The Setting Room Putting together a cryptic crossword

Any abbreviation that is in the latest edition of Chambers can be used in a barred puzzle. For blocked puzzles, some of the more obscure abbreviations given by Chambers (eg D = deserted) are unlikely to be allowed by editors, but some of the glaring omissions, such as S = small, are generally accepted (and will also be allowed in some barred puzzles). There is no definitive list for blocked puzzles, but the list of abbreviations allowed in Telegraph puzzles will give you a good idea of what is available.

The guaranteed way to indicate an abbreviation is to use exactly the word or words which are abbreviated, eg 'learner' for L. Where the dictionary gives a Latin word and its English equivalent, either can be used, so 'recipe' and 'take' are both valid for R. Beyond that, it becomes more complicated, and editors are likely to be influenced more by established practice than any other consideration, particularly for abbreviations of two or more letters, so 'artist' for RA will never be rejected, and I have seen (for instance) 'from the orient' used to indicate E (ie Eastern); that seems to me a bridge too far. In general, though, abbreviations which 'have a life of their own' (in other words they are likely to be used 'as is' in written or spoken English) offer greater flexibility. So 'record' for LP ("I have that LP") and 'gym' for PE ("I never enjoyed PE") are fine, while 'lot of power' for MW (megawatt) would be questionable at best.

In one sense, yes. Where the abbreviation represents a word always spelt without an initial capital, it is considered rather weak to indicate them using a word beginning with a capital. SI units give the most problems in this regard: sometimes we'd like to use 'Henry' for H, but its actually an abbreviation of 'henry'; 'stokes' is similar. The neat way round is to put the word at the start of a sentence, eg 'Henry consumes roasts' for HEATS. However, since in general it is allowable to unnecessarily capitalize a word, a clue like 'See Stokes with bag' for SPOT is unlikely to be rejected.

Unless the words abbreviated are proper nouns, as in LA for Los Angeles, it is always acceptable to use uncapitalized indications, irrespective of whether Chambers shows the word(s) abbreviated as starting with capitals. So 'Foremost tree on street' is fine for FIRST, although St is only ever seen as an abbreviation for Street (with a capital) in the names of individual streets. Since in general it is unacceptable to remove the initial capital from a proper name (eg to use 'nice' when you mean 'Nice'), this is actually something of an anomaly.

The British Territorial Army ihas been known since 2013 as the Volunteer Reserve. The abbreviation TA is in Chambers (and will surely remain there), so indicating TA with 'Territorial Army' is legitimate. However, the use of 'volunteers' on its own for TA is now considered inappropriate; it would need to be 'volunteers once' or the like. The same applies to 'teachers' for NUT, that union having ceased to exist in 2017, and several other Chambers entries.

The rules vary from puzzle to puzzle, but I suggest that in general if you can avoid using abbreviations (eg NASA, ICBM) as answers you should do so. In puzzles where there is no requirement to advise solvers in the notes that, for instance, "The Chambers Dictionary (2016) is recommended; the answer at 31 is an abbreviation", you should give the solver as much help as possible in the clue, so ASCII might be 'Shortened computer code".

A clue is ambiguous when it could legitimately lead to two or more answers of the stated length. An example would be 'Character knocked back gin (4)' - this is a valid clue for TRAP (PART reversed), but is equally good for PART (TRAP reversed). In general, ambiguity in clues should be avoided, as it can be frustrating to solvers, but it only becomes a major problem when it can't be resolved by getting all the available checkers. So for a four-letter light with all except the third letter checked, as soon as any crossing clue was solved they would know whether PRAP or PART was the intended answer. But the clue 'Level increase reported (4)' is a different matter; even when we have RA?E, we don't know whether the homophone for 'raise' is RASE or RAZE, since they are equally valid. The solver can only guess at the intended answer, and the clue is therefore faulty.

There are two situations which account for nearly all ambiguities. These are reversal and homophone clues of the form <definition> <indicator> <definition>; with homophones, the problem arises if both defined words are the same length. So 'Character knocked back gin (4)' could lead to PART or TRAP, and 'Man picked up post (4)' is valid for both MALE and MAIL; 'View broadcast location (4)' can only be a clue for SITE, since SIGHT is the wrong length.

Note that the ambiguity only arises with reversals where both 'definitions' lead to single words. 'Second character knocked back gins (5)' can only be a clue for TRAPS.

Ambiguous clues can usually be rephrased in a way that eliminates the problem. So 'Character knocked back gin' could become 'Gin character knocked back' for TRAP or 'Mouth reflects character' for PART (the subject of the indicative verb can only be the word preceding it). 'Post man picked up' is a clue only for MAIL, while in 'Post picked up for man' the link word 'for' means that it must be the post that is being 'picked up' so the answer is MALE. Based on questions that get asked on help forums, some solvers get confused about which bit of a homophone clue is which, but as long as you have done your job properly as a setter then all is well.

An anagram consists of an anagram indicator (also known as an 'anagrind') and anagram fodder, which is normally visible in the clue. At the simplest level, this would be something like 'disturbed night' for THING, or "he's not upset" for HONEST. However the fodder can include letter selections, 'disturbed sleep initially annoying' would be fine for PLEASE. It is also acceptable to use conjunctions to link elements of fodder, as in 'mixed tea and rum' for MATURE or 'cat playing with tin' for INTACT; note that in the second example one part of the fodder comes before the anagrind and another part after it.

The anagram can of course be used in combination with other devices, as in 'son wearing loose coat' for ASCOT.

There is no hard and fast rule here. In general, single letter abbreviations are accepted, so 'second name changed' would usually be allowed for MANSE. Abbreviations of two or more letters, such as 'Welsh artist confused' for WHALERS (fodder = WELSH + RA), are distinctly questionable

An indirect anagram involves fodder which is not visible in the clue. 'Directed nice film (4)' is a perfectly fair clue for CINE, but 'Directed good film' involves an indirect anagram - the solver must first turn 'good' into 'nice' and then rearrange the letters of the latter. This type of clue was quite commonly seen in the 1960s and 1970s, but has been outlawed for many years, at least in the 'good'/CINE form. One could argue that an anagram where the fodder includes an abbreviation is indirect, since not all of the fodder is on view, but a certain leeway is given when the possibilities for the indirect element are severely limited - in 'English chap boiled fruit (5)' for PEACH, it is pretty clear that English = E will deliver the fifth letter required for the fodder. The clue 'French capital staggers couples (5)' for PAIRS involves an indirect anagram of sorts, but there is only one capital of France and a clue like this would be allowed by some editors.

In a subtractive anagram there are two groups of fodder, with one  group (y) being removed from the other (x). Convention dictates that when the letters to be removed are not to be found consecutively, and in the correct sequence, within x, then two anagram indicators are required. So while 'Hurts  deplorable partisan dismissing art (5)' for PAINS, an anagram of P(art)ISAN requires only one anagrind, giving (x-y)*, 'Face awful tirades after dismissing art carelessly (4)' for SIDE requires two anagrinds, giving (x* - y*). The logic behind this is slightly questionable, since a rearrangement of PARTISAN could give PAINSART, from which ART can be removed 'as is', but that's how it works. The length of the answer in a subtractive anagram will be (length(x)-length(y)).

A composite anagram is not unlike a subtractive anagram, except that instead of the 'equation' leading to the answer, z, being z = x* - y*, it is (z + y)* = x*. Those who know their algebra will say that this comes to the same thing, and they would be right, except that in a composite anagram the definition is mixed in with the wordplay. So 'Master could be confusing this brilliant person with me (4)' is a composite anagram for STAR, since the solution ('this brilliant person') plus ME could be rearranged to form MASTER. Composite anagrams often have only one anagrind, but (as here) that is combined with an indication of potentiality, such as 'could be'. The important thing is that solvers need to be given a pointer towards the correct parsing, so 'Master confused this brilliant person with me' would not be acceptable. The composite anagram often lends itself to '&lit' clues: 'Fancy that clues could make me act (6)' is a composite anagram &lit, where  an anagram ('fancy') of THAT CLUES could produce SLEUTH ('me', ie the answer) ACT.

Anagram indicators are usually adjectives (eg 'bad') or inflections of verbs ('shifts', 'moving', 'damaged'). Adverbs (eg 'carelessly') are acceptable, presumably on the basis that the solver can infer that the fodder is the subject of a verb such as 'behaving'. Noun anagrinds require careful handling; the construction '<fodder> <noun anagrind>' is generally considered unacceptable, so 'Eton mess' is not a valid wordplay for TONE, since 'Eton mess' is not the same as a 'mess of Eton'. Typically a conjunction is required, so 'Eton in mess' would do, as would 'Disturbance in Eton'. The question that you must ask yourself as a setter is whether the expression that you have written could reasonably be understood to mean that the fodder is to undergo rearrangement.

A look at the relevant Clinical Data section will give you a good idea what inflections are commonly used. Present participles of intransitive verbs (eg 'struggling') are extremely flexible when it comes to the grammar of the surface and cryptic readings, as are past participles of transitive verbs (eg 'damaged'). Present indicatives (eg 'blunders') are also absolutely fine.

Two verb forms which suggest that something is going to happen - presumably soon - are usually allowed. The infinitive (eg 'to change') is one, so 'Bros to reform' is valid for ROBS; the other is the future tense (eg 'will evolve), so 'Meal to cook' would work for LAME.

Past tenses which suggest that the disturbance occurred at some point but there is no reason to believe that its effects are still visible are not allowed (eg 'danced', 'was modified', 'had buckled', 'had been altered').

The opportunities to use verbs in the imperative mood are relatively infrequent, since they offer very little flexibility in terms of the syntax of the wordplay, but they can lead to some neat (and deceptive) surface readings, in which they appear to be nouns (often in an attributive sense, modifying another noun, as in 'buffet car' as a cryptic indication of ARC). Particular favourites of setters are 'police' and 'school' - 'Police sergeant' would indicate an anagram of 'sergeant', 'School rules' likewise of 'rules'. Imperatives must be used with care, however - in practice, they will almost invariably need to be the first word in the wordplay.

When the anagram fodder is a single word, as in eg 'snow drifts' for OWNS, the verb is always in the singular. When the anagram fodder clearly consists of two or more parts, as in eg 'Ant and Dec rock' for CADENT or 'big, red boil' for BRIDGE, the verb must be in the plural. The issue arises when a verb is governed by a single string of two or more words, such as 'fine car. There is no doubt that a single string like this can take a singular verb, so 'see car crashes' would work for CREASE; however, there are those - including Azed - who believe that a string of words can also legitimately given a plural verb, eg 'see cars crash' for CREASES. I believe that this is at odds with 'real world' English, and should not be allowed. The use of the participle verb form usually offers a way round this issue, as in eg 'see cars crashing' for CREASES.

Note that words that are manipulated in clues are always treated as being in the third person, which can on occasion be counterintuitive. Hence 'meal I am cooking' might look ok for EMAIL, or 'tart you cook' for OUT-TRAY, but to be cryptically sound these would need to read 'meal I is cooking' and 'tart you cooks'. The usual workaround is to use the future tense, where person becomes irrelevant, ie 'meal I will cook' and 'tart you will cook'.

In other words, should setters try to avoid anagrams? Some setters do just that, and I have set puzzles in the past without anagrams.

Anagrams and letter selections offer ways to introduce words into a clue whose only contribution to the cryptic reading is the letters which they contain; this makes them very useful in terms of producing compelling surface readings, but arguably they score poorly in terms of technical merit. There is no doubt that anagrams and letter selections can be overdone, and a puzzle with a large number of obvious and simple anagrams is likely to provide limited entertainment. However, a few well-disguised anagrams add variety to a puzzle, and don't forget that they can be combined with other constructions, such as charades or insertions. It's also worth remembering that solvers need to be given some 'ways in' to a puzzle, and a couple of straightforward anagrams can be just the thing.

Custom dictates that each sentence within a clue should start with a capital letter. The only exception is where a pair of clues are joined by ellipses (...) - the second clue will begin with an ellipsis and the first word should be treated as though it were in the middle of a sentence, ie it will not have an initial capital unless it is a proper noun. Normal rules of capitalization apply to clues - words that appear in the dictionary should appear with the same letters capitalized (eg Orion, Rolls-Royce, eBay, ID card, IOU).

An example of this would be "Way to stroke Henry" for PATH [PAT + H], where the name of the SI unit, henry, has been deceptively capitalized to suggest the name 'Henry'. Purists (among which I would count myself) consider this to be less than ideal but it is generally considered acceptable. The argument usually put forward is that words which do not generally warrant an initial capital could on occasion be seen with one, eg at the start of a sentence or in a book title.

The clue "Victor is in nice undergarment" for VEST [V + EST] requires that 'nice' be interpreted in the wordplay as 'Nice'. The wilful removal of a capital letter is generally deemed to be unfair to the solver and thus not acceptable. There is an exception to this - when using words which lead to an abbreviation, even when the abbreviation is for a capitalized word the capitals can be omitted from the indication, eg while R is an abbreviation for 'River' (on maps), 'river' is frequently seen in puzzles indicating R.

The expectation is that answers will always be entered entirely in capital letters (with accents, apostrophes, hyphens and spaces removed). Any deviation from this rule  in a particular puzzle would have to be clearly identified in the preamble.

Common errors made by setters usually relate to the syntax of the wordplay. These can be hard to spot when the surface reading is sound and the cryptic reading 'looks' right.

1. Pronouns governing a verb in the wrong person

This most often occurs with the pronoun 'I'. The clue "I'm taken in by fellow chief (4)" looks good for MAIN (I in MAN), but in the cryptic reading 'I' is not a person but a letter, so the wordplay grammatically requires "I is taken in by fellow chief". The simple workaround is to use the future tense, eg "I will be taken in by fellow chief".

2. Plural nouns with verb indicators

Similar to (1), this issue is seen in a clue like "Ladies shape standards of perfection (6)" for IDEALS (anagram of LADIES). In the cryptic reading, 'ladies' is a singular word, irrespective of how it might appear. So the clue would need to be "Ladies shapes standards of perfection", which makes no sense. The present participle is the answer to this one, eg "Ladies shaping standards of perfection", catering for either singular or plural subjects.

3. Indicative tense with multiple manipulations

The clue "Fence breach holds nothing back (6)" might appear to be valid for PALING (GAP around NIL, all reversed), but the indicative form of 'hold' means that this can only mean 'GAP around (NIL reversed)' and not '(GAP around NIL) reversed'. As so often, the answer is the participle: "Fence breach holding nothing back" could lead to either PALING or GALINP, but the definition ensures there is no ambiguity.

4. Defining a transitive-only verb as an intransitive

A legitimate definition of EDIT could appear to be something like 'make changes'. This is one of those situations where the substitution test can be used - is 'edit the document' the same as 'make changes the document'? Clearly not, with 'edit' being transitive (it requires an object) and 'make changes' is intransitive (it doesn't take an object). Possible definitions would be 'make changes to', or a transitive verb like 'correct', 'alter' or 'amend'.

The rules for barred crosswords are pretty clear, and while an absence of symmetry (at least in themed puzzles) or the presence of entries with an unusually high proportion of checked letters will not get a puzzle rejected, there are two things that will:

1.  Two or more consecutive unchecked letters in a grid entry.

2. The inclusion of entries which break the Ximenean 'unch' rules, ie with more than 1 unchecked letter in a 4-letter or 5- letter entry, more than two unches in a 6-letter or 7-letter entry, more than three unches in an 8-letter, 9-letter, 10-letter or 11-letter entry, and more than four unches in a 12-letter or 13-letter entry.

In blocked puzzles, the errors which new setters are most likely to commit are:

1. Including more than two consecutive unches in an entry (two are usually allowed as long as at least half of the letters in the entry are checked).

2. Using a grid which does not have (at minimum) 180-degree rotational symmetry.

The answer seems pretty obvious, given that there are thousands of definitions in Chambers. But you'll find plenty of 'definitions' in puzzles that you won't find in any dictionary, and that's because the cruciverbal term 'definition' describes any element of a clue which leads the solver direct to the solution, in contrast to 'wordplay', which involves cryptic manipulations. So in crossword terms, a word such as SAILOR could legitimately be 'defined' as 'mariner' (a Chambers definition), 'tar' (an informal term), or 'main user' (an oblique definition). It could not, though, be 'defined' by 'last out', an anagram of SALT, which then leads to SAILOR; this involves a manipulation (in this instance an anagram) and therefore does not qualify as definition.

The clue "Deliver first-class service to American church" for ACE (A + CE) contains a definition which could be described as 'oblique', but the clue still consists of a definition and a cryptic wordplay. A cryptic definition clue contains only a definition - this is designed to lead the solver in the wrong direction, but when interpreted correctly should lead unambiguously to the answer, at least when combined with the letter count. An example would be "Close it and you save the game" for SEASON. This sort of clue is still allowed in some blocked puzzles, but since the mid-1970s 'cryptic def' clues have been outlawed in barred puzzles, where the rule is that every clue must offer at least two different routes to the answer. The definition in the SEASON clue could still be used, but it would have to be accompanied by a wordplay.

Consider these two, non-cryptic clues:

1. Dog (6), ‘C–L–I–’
2. Collie (3), ‘D–G’

The answer to (1) is definitely COLLIE. But can the answer to (2) be DOG? Well, for (1) we would ask ourselves whether a collie is a dog, and the answer is an unequivocal "yes". But when we come to (2), is a dog a collie? Clearly not all dogs are collies, and therein lies the problem. Collies constitute a subset of the class of ‘dogs’, and therefore a collie is an example of a dog. There is a school of thought which says that there must be something in the clue to show this, where clue (2) would become something like:

3. Collie, for instance (3), ‘D–G’

Clue (2) is an implicit ‘definition by example’, whilst clue (3) is an explicit one. Whilst it cannot be wrong to explicitly identify definitions by example, either by the use of qualifying words such as 'maybe' or 'perhaps', or by following the DBE with a question mark, many editors will not insist on it. The question of fairness to the solver should be the  paramount consideration: in the clue "Join girl with former partner" for ANNEX (ANN + EX), girl = ANN is not a definition by example, but there are a great many girls' names from which to chose, while in "Delia goes after dismal forger" for BLACKSMITH (BLACK + SMITH), 'Delia' is a definition by example, but how many Delias are sufficiently well-known to appear in a crossword clue?

Note, though, that Azed insists on definitions by example being flagged, so when writing clues for Azed competitions you must indicate them.

Consider the clue "Terrier frisky in car" for CAIRN (anagram of IN CAR). Chambers gives one meaning of 'cairn' as 'a small variety of Scottish terrier', so this is a perfectly normal definition. But in the clue "Vera found in pedalo, exhausted" for VERA (hidden), we have a 'definition by association' and therefore a problem - 'Vera' is not an aloe, nor (on its own) is it a type of aloe, so even 'Vera, say', cannot indicate 'aloe'. The plant is called 'aloe vera', and if one were determined to involve Vera in a clue for 'aloe', it would have to be through the use of 'name given to type of aloe' or something along those lines - Vera is simply not an aloe.

Similarly, 'Stockholm' would have to be something like 'Capital  linked to syndrome' and 'Fibonacci' might be indicated by 'Numbers man'.  By the same token, 'French, say' would be valid for 'language' (a definition by example - 'the language of France'), but nor for 'dressing'.

They are the bits in brackets at the end of each clue, indicating the length of the answer along with additional information such as the number of words involved.

This typically depends on the type of puzzle .

In blocked puzzles (eg UK back-pagers), the words that make up the answer are treated separately, so NOT HAVE A CLUE would be shown as (3,4,1,4).

In barred puzzles (eg the Listener), the total number of letters and the word count are given, so NOT HAVE A CLUE would be (12, 4 words) or (12, four words).

This depends on the type of puzzle.

In blocked puzzles, the length of the individual parts is indicated, so CLUED-UP would be shown as (5-2).

In barred puzzles, hyphens are generally ignored, so CLUED-UP would be shown as (7).

At one time it was customary to indicate apostrophes as part of the enumeration in blocked puzzles, so RUBIK'S CUBE would have been (5'1,4). Now, however, the standard treatment is to ignore apostrophes, so in a blocked puzzle RUBIK'S CUBE would be (6,4), and in a barred puzzle it would be (10, 2 words). In certain barred puzzles you might see it enumerated as (10, 2 words, apostrophe).

All other marks, such as accents, are ignored in enumerations.

Unless the instructions explicitly state otherwise (which may be true of occasional themed puzzles), every cell will contain a single capital letter and nothing else; no punctuation marks, no diacritical marks etc. Where a prize crossword entry is submitted on paper, the grid should be completed in ink.

In essence, any word which could be removed from the clue without affecting the cryptic interpretation is an 'extra word' in that it is technically superfluous. That doesn't mean that it is necessarily a bad thing, although such words tend to devalue a clue. In days gone by, clues of fifteen or more words were commonplace; the modern trend is towards much greater concision (driven both by taste and by space constraints).

Extra words are not allowed when they cannot be interpreted by the solver in a way that contributes to the cryptic sense of the clue, in other words the clue cannot be fully parsed while they remain. In the 'hidden' clue "Man found in French apartment" for CHAP, the word 'found' is superfluous, but the clue is still entirely sound - 'found in' and 'in' cryptically come to exactly the same thing. By contrast, "Man in chic French apartment" is unsound - we have a definition ('man'), an indicator ('in'), and a hiding place ('French apartment'), but what is the solver to make of that 'chic'? The clue cannot be satisfactorily solved while the word is there, and it must therefore be removed.

They come into several categories:

1.  Technically superfluous words in an indicator or a definition

This can often be a virtue rather than a fault. 'Parasitic worm' for CESTODE technically contains an extra word ('parasitic'), but this actually gives the solver an extra piece of information. Likewise 'moving about' as an anagram indicator could be reduced to either 'moving' or 'about', but it's absolutely fine as it is.

2. 'Neutral' indicators in wordplay

In the clue 'Boy with unknown woman' for LADY (LAD + Y), the word 'with' has no cryptic effect; it is a 'neutral juxtaposition indicator', so when it appears in a wordplay between element A (eg LAD) and element B (eg Y), it indicates that A should be followed by B in the output. Words like 'with', 'and', 'before', 'ahead of', 'leading' can all perform this role (as indeed can any of the 'before' indicators in the Juxtaposition Indicator list), and will often be used by setters to improve the surface reading of a clue; a

3. Links between definition and wordplay

For the benefit of the surface reading, setters will frequently include links from definition to wordplay, or vice versa. An example would be 'King not having the French for tea' for CHAR (CHARLES - LES). The word 'for' here sits between wordplay and definition, indicating that the wordplay leads to the word defined by 'tea'. In 'Bird from Sweden pale' for SWAN (S + WAN), the 'from' indicates that the defined answer derives from the wordplay.

In themed puzzles, clue gimmicks are a way of providing thematically-linked information to the solver which can only be revealed by solving the clues. The clues fulfil a dual purpose,  leading both to answers to be entered in the grid and to additional text which is assembled in some way (often in clue order) to produce some form of message or instruction. So each of the across clues in a puzzle might have a letter missing from the definition; these letters, in clue sequence, could spell out CHANGE EVERY D TO AN H.

All clues in a puzzle may have the same gimmick, some may have the same gimmick while others are normal, or multiple gimmicks may be used. It is incumbent on the setter to clearly state in the preamble what gimmicks are in play, eg 'The definitions in twelve across clues are missing a letter which must be reinstated before solving; the definitions in twelve down clues contain an extra letter which must be removed before solving. Other clues are normal.'

Note that in all gimmicked clues, the surface reading of the clue as printed is expected to make reasonable sense; the surface reading of the corrected version can make no sense whatsoever.

Missing letter clues typically generate one 'thematic' letter per clue. The letter can be omitted from definitions only or from wordplays only; the preamble will mention this. Alternatively they can be omitted from wordplay or definition, and the preamble will simple say that a letter has been omitted from each clue.

The clue "Chap agitated, I bet (4)" is a missing letter clue for BITE, the corrected definition being CHAMP (missing letter M), while "Halt on summit (4)" gives STOP (S + TOP), with 'on' in the wordplay becoming SON (missing letter S).

It is implicit that the clue cannot properly be solved without the missing letter being reinstated, so in "Large bust majestic (5)" for REGAL the setter might have intended that 'bust' should be corrected to BURST (missing letter R), but the clue works perfectly well as it is written, and it is therefore no good. The same applies to a clue like "Bird, first to cause quarrel (4)" for CROW (C(ause) + ROW); there is no way that the solver can be expected to know that 'cause' should become CLAUSE (missing letter L).

This is very similar to the 'missing letter' gimmick, except that a letter must be removed before the clue can be properly solved, and all the observations about one type apply equally to the other. On occasion a sequence of consecutive letters may need to be removed, usually from a small number of clues - the preamble will always make this clear.

An example of an extra letter clue would be "Could give up crack (6)" for CLEAVE (C + LEAVE), where 'could' loses the letter U to become COLD.

The important thing about clues featuring the extra word gimmick is that must not be solvable while the bonus word is present; this is vital, because there will almost certainly be other words whose presence or absence does not affect the cryptic reading. An example of a sound extra word clue would be "Man found in ditch outside a pub (4)" for CHAP (hidden in ditCH A Pub); the word 'outside' must be removed before this clue can be solved. The word 'found' is technically redundant, but the clue works both with and without it, so it is not an 'extra word' in the context of that gimmick.

In this type of clue, the definition leads to the answer while the wordplay leads to the answer all except one letter. An example would be "Bird near bananas (5)" for RAVEN (anagram of NEAR), where the anagram delivers all but the letter V, which becomes part of the message. Rightly or wrongly, the term 'wordplay' is considered to extend to a second definition, so "Bite fellow (5)" for CHAMP (CHAP), contributing the letter M, would be allowed.

There is a school of thought which says that this type of clue should not include link words between definition and wordplay, particularly those such as 'is' which indicate that the defined word and the output of the wordplay are the same, since the two are different. This rule may or may not be enforced by editors.

The same as the 'wordplay omits a letter' gimmick, except that here the wordplay delivers one more letter than is required to form the defined answer, with this letter then typically contributing to the thematic message (the preamble will explain what the solver must do with these letters). An example of this type of clue would be "Chap thought unhappy (6)" for FELLOW (FELT + LOW), where the extra letter is T.

Note that any double definition clue of the 'wordplay omits a letter' kind can also serve as a 'wordplay delivers extra letter' clue - so the "Bite fellow (5)" clue of the former type for CHAMP could become "Bite fellow (4)" for CHAP, delivering the extra letter M.

This is a rather different gimmick, in that the clue itself is normal. Once solved, a letter of the answer (typically the first or the last) provides, based on its position in the alphabet, an index into the clue itself. So if it is the last letters of the answers that are providing the indices, for an answer which ends in A, the solver must select the first letter of the clue as part of the thematic message; for an answer ending in B, the second letter of the clue etc. So in a 'last letter is index' clue "Caught husband with a quiet fellow (4)" for CHAP (C+H+A+P), the last letter of the answer is P, the sixteenth letter of the alphabet, and the thematic letter is the sixteenth letter in the clue, T.

The first of the Clue Movies provides an introduction to both blocked and barred grids. The section on grids starts around 2:19 into the video.

There are very few setters these days who use ruler, pen and paper to create a crossword grid. There are several pieces of software which will allow you produce all manner of grids, automatically enforcing whatever level of symmetry you select, and allowing you to export the empty or filled grid in a form that can be incorporated in various types of document. Most of these programs will also fill the grid for you, either completely or partially.

The Crossword Compiler program helps with all aspects of the setting process, from designing the grid to producing clues; it is user-friendly and works well, but it comes at a significant (recurring) cost. The Qxw program is free, and is an incredibly powerful tool for creating and filling grids of all shapes and sizes; it could not be described as user-friendly, but apart from that it is a great piece of software. Recommendations from readers concerning other similar programs will be gratefully received and reflected in this article.

In a hidden clue, the answer is concealed within a word or words on view in the clue, either in the forward direction (a 'hidden' or 'lurker') or the reverse direction (a 'reverse hidden' or 'rekrul'). An example of a 'hidden' would be "Animal in bath or sea (5)" for HORSE, and of a reverse hidden "Woman back in Wensleydale (4)" for LADY.

The wordplay for hiddens typically takes one of three basic forms:

1. Where the answer is shown as coming from the hiding place, eg "Animal seen in conifer retreated" for FERRET.

2. Where the hiding place is shown as containing the answer, eg "Magnificent rally holds key (7)" for CENTRAL.

3. Where the definition is separate from the wordplay, which explicitly indicates that a section of text should be extracted, eg "Good amount of golf in Europe (4)" for FINE.

There is an argument that the type 2 form with the definition at the end is not entirely sound (in the example above, the rally is the subject, not the key). The example would be better phrased with the definition as the subject, eg "Key held by magnificent rally".

A reverse hidden takes much the same form, except that a reversal indicator is required; either the extracted text or the entire hiding place can be reversed, eg "Party backed contribution to Conservative disco (4)" for SIDE or "Small sample of grain I muttered about (4) for MINI.

A number of 'type 3' indicators can be found in the list of hidden indicators. When it comes to type 1/type 2 indicators, many Container and Contents Indicators can be used; the important thing is to select those which describe a steady state rather than a single action, so 'held by' is good, but 'grabbed by' is not. The clue "man held by cha-cha partner (4)" works nicely for CHAP, while "Man grabbed by cha-cha partner (4)" doesn't - for as long as the CHA-CHA PARTNER has existed, the CHAP has been (held) there.

The hiding place should contain only words which contribute to the answer, so "Individual tucked into kippers one provided (6)" for PERSON is no good, since the word 'provided' plays no part in the clue ("individual tucked into kippers once" would be fine). There is a specific exception to this rule, which is that the definite and indefinite articles can be included, so "Queen featuring in the Guardian newspaper (4)" for ANNE would be allowed.

The hiding place can contain punctuation marks etc as well as spaces - anything other than letters are ignored, with all letters being treated as unaccented capitals.

Yes, but the solver needs to be given sufficient information about the construction. So "Drinks linking West and East (4)" for TEAS would be fine, but "Drinks found in West and East" would not.

In general, yes, but a degree of leeway be given. A reference to another entry is generally allowable, so if the answer to 5 is DREARY, then "Back in 5 (4)" would work for REAR, and if the answer to 8 were BOARDER, one might get away with the &lit clue "One of eight (3)" for OAR. Most editors would also, I think, accept "Vehicles lining Route 66 (4)" for UTES.

By their nature, hidden clues are generally easy to solve, although when well disguised they can still be tricky. Like simple anagrams, they have the virtue of giving solvers a way in to a puzzle, particularly a tough one. I would suggest that a couple of 'hiddens' in a puzzle is probably enough, and more than three would be considered excessive.

They describe the role that a particular word plays in a sentence. Words can be divided into eight classes: adjectives (eg 'adorable'), adverbs (eg 'quickly'), conjunctions (eg 'and'), interjections (eg 'crikey'), nouns (eg 'saucepan'), pronouns (eg 'they'), prepositions (eg 'of'), and verbs (eg 'reimburse').

The examples above are words which can only function as a single part of speech, so 'adorable', for instance, can only qualify a noun or a pronoun. Many words, particularly common ones, can function as different parts of speech depending on the context in which they are used. Chambers groups the senses of words under the particular part of speech, ie 'adj' (adjective), 'adv' (adverb), 'conj' (conjunction), 'interj' (interjection), 'n' (noun), 'prep' (preposition), 'pronoun', 'vt' (transitive verb), and 'vi' (intransitive verb).

It is not uncommon to find words which can act as four different parts of speech (eg 'man'), and that is before any other words with the same spelling have been taken into account.

The most important weapon in the setter's armoury is deception. Producing a clue with a surface reading which appears to say one thing and a cryptic reading which means something very different, but legitimately leads to the answer, is a highly effective deception; unravelling such a clue can also give the solver considerable satisfaction.

Take the clue "Marine cross about chaps joining navy (6)". This appears to relate to a member of the Royal Marines being annoyed about the navy's recent intake, but actually it is a clue for SEAMAN, another word for a merman (ie 'marine cross'). In the wordplay, A ('about') divides ('chaps') SEAM ('joining') and N ('navy').

In the surface reading, 'Marine' appears to be a noun; in the cryptic reading it is an adjective. 'Cross' is not an adjective in the cryptic reading, but a noun. 'Chaps' would appear to be a noun, but it is a verb. And 'joining' looks like the participle of a verb, but actually it is a noun. 'About' and 'navy' are the same parts of speech (preposition, noun) in both readings, but they lead to single letter abbreviations in the cryptic version.

Using different parts of speech craftily (but fairly) is an essential element of the setter's art.

A proper noun is (almost, though not quite, always) one which starts with a capital letter, such as the names of people (Cher), places (Brisbane, ), organizations (Amazon), or branded products (Elastoplast), and the titles of works such as books (Emma), films (Titanic), or songs (Price Tag). Nouns which are not proper nouns are termed 'common nouns'; these are spelt without an initial capital.

The rules around including common nouns in puzzles (whether as answers or elements thereof) are the same as for verbs, adjectives etc - if they are in the dictionary which is the standard reference for that puzzle, they can be used freely.

Proper nouns can be used without constraint in the wordplays of puzzles when they are there simply to provide one or more letters, via eg anagrams, hiddens, or letter selection indicators. An example would be "Long leg back for Lawrence" for PINE (PIN + (lawrenc)E), where it matters not whether the solver knows who Lawrence is.

When the proper noun is either the answer of part of the answer, things are a bit different. Proper nouns that can be found as entries in the primary reference for the puzzle (usually Chambers, sometimes Collins or the Oxford Dictionary of English), there is no problem; examples from Chambers would be 'Cossack',  'Hoover', and 'Scottish'. Proper nouns which appear in the text or etymology of related items are also normally allowed, for instance 'Circe' based on the definition of 'Circean'. Similarly those which appear as part of an entry, eg 'Nile' under 'Nile green', "a very pale green colour, thought of as the colour of the River Nile."

Beyond that, there is no need to inform the solver that non-dictionary proper nouns are being used, but the setter has to decide whether any such proper noun is likely to be either known to the solver or readily verifiable using, say, a basic atlas or the web. However, when we talk about the web, this means the sort of proper noun which at the very least would have its own (substantial Wikipedia entry; if you choose any surname you like and google it together with 'poet', you will find a poet to match. What is vital is that the solver should be in no doubt that they have got the right name - ARNE and PURCELL are valid composers, while WOODHOUSE is not, even if there are several composers of that surname found by a web search.

If you are in any doubt, and the grid entry cannot be changed to avoid the need for the name, help the solver by qualifying the definition - make your playwright an 'Elizabethan playwright', your composer a 'writer of marches', and your town a 'Sussex town'. Also try to make the wordplay as clear as possible. If the questionable proper noun is being used as part of an answer, eg the 'composer' appears  in the wordplay, just rewrite the wordplay.

By convention, a full stop is never used at the end of a clue. Otherwise the punctuation in a clue, whilst it may be tuned to support the surface reading, must not itself mislead the solver when it comes to the cryptic reading. The clue "Male guards, one leading (4)" for MAIN (MAN around I) is unfair because the cryptic reading requires 'male guards one', but the comma rules out this interpretation.

When it comes to groups of words in wordplays which are there simply to provide a series of letters, punctuation is essentially ignored. So the comma in the 'hidden' clue "Man tucked into peach, apple (4)" is fine, as is "Man - old - crunched nut (6)" for ALMOND (anagram of MAN OLD); the punctuation in the latter clue is geared more to the surface reading than the cryptic one, but it doesn't mislead. Where a comma separates words which make up anagram fodder, a singular verb cannot be used as an anagram indictor, so the clue "" for x is ok, but "" is not.

Question marks have certain special roles in cryptic clues beyond their normal usage in written English:

1. They can substitute for an expression such as 'perhaps' or 'for instance' to indicate a definition by example. The clue "Son left squash, perhaps (5)" for SPORT could also be written as "Son left squash?".

2. Similarly, they can indicate a definition which is a little out of the ordinary, as in "Criminal rang aunt's mother? (4)" for GRAN (anagram of RANG). This device is often used in &lit clues, such as "Are unfinished tiles transformed here? (7)" for ATELIER (anagram of ARE TILE(s)); this clue is fairer to the solver than the alternative "Unfinished tiles are transformed here".

3. They can tell the solver that the setter has done something slightly unusual, though not outrageous, as in "Dashes meaning something special after three dots? (11)" for SMATTERINGS ((MATTERING S) after S), where three dots is the letter S in Morse code.

4. They can be used to help the setter by splitting a clue into two parts, often with the definition preceding the question mark and the wordplay following, as in "watery vapour? Nothing's left damp (4)" for MIST (M(o)IST).

Other than when required by the surface reading, normally for interjections (eg 'Gosh!"), exclamation marks should be reserved for one purpose, which is to indicate that the setter has done something very unusual. An example would be "What I am (in extreme form) gets me reverse of irate inside! (5)" for VEGAN (VEGETARIAN is answer with IRATE< inside).

The temptation for solvers is to use the shriek to announce to the world that they have done something very clever. If you have done something truly impressive, then the solver will appreciate it regardless of the exclamation mark; if they need to be told that it's terribly good, then it really isn't.

Ellipses are used to join a pair of consecutive clues in two situations:

1. To produce a single surface reading, although the two cryptic readings are entirely separate, as in this pair of clues:

People in Hispanic land... (4)
...Are stopping to go round country (5)

for CLAN (hidden) and SPAIN (A in SPIN).

2. Where one of the clues cannot satisfactorily be solved without reference to the other, for example:

Low energy accepted by fellow... (4)
...occupying couch, a podge (4)

for MEAN (E in MAN) and CHAP (hidden), the definition in the second clue being the 'fellow' at the end of the first.

Apostrophes have no special meaning in clues, but they are very much the setter's friend, since they can indicate both possession and the contraction of 'is' or 'has' - and they can suggest one in the surface reading while actually meaning another in the cryptic reading. In the clue "Informed Andrew's blundering (6)" for WARNED, the apostrophe-s looks as though it indicates possession, but is actually the shortened form of 'is'.

Occasionally solvers suggest that, say, "journey's end" should indicate not Y but S. This is clearly wrong: "journey's end" is equivalent to 'the end of journey'; 'his rear' would not be a valid indication of S.

A single dash has no particular significance in a clue, but a continuous series of em dashes can be used to produce a blank, representing the answer. For example, in

"I.e.                    could be one busy with apron and beers (9)" for BARPERSON, the letters of IE + BARPERSON (the blank) are a possible rearrangement of I APRON BEERS.

This device is used almost exclusively in &lit clues, usually (as above) of the composite anagram type. It is typically employed when the answer can't legitimately be represented by alternatives like 'this' or 'such'.

Most barred puzzles explicitly identify a specific edition of a particular dictionary as their primary reference. Blocked puzzles rarely have such a statement, but the Chambers Dictionary (2016) is the usual 'default' dictionary, and every setter should thus have a copy of it. The Oxford Dictionary of English (ODE) is another good, single-volume dictionary favoured by certain puzzles, while the free, online Collins Dictionary (https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english) is a handy resource which tends to better reflect modern usage.

Thesauruses are the double-edged swords of the setter's weaponry. They can be very useful for identifying potential synonyms, but they can also serve up words which are far from synonymous (even extending to intransitive verbs as potential synonyms for transitive verbs, and vice versa). Roget's Thesaurus is a fine work, but not designed for crossword setters, while the Chambers Thesaurus is loose and outdated - only really useful for finding obscure (obsolete, Scots etc)  synonyms. The thesaurus which is part of the online Collins Dictionary (look up a word in the dictionary and click the 'Synonyms' tab) is pretty good, although some of the synonyms offered require modern senses of words not given by Chambers. My favourite thesaurus is part of the Oxford Dictionary Thesaurus, the pages of which are split into the dictionary (above) and the thesaurus (below) - it gives a few 'false positives', but a high proportion of the synonyms that it suggests will normally stand up to further scrutiny.

For a long time, the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations was a 'must' for both setters and solvers of themed puzzles. As a source of inspiration for setters it still has some value, but solvers cannot be expected to have the latest version (currently the 2009 7th edition) and the 'turnover' of quotations is far greater than that of words in a dictionary. Personally, I find the current edition deeply disappointing and find the web a better source of information when setting and when solving.

Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable is a splendid source of arcane information, and can be of assistance to a setter seeking inspiration. Solvers of the Spectator crossword are likely to have a copy, but is otherwise not a standard solving reference.

Different publications have different 'house styles', and a puzzle isn't going to be rejected because you've put 'organize' when they like 'organize', but if you have any doubt about whether the 80s should be the 80's or the Times should be The Times, then New Hart's Rules will give you an answer.

Not that long ago I thought perhaps I ought to get a copy of Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary, but although I can see how it might be of value to new solvers, it never leaves my shelf.

The Chambers Biographical Dictionary is a cracking piece of work, but for the crossword setter it has no obvious advantages over Wikipedia, while the Chambers Slang Dictionary is fun to dip into but of little or no value to setters. The Times Desktop Atlas of the World fits nicely on a bookshelf and a good way of finding anywhere that's anywhere.

The web has rendered all printed references for solvers, except for dictionaries (which can also be obtained in electronic or printed form), largely unnecessary. The nature of the web means that it's not a matter of working through one repository after another for the information that you need, but rather of adopting a 'search and click' strategy. The web is similarly a boon for setters, but you have to make sure that you double-check any information before incorporating it in a puzzle.

A superb resource for themed puzzle setters is Dave Hennings' database at xwdb.info - if you are thinking about setting a puzzle on a particular theme, a few clicks will tell you whether it's been done before, when, where, by whom, and how the subject was handled. For competitors in the Azed clue writing competitions (or anyone who wants to enjoy some classic clues from 50 years of Azed comps), the &lit archive is indispensable. Sadly it is no longer being updated, but if you want to know whether Azed will accept, say, 'stalling' as a containment indicator, you'll find out here.

There is no rule that says that similar answers cannot appear in the same grid, and occasionally puzzles deliberately repeat a single word. This is done with intent, however, and in general setters should avoid including words that closely resemble each other (eg BOUGH and BOUGHT), particularly those which appear under the same headword in the dictionary (eg FAIR and FAIRNESS), or alternative spellings of the same word (eg PROA and PRAHU). Automated grid filling programs typically have the option to avoid answers which share a substring of a specified minimum length - if this were set to 4, then the answers PREVIOUS and REVISION would not be allowed to appear together. Personally, I feel that strings which appear either at the start of two answers or the end of two answers are far less desirable than, say, PREVIOUS and REVISION or POUND and ROUNDERS.

Most editors require that any indicator should be used no more than once with the same cryptic meaning in a single puzzle. So 'holding' appearing in two separate clues as a containment indicator would be unacceptable, as would 'son' appearing twice as a pointer to the abbreviation S. This stricture would extend to inflections of the same verb (so 'keeps' and 'keeping' as containment indicators would constitute an unwanted repetition), and to multiple alternative ways of indicating the same element, eg 'love' and 'nil' for O.

The repetition of the same indicator but with a different meaning is not an issue - theoretically, 'about' could be used to indicate a reversal, a containment, an anagram, the letter C, and the letters RE in the same puzzle. Words which have no cryptic meaning can be used multiple times, eg 'stake' to define 'post' and 'risk' in separate clues. Common words such as 'and' and 'in' are generally exempt from restriction even when used cryptically unless they lead more than once to the same abbreviation (eg 'with' for W).

Note that these rules have nothing to do with fairness to the solver and everything to do with the overall impression made by the crossword. Hence the setter should where possible avoid other obvious repetitions (even though they may be allowed by the editor), particularly in consecutive clues - including a pair of clues which start with the same three words, even if the cryptic meanings are completely different, looks careless.