worth 50 reputation.< Previous Door Next Door >
The final ...
- 25.5k
18
votes
1
answer
455
views
3D cryptic brain melter
An entry in Fortnightly Topic Challenge #43: Variety Crossword Grids
This is a three-dimensional cryptic crossword. The seven squares in the picture depict the layers of a 7x7x7 cube. The "away&...
- 69.4k
18
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Is this a puzzle? If so, what is the solution?
In the 2032th xkcd comic Cueball utters a sentence that may (and probably does) contain a word puzzle.
[Cueball and Megan standing together, musical notes hanging in the air as if music is ...
- 431
17
votes
1
answer
533
views
Not Bluebeard's Castle
This puzzle was intended to be formatted as a PDF; the puzzle PDF is available on Dropbox, and a screenshot of said PDF is hosted on Imgur. If you'd like to solve digitally, there is also a template ...
- 143k
17
votes
2
answers
481
views
Creatures of Darkness
The shadows are scary! I feel like there are beasts watching me everywhere I go...
What kind of person would be able to handle the dark well? (Your answer will be an 8-letter phrase. The crossword ...
- 21.5k
16
votes
2
answers
955
views
3D cryptic featuring Mao, Stalin and Simba's uncle
This is a three-dimensional cryptic crossword. The eleven squares above represent the layers of a $11\times11\times11$ cube.
Across
21. Tribunal's way to imprison you in the old days (10)
25. Sir ...
- 69.4k
16
votes
1
answer
772
views
Oops! All Acros--
This puzzle was originally formatted as a PDF; the puzzle PDF is available on Dropbox. A screenshot of the PDF is available below. This puzzle is an entry in Fortnightly Topic Challenge 46, "...
- 143k
16
votes
1
answer
975
views
Rand al'Thor's head found rolling?
Across
1. American school's public relations incorporated by UK school (9)
6. Part of the face with new colour (5)
9. English university city where 23 down is located (9)
10. Top Caribbean ...
- 69.4k
16
votes
1
answer
556
views
Friday's the most cryptic day of the week
Across
1. War paint for alien entering from space station's entrance (9)
6. An island country's capital, Praia, devastated after the loss of republic's leader (4)
10. Search "engine oil" at first… Got ...
- 69.4k
16
votes
1
answer
646
views
White to mate in 2
This is a cryptic crossword puzzle. Clues are normal, however some entries clash with one another. Each such clash is resolved by adding the clashing letters using the standard A1-Z26 numerology, ...
user40528
15
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Cryptic Sucrosswordoku
Maybe I'm a little bit evil. I've combined a couple of puzzle types in a novel way (to me, at least). I'll lay down some rules. The solution to the sudoku works exactly the way a normal 9x9 sudoku ...
- 10.9k
15
votes
3
answers
394
views
Cryptic Crossword?
You pick up a discarded newspaper, hoping to satiate your need for puzzles with a cryptic crossword. But as you turn to the page, you feel something is awry – perhaps some elision?
Across
3. $F_6,F_7,...
- 21.9k
15
votes
2
answers
497
views
A cubeful of three-dimensional devilry
This is a three-dimensional cryptic crossword. The seven squares represent the layers of a $7\times7\times7$ cube. The clues are a mix of Printer's Devilry and normal cryptic clues.
Across
13. While ...
- 69.4k
15
votes
1
answer
808
views
Colourful cryptic
No numbers in this grid. The clues are grouped into 12 squares by the location of the word's first letter. No guesswork is needed – if you have the correct answers, there's only one way to fit ...
- 69.4k
15
votes
1
answer
335
views
Gladys's Extra Word Cryptic
This is part 5 of the puzzle series. Part 1 is here.
Dear Puzzling,
This is my most remote destination so far. The views out here are breathtaking, although from what I hear this place is even more ...
- 69.4k
15
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Elves, Hobbits and Dwarves
Across
1. Nice ladies kiss without men? (11)
6. Ask about a music style (3)
7. Messy ski campsite, without a doubt (10)
10. Performance of Cats troubled after loss of leading star (3)
11. Be ...
- 69.4k
15
votes
1
answer
565
views
Making Things Difficult
This puzzle was meant to be for Fortnightly Challenge #35: Restricted Title #1, but due to various reasons I only got around to starting it recently. Constructed with apologies to my friend Atrus.
...
- 7,387
15
votes
1
answer
651
views
On The Subject of Marble Tumble
(This is part of a series of puzzles written for Timwi for a Secret Santa puzzle exchange, themed around various custom modules for the game Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes. No KTaNE knowledge is ...
- 143k
15
votes
1
answer
384
views
For the price of one
This puzzle is part 12 of Gladys' journey across the globe. Each part can be solved independently. Nevertheless, if you are new to the series, feel free to start at the beginning: Introducing Gladys.
...
- 69.4k
15
votes
1
answer
360
views
Gladys's Gapped Cryptic
An entry in Fortnightly Topic Challenge #43: Variety Crossword Grids
This is part 10 of the puzzle series. Part 1 is here.
Dear Puzzling,
They say there's no place like home, but for people who love ...
- 69.4k