Crypticcrosswords.net



A collection of elements commonly used in the wordplay of cryptic crosswords.

This list is not intended to be exhaustive and does not, for example, include:

• chemical symbols such as AG for silver or FE for iron (see Chemical Elements ),

• cricketing terms such as BAT for cricketer or ON for leg (see Cricketing Terms and Abbreviations),

• French words such as DE for of and LE for the (see French Words ),

• heraldic terms such as OR for gold or SABLE for jet/black (page of Heraldic Terms coming soon),

• Latin abbreviations such as R for take/recipe (page of Latin words and abbreviations coming soon),

• IVR codes such as CH for Switzerland or E for Spain (see Countries - Capitals Cities and IVR Codes ),

• musical terms such as P for quiet/soft or F for loud (see Musical Terms ),

• regular abbreviations such as I for island or O for old,

• word elements greater than four letters in length.

|Word in the clue |Word element in the answer |

| | |

| | |

|a / an |PER (as in tuppence a/per pound, penny an/per ounce) |

|abstainer |TT (Teetotaller) |

|actors |CAST |

|African organisation |ANC (African National Congress) |

|airman |AC (aircraftsman); LAC (leading aircraftsman); PO (pilot Officer) |

|airmen |RAF (Royal Air Force) |

|alien |ET (Extra-Terrestrial - movie) |

|ambassador |HE (His Excellency) |

|American soldier(s) |see soldier(s) |

|ancient city |see old city |

|Anglican(s) |CE (Church of England) |

|any number |see number |

|article |A, AN (indefinite articles); THE (definite article) |

|artist |RA (Royal Academician) |

|at home |see home |

|at university |UP |

|banker |name of a river, e.g. CAM, DEE, DON, PO; see also flower and runner |

|bearing |E, N, S, W (compass bearings) |

|beer |ALE |

|bible |AV (Authorised Version aka the King James Bible); RV (Revised Version) |

|bill |A/C (account); ACT (legal); TAB (tabulation) |

|bird |any one of the many species of bird, including, but not limited to, AUK, EMU, JAY, OWL, TIT, CROW, DOVE, |

| |ERNE, GULL. HAWK, KIWI, KNOT, LARK, MINA, MYNA, RAIL, RHEA, ROOK, RUFF, SKUA, SWAN, TERN & WREN; TIME (in|

| |prison / Cockney rhyming slang bird lime) |

|bishop |B (chess notation); RR (Right Reverend) |

|blood group(s) |A, AB, B, O |

|book(s) |ACTS (book in the New Testament); EDDA (Scandinavian book); NT (New Testament); OT (Old Testament); VEDA |

| |(Hindu scripture) |

|broadcaster |BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation); RTE (Radio Telefis Éireann); SKY |

|by |X (as in 2 by 3 ≡ 2 x 3) |

|cardinal |HE (His Eminence) |

|century |C (one hundred in Roman numerals); TON |

|chessman / man on board |B (bishop); K (king); N (knight); P (pawn); Q (queen); R (rook) |

|chimney |LUM |

|china |MATE (Cockney rhyming slang china plate); PAL |

|church |CE (Church of England); RC (Roman Catholic church) |

|cigarette |FAG; TAB |

|city |EC (postcode of the City of London); ELY |

|cleaner |CHAR (charlady, charwoman) |

|closed |TO (as in "he pulled the door to behind him") |

|communist |RED |

|companion |CH (Companion of Honour) |

|concerning |RE |

|conservationist(s) |NT (National Trust) |

|constant |C (mathematical constant); G (gravitational constant); K (Boltzmann constant) |

|copper |PC (Police Constable) |

|corporation |TUM (stomach) |

|criminal |CON (convict); LAG |

|currency |name of a river, e.g. CAM, DEE, PO |

|current |I (symbol for electric current); AC (alternating current); DC (direct current) |

|debt(s) |IOU(S) |

|deliveries |OVER (cricket) |

|detective |DC (Detective Constable); DI (Detective Inspector); DS (Detective Sergeant); PI (Private Investigator) |

|detectives |CID (Criminal Investigation Department) |

|dictionary |OED (Oxford English Dictionary) |

|doctor |GP (General Practitioner); MB (Medicinae Baccalaureus / Bachelor of Medicine); MD (Medicinae Doctor / |

| |Doctor of Medicine); MO (Medical Officer); NO (Doctor No - movie); VET (veterinary surgeon); WHO (Doctor |

| |Who - TV program) |

|doughboy |GI (American soldier) |

|drug |E (ecstasy); C (cocaine); H (heroin) |

|economists |LSE (London School of Economics) |

|Edward - King |ER (Edwardus Rex, King Edward) |

|Edward - King and Emperor |ERI (Edwardus Rex Imperator, Edward, King and Emperor) |

|Elizabeth - Queen |ER (Elizabeth Regina, Queen Elizabeth) |

|(the) enemy |TIME |

|engineer(s) |RE (Royal Engineers); REME (Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers) |

|exercise |PE (Physical Exercise); PT (Physical Training) |

|expert |ACE, DAB, PRO |

|fashion |CUT; FAD; TON |

|fashionable |IN; HIP |

|favourite |PET (as in teacher's pet) |

|feathers |DOWN |

|fifty |L (fifty in Roman numerals) |

|fighter |MIG (Soviet Russian fighter aircraft) |

|fish |ID, LING etc. |

|five |V (five in roman numerals) |

|five hundred |D (five hundred in roman numerals) |

|flag |IRIS (plant) |

|flier/flyer |name of a bird, e.g. TIT, WREN |

|fliers |RAF (Royal Air Force) |

|flower |name of a river; see also banker |

|fool |ASS; CLOT, NIT; TWIT |

|footballers |FA (Football Association) |

|former husband |see former partner |

|former partner / former husband / |EX |

|former wife | |

|former taxman |see taxman |

|former volunteer(s) |see volunteer(s) |

|former wife |see former partner |

|Frenchman |EMIL; FROG; RENÉ |

|gallery |TATE (Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives) |

|game |see sport |

|gangster |AL (Al Capone) |

|George - King |GR (Georgius Rex, King George) |

|George - King and Emperor |GRI (Georgius Rex Imperator, George, King and Emperor) |

|German article |DER (German definite article) |

|good man |S, ST (Saint) |

|graduate |BA (Bachelor of Arts); BSC (Bachelor of Science); MA (Master of Arts) |

|grunt |GI (American soldier) |

|gunner(s) |RA (Royal Artillery) |

|hand(s) |L (left) and/or R (right); E (East), N (North), S (South) and W (West) - (bridge hands) |

|hat |TILE |

|heather |LING |

|home / at home |IN |

|home counties |SE (South-East England) |

|honour |A, J, K, Q (honours in bridge); CBE, CH, MBE, OBE (honours / awards) |

|hooligan / old hooligan |TED (Teddy boy) |

|hospital |SAN (sanatorium) |

|hospital department |ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat, a specialized field of medicine) |

|hundred |C (one hundred in Roman numerals); TON |

|indefinite number |see number |

|information / info |DATA; DOPE; GEN |

|island / isle |CAY, IONA; IOW (Isle of Wight); KEY, MAN (Isle of Man) |

|Italian article |IL (Italian definite article) |

|Japanese drama |NOH (traditional Japanese masked drama with dance and song) |

|jazz fan |CAT (fifties slang) |

|jolly |RM (Royal Marine) |

|journalist |ED (editor); HACK |

|judge |REF (referee) |

|key |A, B, C, D, E, F, G (musical keys); ALT, DEL(ete), ESC(ape), INS, TAB (computer keys) |

|king |HM (His Majesty); LEAR (King Lear - Shakespeare); see also "Edward - King", "Edward - King and Emperor", |

| |"George – King" and "George - King and Emperor" |

|learner |L (from the L-plate carried by learner drivers) |

|local |BAR; INN; PH (Public House); PUB |

|London police |MET (the Met, Metropolitan Police Service) |

|love |O (a score of zero in tennis) |

|low |MOO (sound made by cattle) |

|man on board |see chessman |

|many |C (one hundred in roman numerals); D (five hundred in roman numerals); K (Kilo - metric prefix for a |

| |thousand); L (fifty in roman numerals); M (one thousand in roman numerals) |

|measure / printer's measure / space |EM or EN (a unit of measurement equal to the width of the lower-case letter ‘m’ or ‘n’ in 12-point) |

|medic |MD (Medicinae Doctor / Doctor of Medicine); MO (Medical Officer) |

|member |ARM; LEG; MP (Member of Parliament) |

|men |see soldiers |

|military group / political group |NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) |

|miners |NUM (National Union of Mineworkers) |

|motorists |AA (Automobile Association); RAC (Royal Automobile Club) |

|motorway |MI |

|Newcastle area |NE (North-East England) |

|news |NN (N[ew] + N[ew]) |

|newspaper |FT (Financial Times; RAG (low quality newspaper) |

|nil |O (a score of zero in football) |

|note |A, B, C, D, E, F, G (notes of the diatonic scale); DO, DOH, FA, FAH, LA, LAH, ME, MI, RAY, RE, SI, SO, |

| |SOH, SOL, TE, TI, UT (notes of the scale in sol-fa notation); MEMO; PS (PostScript) |

|notice |AD (advertisement) |

|number / any number / indefinite number|N (used in mathematical formulae) |

|nurse |EN (Enrolled Nurse); SEN (State Enrolled Nurse - obsolescent); SRN (State Registered Nurse - |

| |obsolescent); |

|old |EX |

|old city |UR (an ancient Sumerian city, formerly on the Euphrates in what is now southern Iraq) |

|old hooligan |see hooligan |

|old soldier |VET (veteran) |

|on horseback |UP |

|one |A; I (one in Roman numerals) |

|opponents |bridge opponents: EN, ES, NE, NW, SE, SW, WN or WS (combinations of east, north, south and west) |

|partners |bridge partners: EW, NS, SN, WE (combinations of east, north, south and west) |

|party |BASH; CON (Conservative); DO; LAB (Labour); LIB (Liberal); RAVE |

|pass |COL |

|peacekeeper(s) |UN (United Nations) or UNO (United Nations Organization) |

|pet |CAT; DOG; SULK; TIFF |

|physicists |CERN (Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire (French), European Organization for Nuclear Research);|

| |NPL (National Physical Laboratory) |

|piece |MAN; see also chessman |

|playing |ON |

|point |E, N, S, W (compass points) |

|pole(s) |N, S, NS, SN (North and South poles) |

|police department |CID (Criminal Investigation Department) |

|policeman |COP (copper); DI (Detective Inspector) |

|political group |see military group |

|politician |MP (Member of Parliament) |

|popular |IN |

|posh |U (upper-class) |

|presenter |DJ (Disk Jockey); MC (Master of Ceremonies) |

|priest |ELI (Old Testament) |

|printer's measure |see measure |

|prison |CAN; JUG; NICK; PEN (penitentiary); STIR |

|prisoner |CON (convict); LAG |

|prophet |AMOS; ELI |

|promise(s) to pay |IOU(S) |

|promotion |AD (advertisement) |

|provided |IF |

|province |NI (Province of Northern Ireland) |

|queen |CAT (female cat); HM (Her Majesty); see also "Elizabeth - Queen", "Victoria - Queen" and "Victoria - |

| |Queen and Empress" |

|record |EP (extended play record); LP (long play record) |

|religious |PI (shortened form of pious) |

|Republican Party (USA) |GOP (Grand Old Party) |

|rescue boat / rescue craft |(Noah's) ARK |

|rescue service |AA (Automobile Association); RAC (Royal Automobile Club) |

|revolutionary |CHE (Guevara); RED |

|right |LIEN (legal right) |

|runner |name of a river; see also banker |

|sacred river |ALPH (from Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge) |

|sailor |AB (Able-Bodied seaman); OS (Ordinary Seaman); PO (Petty Officer); SALT; TAR |

|sailors |RN (Royal Navy) |

|salesman |REP (representative); TOUT |

|sapper(s) |RE (Royal Engineers) |

|scientists |RS (Royal Society, a body of eminent scientists) |

|Scotsman |IAN; MAC |

|see |ELY (diocese) |

|service |RAF (Royal Air Force); RN (Royal Navy); TREE (a Eurasian tree) |

|sex appeal |IT |

|sheep |EWE; LAMB; RAM; TEG/TEGG (in second year); TUP (ram) |

|ship |SS (steamship) |

|socialite |DEB (debutante) |

|soldier |ANT (soldier ant); GI (American soldier); MAN; PARA (paratrooper); RA (Royal Artillery); RE (Royal |

| |Engineers); |

|soldiers |MEN; OR (Other Ranks); RA (Royal Artillery); RE (Royal Engineers); plurals such as ANTS, GIS |

|space |see measure |

|Spanish article |EL, LA, LAS, LOS (Spanish definite articles) |

|speed of light |C (as in e = mc2) |

|spies |CIA (Central Intelligence Agency); MI (Military Intelligence) |

|sport |RL (Rugby League); RU (Rugby Union) |

|spy |MOLE |

|state(s) |one (or more) of the two-letter codes for US States |

|students |NUS (National Union of Students) |

|support |TEE (a support for a golf ball) |

|supporter |BRA (brassiere) |

|tantrum |PET |

|take |R (℞ ≡ recipe [Latin for take]) |

|tax |SCOT; VAT (Value Added Tax) |

|taxman / former taxman |IR (Inland Revenue, now superseded by HMRC / Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs) |

|teachers |NUT (National Union of Teachers) |

|ten |IO (visual representation of 10); X (ten in roman numerals) |

|test / vehicle test |MOT (A compulsory annual check made by order of the Ministry of Transport - now Department for Transport)|

|the German |DER (German definite article) |

|the Italian |IL (Italian definite article) |

|the Spanish |EL (Spanish definite article) |

|theologian |DD (Divinitatis Doctor, Doctor of Divinity) |

|thousand |K (Kilo - metric prefix for a thousand); M (one thousand in Roman numerals) |

|tile |HAT |

|times |BY (as in 2 times 3 ≡ 2 by 3); TT (T[ime] + T[ime]); X (as in 2 times 3 ≡ 2 x 3) |

|tom |CAT (male cat) |

|training |PE (Physical Exercise); PT (Physical Training) |

|US soldier(s) |see soldier(s) |

|variable |X, Y, Z (mathematical variables) |

|vehicle test |see test |

|Victoria - Queen |VR (Victoria Regina, Queen Victoria) |

|Victoria - Queen and Empress |VIR (Victoria Imperatrix Regina, Victoria, Empress and Queen); VRI (Victoria Regina et Imperatrix, |

| |Victoria, Queen and Empress) |

|volunteer(s) / former volunteer(s) |TA (Territorial Army, now called the Army Reserve) |

|whistler |REF (referee) |

|wife |RIB (from Bible, Genesis 2.21–23) |

|wine |ASTI; CAVA; HOCK; RED; ROSÉ; SACK; SEC; TENT; VIN; VINO |

|work |OP, OPUS (a work, especially a musical composition) |

|worker |ANT (worker ant); BEE (worker bee) |

|workers |TU (Trade Union) |

|working |ON |

|writing(s) |MS (manuscript); MSS (manuscripts) |

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