Deletion Indicators in Cryptic Crosswords Expulsion, Departure and Reduction

Expulsion and departure indicators direct the solver to remove one piece of text from another. An expulsion involves X getting rid of Y (result = X-Y), as in ‘rookie drops everything’ for CALLOW – ALL = COW; a departure means X being lost from Y (result = Y-X), as in ‘Britain quits group’ for BAND – B = AND. This list is long but not exhaustive – in general, any term which suggests something being removed from something else is likely to be acceptable, although setters should avoid ones which are normally used only in a restricted context (eg ‘disembarks’, which relates specifically to ships). Where the indicator is a verb, other forms are possible, such as the infinitive (eg ‘right to avoid exercise’ for DRILL – R = DILL). With past participles or adjectives, the form in the wordplay will be along the lines of ‘X with Y removed’, eg ‘depressed when stripped of diamonds’ for DOWN – D = OWN. Note that a few verbs, such as ‘leave’ and ‘abandon’ can be used to indicate either expulsion or departure (‘I left the broccoli’ / ‘I left the table’). Reduction indicators direct the solver to remove letters from a specific position in the target word(s) – at the start, at the end, or in the middle (eg ‘nearly finished’ for DONE without the last letter = DON). Setters should be aware that some publications will not accept first letter reduction indicators that suggest decapitation.

Indicator	Alternative form(s)	Variety	Type
a lot of		Reduction - last letter	Standard
abandoning	abandoned/abandons	Departure	Standard
abandoning	abandons	Expulsion	Standard
abject		Departure	Advanced
abrupt		Reduction - last letter	Standard
all but	all except	Expulsion	Standard
almost	almost entirely	Reduction - last letter	Standard
avoiding	avoids	Expulsion	Standard
avoiding	avoided/avoids	Departure	Standard
away	away from	Departure	Standard
axed		Departure	Standard
axing	axes	Expulsion	Standard
banished		Departure	Standard
banishing	banishes	Expulsion	Standard
bar		Expulsion	Standard
bare		Reduction - both ends	Standard
belted out		Departure	Standard
belting out	belts out	Expulsion	Standard
binned		Departure	Standard
bins		Expulsion	Standard
blanked out		Departure	Standard
blanking out	blanks out	Expulsion	Standard
blotted out		Departure	Standard
blotting	blots	Expulsion	Standard
blowing	blown/blows	Departure	Standard
blowing	blows	Expulsion	Standard
blues		Expulsion	Advanced
bounced		Departure	Standard
bouncing	bounces	Expulsion	Standard
boundless		Reduction - both ends	Standard
brushing off	brushing aside	Expulsion	Standard
bulk of		Reduction - last letter	Standard
but for		Expulsion	Standard
bypassed		Departure	Standard
bypassing	bypasses	Expulsion	Standard
cancelled		Departure	Standard
cancelling	cancels	Expulsion	Standard
cashiered		Departure	Standard
cast out		Departure	Standard
casting out	casts out	Expulsion	Standard
ceded		Departure	Standard
ceding	cedes	Expulsion	Standard
chiefly		Reduction - last letter	Standard
chucked	chucked out	Departure	Standard
chucking (out)	chucks (out)	Expulsion	Standard
clear of	cleared of	Expulsion	Standard
cleared	cleared out	Departure	Standard
cleft		Departure	Adavnced
clipped		Reduction - last letter	Standard
coming out	comes out	Departure	Standard
concealed		Departure	Standard
concealing	conceals	Expulsion	Standard
conceded		Departure	Standard
conceding	concedes	Expulsion	Standard
consumed		Departure	Standard
covered	covered up	Departure	Standard
covering head(s)		Reduction - first letter(s)	Standard
curt		Reduction - last letter	Standard
curtailed		Reduction - last letter	Standard
cut	cut out	Departure	Standard
cut		Reduction - last letter	Standard
cut by		Expulsion	Standard
cutting	cuts	Expulsion	Standard
declined		Departure	Standard
declining	declines	Expulsion	Standard
deducted		Departure	Standard
deficient in		Expulsion	Standard
deleted		Departure	Standard
deleting	deletes	Expulsion	Standard
delivered		Departure	Standard
delivering	delivers	Expulsion	Standard
denied		Expulsion	Standard
denied opening		Reduction - first letter	Standard
departing	departs	Departure	Standard
deported		Departure	Standard
deporting	deports	Expulsion	Standard
deprived of		Expulsion	Standard
deserted by		Expulsion	Standard
deserting	deserts	Departure	Standard
detached		Departure	Standard
devoid of		Expulsion	Standard
disappearing	disappears	Departure	Standard
discarded		Departure	Standard
discharged		Departure	Standard
discharging	discharges	Expulsion	Standard
discounted		Departure	Standard
discounting	discounts	Expulsion	Standard
disgorged		Departure	Standard
disgorging	disgorges	Expulsion	Standard
disheartened		Reduction - middle letters	Standard
dismissed		Departure	Standard
dismissing	dismisses	Expulsion	Standard
disowned		Departure	Standard
disowning	disowns	Expulsion	Standard
dispatched		Departure	Standard
dispatching	dispatches	Expulsion	Standard
disposed of		Departure	Standard
disposing of	disposes of	Expulsion	Standard
disregarded		Departure	Standard
disregarding	disregards	Expulsion	Standard
ditched		Departure	Standard
ditching	ditches	Expulsion	Standard
divested of		Expulsion	Standard
docked		Reduction - last letter	Standard
doesn't close		Reduction - last letter	Standard
doesn't enjoy	not enjoying	Expulsion	Advanced
driven out		Departure	Standard
driving out	drives out	Expulsion	Standard
dropped		Departure	Standard
dropping	drops	Expulsion	Standard
ducking	ducks	Departure	Standard
dumped		Departure	Standard
dumping	dumps	Expulsion	Standard
eclipsed		Departure	Standard
eclipsing	eclipses	Expulsion	Standard
ejected		Departure	Standard
ejecting	ejects	Expulsion	Standard
eliminated		Departure	Standard
eliminating	eliminates	Expulsion	Standard
eluded by		Expulsion	Standard
eluding	eludes	Departure	Standard
emerging	emerges	Departure	Standard
endless	endlessly	Reduction - last letter	Standard
endless		Reduction - both ends	Standard
eradicated		Departure	Standard
eradicating	eradicates	Expulsion	Standard
escaping	escapes	Departure	Standard
eschewed		Departure	Standard
eschewing	eschews	Expulsion	Standard
ex		Expulsion	Advanced
except	except for	Expulsion	Standard
excluded		Departure	Standard
excluding	excludes	Expulsion	Standard
exiled		Departure	Standard
exiling	exiles	Expulsion	Standard
exiting	exits	Departure	Standard
expelled		Departure	Standard
expelling	expels	Expulsion	Standard
expressed		Departure	Standard
expressing	expresses	Expulsion	Standard
expunged		Departure	Standard
expunging	expunges	Expulsion	Standard
extracted		Departure	Standard
exuding	exudes	Expulsion	Standard
exuding	exuded/exudes	Departure	Standard
failing	fails	Departure	Standard
fired		Departure	Standard
firing	fires	Expulsion	Standard
flying	flies	Departure	Standard
for the most part		Reduction - last letter	Standard
forbidden to		Departure	Standard
forgetting	forgets	Expulsion	Standard
forgotten		Departure	Standard
forlorn		Departure	Advanced
frameless		Reduction - both ends	Standard
free		Departure	Standard
free of	free from	Expulsion	Standard
going	gone/goes	Departure	Standard
guts		Reduction - both ends	Standard
hampered		Reduction - last letter	Advanced
having no	has no/hasn't	Expulsion	Standard
having no leads		Reduction - first letters	Standard
headed		Reduction - first letter	Advanced
heartless	heartlessly	Reduction - middle letters	Standard
hidden		Departure	Standard
husked		Reduction - both ends	Standard
ignored		Departure	Standard
ignoring	ignores	Expulsion	Standard
incomplete		Reduction - last letter	Standard
infinite	infinitely	Reduction - last letter	Standard
inside		Reduction - both ends	Standard
interminable		Reduction - both ends	Standard
interminable		Reduction - last letter	Standard
isn't available	not available	Departure	Standard
isn't enjoyed by		Departure	Advanced
isolated		Departure	Standard
isolating	isolates	Expulsion	Standard
jettisoned		Departure	Standard
jettisoning	jettisons	Expulsion	Standard
junks		Expulsion	Standard
kicked out		Departure	Standard
kicking out	kicks out	Expulsion	Standard
killed		Departure	Standard
killing	kills	Expulsion	Standard
knocked back		Departure	Standard
knocked out		Departure	Standard
knocking back	knocks back	Expulsion	Standard
knocking out	knocks out	Expulsion	Standard
lacking	lacks	Expulsion	Standard
lacking		Departure	Standard
largely		Reduction - last letter	Standard
leaderless		Reduction - first letter	Standard
leaking	leaks	Expulsion	Standard
leaking		Departure	Standard
leaving	leaves/left by	Expulsion	Standard
leaving	leaves	Departure	Standard
leaving out	leaves out	Expulsion	Standard
less		Expulsion	Standard
lessened by		Expulsion	Standard
let out		Departure	Standard
let slip		Departure	Standard
letting out	lets out	Expulsion	Standard
letting slip	lets slip	Expulsion	Standard
liberated		Departure	Standard
liberating	liberates	Expulsion	Standard
limitless		Reduction - both ends	Standard
lining of		Reduction - both ends	Standard
lopped		Reduction - first letter	Advanced
losing	loses	Expulsion	Standard
losing head(s)		Reduction - first letter(s)	Standard
lost		Departure	Standard
mainly		Reduction - last letter	Standard
minus		Expulsion	Standard
missing	misses	Expulsion	Standard
missing	missed out	Departure	Standard
most of	mostly	Reduction - last letter	Standard
naked		Reduction - both ends	Standard
nearly		Reduction - last letter	Standard
needing	needs	Expulsion	Standard
no		Expulsion	Standard
no		Departure	Standard
not		Expulsion	Standard
not		Departure	Standard
not quite		Reduction - last letter	Standard
not the first		Reduction - first letter	Standard
not the last		Reduction - last letter	Standard
nowhere to be seen		Departure	Standard
obliterated		Departure	Standard
obliterating	obliterates	Expulsion	Standard
obscured		Departure	Standard
obscuring	obscures	Expulsion	Standard
ousted		Departure	Standard
ousting	ousts	Expulsion	Standard
out of bounds		Reduction - both ends	Standard
out of sight		Departure	Standard
outing		Expulsion	Standard
outing		Departure	Standard
passed over		Departure	Standard
passing	passes	Expulsion	Standard
passing	passed	Departure	Standard
passing over	passes over	Expulsion	Standard
peeled		Reduction - both ends	Standard
polled		Departure	Advanced
polling	polls	Expulsion	Advanced
pruned		Reduction - last letter	Standard
pulled out		Departure	Standard
pulling out	pulls out	Departure	Standard
put away		Departure	Standard
put out		Departure	Standard
putting away	puts away	Expulsion	Standard
putting out	puts out	Expulsion	Standard
quitting	quits	Departure	Standard
racing	races	Departure	Standard
rebuffing	rebuffed/rebuffs	Departure	Standard
rebuffing	rebuffs	Expulsion	Standard
reduced by		Expulsion	Standard
refused to		Departure	Standard
regardless of		Expulsion	Advanced
rejected		Departure	Standard
rejecting	rejects	Expulsion	Standard
rejecting outsiders		Reduction - both ends	Standard
released		Departure	Standard
releasing	releases	Expulsion	Standard
relegated		Departure	Standard
relegating	relegates	Expulsion	Standard
relinquished		Departure	Standard
relinquishing	relinquishes	Expulsion	Standard
removed		Departure	Standard
renounced		Departure	Standard
renouncing	renounces	Expulsion	Standard
rubbed out		Departure	Standard
rubbing out	rubs out	Expulsion	Standard
running	runs	Departure	Standard
save		Expulsion	Standard
saving		Expulsion	Standard
saving skin	save skin	Reduction - both ends	Standard
scored		Departure	Standard
scoring	scores	Expulsion	Standard
scrapped		Departure	Standard
scrapping	scraps	Expulsion	Standard
scratching	scratches	Expulsion	Standard
scratching	scratched/scratches	Departure	Standard
scratching backside		Reduction - last letter	Standard
scratching head(s)		Reduction - first letter(s)	Standard
screened		Departure	Standard
screening	screens	Expulsion	Standard
scrubbed		Departure	Standard
scrubbing	scrubs	Expulsion	Standard
sending out	sends out	Expulsion	Standard
sent out		Departure	Standard
set aside		Departure	Standard
setting aside	sets aside	Expulsion	Standard
shed		Departure	Standard
shedding	sheds	Expulsion	Standard
shelled		Reduction - both ends	Standard
shifting	shifts	Expulsion	Standard
shifting	shifted/shifts	Departure	Standard
short of	short	Expulsion	Standard
shortened		Reduction - last letter	Standard
shot of	gets shot of	Expulsion	Standard
shoved out		Departure	Standard
shoving out	shoves out	Expulsion	Standard
shunning	shunned/shuns	Departure	Standard
shy of		Expulsion	Standard
skinless		Reduction - both ends	Standard
skinned		Reduction - both ends	Standard
skipping	skips	Expulsion	Standard
snatched		Departure	Standard
snubbed		Reduction - last letter	Standard
snubbing	snubbed/snubs	Departure	Standard
snubbing	snubs	Expulsion	Standard
spending	spends	Expulsion	Standard
spent		Departure	Standard
spilling	spills	Expulsion	Standard
spilling	spilt/spills	Departure	Standard
spirited away		Departure	Standard
splitting	splits	Departure	Standard
spurning	spurned/spurns	Departure	Standard
spurning	spurns	Expulsion	Standard
squeezed out		Departure	Standard
squeezing out	squeezes out	Expulsion	Standard
steering clear of	steers clear of	Expulsion	Standard
stifled		Departure	Standard
stifling	stifles	Expulsion	Standard
stolen		Departure	Standard
stricken		Departure	Standard
striking	strikes	Expulsion	Standard
stripped		Departure	Standard
stripped of		Expulsion	Standard
struck		Departure	Standard
stunted		Reduction - last letter	Standard
suppressed		Departure	Standard
suppressing	suppresses	Expulsion	Standard
surrendered		Departure	Standard
surrendering	surrenders	Expulsion	Standard
tailed		Reduction - last letter	Standard
tailless		Reduction - last letter	Standard
taken out		Departure	Standard
taking out	takes out	Expulsion	Standard
throwing out	throws out	Expulsion	Standard
thrown out		Departure	Standard
tipped		Reduction - first letter	Advanced
topless		Reduction - first letter	Standard
topped		Reduction - first letter	Advanced
torn out		Departure	Standard
trimmed		Reduction - last letter	Standard
truncated		Reduction - last letter	Standard
turned down		Departure	Standard
turning down	turns down	Expulsion	Standard
unbounded		Reduction - both ends	Standard
unconfined		Reduction - both ends	Standard
uncovered		Reduction - both ends	Standard
unemployed		Departure	Standard
unending	not ending	Reduction - last letter	Standard
unfinished		Reduction - last letter	Standard
unframed		Reduction - both ends	Standard
unloaded		Departure	Standard
unloading	unloads	Expulsion	Standard
unopened		Reduction - first letter	Standard
unremembered		Departure	Advanced
unsettled		Departure	Advanced
unsettling	unsettles	Expulsion	Advanced
unsheathed		Reduction - both ends	Standard
unwanted		Departure	Standard
unwrapped		Reduction - both ends	Standard
vanished		Departure	Advanced
vanishing	vanishes	Departure	Standard
vanishing	vanishes	Expulsion	Advanced
vanquished		Departure	Standard
vanquishing	vanquishes	Expulsion	Standard
vented		Departure	Standard
venting	vents	Expulsion	Standard
voided		Departure	Standard
voiding	voids	Expulsion	Standard
wanting	wants	Expulsion	Standard
wanting		Departure	Standard
wasted		Departure	Standard
wasting	wastes	Expulsion	Standard
wingless		Reduction - both ends	Standard
wiped		Departure	Standard
wiped out		Departure	Standard
wiping	wipes	Expulsion	Standard
wiping out	wipes out	Expulsion	Standard
with heart void		Reduction - middle letters	Standard
withheld		Departure	Standard
without		Expulsion	Standard
without limits		Reduction - both ends	Standard
won't have		Expulsion	Standard
yielded		Departure	Standard
yielding	yields	Expulsion	Standard