Crossword Clue Words - written by Adrian Pollock
Clue Words |
‘Usual’ or ‘Possible’ answer |
Comment |
[owed] debts |
ious |
From I Owe Yous |
a French |
un, une |
From the French word for ‘a’ |
about |
re, c |
‘re’ from regarding; ‘c’ from circa |
actor |
star |
|
affirmation, agreement, approval |
yes |
|
against, as opposed to |
con |
From ‘pros and cons’, with con meaning against |
agency typist |
temp |
|
air |
a song etc |
Asking for a word for a song or tune |
alias |
aka |
|
America |
us |
From USA |
American |
sam |
From ‘Uncle Sam’ |
and the German |
und |
From the German word for ‘and’ |
approve |
ok |
|
article |
a, an, the |
|
artist, painter |
ra |
From Royal Artist |
award |
om, obe |
From British awards (Order of Merit, etc) |
beast |
steer |
|
before |
pre, ere |
|
below |
under |
Usually for words such as understanding, etc |
bill |
ac |
From the word ‘account’ meaning a bill |
bill |
di |
From the initials for Detective Inspector |
bird |
tit, tern, etc |
|
bishop |
b |
|
Blair |
tony |
|
bloomer |
flower |
Usually the name of a flower is required |
board |
reference to the stage |
Clue may say ‘on the board’, meaning the answer has something to do with the stage |
book |
ot, nt, tome |
‘ot’ or ‘nt’ from Old or New Testament |
boy |
lad, [name] |
Various names, eg Tom, Rob, etc |
brave greeting |
how |
As in Red Indians stereotype greeting How! |
bury |
inter |
Usually for words such as interview, etc |
called |
rang |
Similarly, from ‘call’ you get ‘ring’ |
car |
mini, mg, vw, |
|
catholic |
rc |
From Roman Catholic |
caught |
c |
|
centre forward |
w |
‘w’ is the middle (centre) letter in the word forward |
centre half |
al |
‘al’ are the middle (centre) letters in the word ‘half’ |
certain |
sure |
|
charge |
ion |
|
chemical company |
ICI |
ICI = International Chemical Company |
children |
seed |
|
church |
ch, ce |
‘ce’ from Church of England |
classes |
genera |
From the latin word used for animal classifications |
cleric |
dd, rev, see, rr |
From Doctor of Divinity; reverend, Holy See, Right Reverend |
cold |
ice, c |
|
colour |
red |
To ‘colour’ means to blush, hence red |
Colt |
gun |
From the name of the gun manufacturer |
commercial |
ad |
|
compiler |
Shed, I, me |
Meaning the crossword compiler (Shed is the pseudonym for a Guardian compiler) |
complaint |
reference to an illness |
The answer will probably be a particular illness |
Conservative |
ted |
From Edward (Ted) Heath, the Tory PM |
Conservative |
tory |
From the word Tory (Conservative Party) |
copper, old bill, etc |
mp, di, cib |
‘mp’ from Military Police; ‘di’ from Detective Inspector; ‘cib’ from Criminal Investigation Bureau |
corporal |
nco |
As in non-commissioned officer |
court |
woo |
|
cricket series |
ashes |
|
Cruise |
tom |
|
current |
in, ac, ad |
‘ac’ from alternating current; ‘ad’ from anno domino |
dance |
reference to a dance |
Answer is usually the name of a dance |
danger, appeal, help |
sos |
|
dark |
tan |
|
degree |
ba, ma |
‘ba’ from Bachelor of Arts |
depend on |
rely |
|
detective |
di, cib, cid |
‘di’ from the initials for Detective Inspector |
doctor |
dr, md, mo |
‘md’ from medical doctor; ‘mo’ from medical officer |
dog |
cur |
|
donkey |
ass, mule |
|
Dorothy |
dot |
|
drink |
sip, tea, gin, rum, ale |
|
drunk |
sot |
|
duck, circle, ring, nothing |
o |
|
electric |
ac |
From the initials for Alternating Current |
eleven, XI |
side, team |
From cricket terminology |
Eliot |
ts |
From the initials of the poet T S Eliot |
Engineer(s) |
re |
From Royal Engineer(s) |
English |
e |
|
everyone |
all |
|
exercise |
pe, pt |
From physical education or physical training |
extra strong |
ff |
|
father |
pa, fr |
|
feature |
chin, nose, lip |
|
fellow |
f, don |
Sometimes, certain words are meant to infer use of the first letter of the word (as in ‘f’ from fellow) |
female |
f, fe, her, she |
|
fish |
ling, carp, eel, etc |
|
first |
ist |
As in 1st |
flower |
river |
Usually the name of a river or a flower is required |
for |
pro, per |
From ‘pros and cons’, with pro meaning in favour of |
force |
g |
‘g’ = symbol for gravity |
former, past |
ex |
|
for example |
eg |
|
for French |
pour |
|
French way |
rue |
From French for street |
Frenchman |
m |
As in Monsieur |
front row |
r |
‘r’ is the first (front) letter of the word ‘row’ |
gallery |
tate |
From the Tate Gallery |
Gateshead |
g |
Often, a word with a Capital letter means the initial letter is part of the answer |
genetic material, genes |
dna |
|
Germany |
d |
‘d’ is the letter for Deutchland |
girl |
lass, [name] |
Various names, eg Ann, Anna, Stella, Sue, Lana, etc |
good person |
st |
From saint, as in St Patrick |
Godfather |
don |
|
gunner |
ra |
From Royal Artillery |
hard |
h |
|
head |
ic, don, |
‘ic’ from in charge; ‘don’ from university head |
Henry |
hal |
|
here |
UK |
|
hesitation |
err |
|
hill |
tor |
From the Scottish name for a hill |
home |
nest |
|
homosexual |
camp, gay |
|
horse |
nag, colt |
|
hospital department |
ent |
From ‘ear, nose & throat’ department |
hotel |
inn |
|
I am |
im |
From the conjunctive I’m |
in charge |
ic |
|
in respect of |
for |
|
in the French |
en |
‘en’ is French for ‘in’ |
intelligence |
IQ |
|
involuntary movement |
tic |
As in a person has a ‘tic’ |
island |
is, man |
‘man’ after the Isle of Man |
issue |
son |
From the old ‘biblical’ use of the word |
is unable to |
cant |
As in can’t |
Journalist(s) |
ed(s), press |
From editor(s) |
jumper |
roo |
From kangaroo |
key |
a, f, g, etc |
From the musical keys |
king |
r, gr, k |
‘r’ from Rex (royal), ‘gr’ from George Rex, king |
king |
Lear |
|
large |
os |
‘os’ stands for Over Size |
last word |
amen |
|
laughter |
ha |
|
Lawrence |
te |
From the initials of the author T E Lawrence |
learner, student, novice, beginner, etc |
l |
|
leaving |
off |
As in ‘I’m off’ |
lecturer |
don |
|
left |
l |
|
Lincoln |
abe |
From the shortening on Lincoln’s first name |
lines |
ry |
From railway [lines] |
listener |
ear |
|
look |
lo |
|
mad, fool |
nut, ass, nit |
|
main |
reference to the sea |
Clue may say ‘in the main’, meaning the answer has something to do with the sea |
male |
m, he |
|
man, standard |
norm |
|
me |
i |
|
measure |
en, em |
‘en’ & ‘em’ are old printer’s measures |
Metals - gold, silver, iron |
ore |
|
middle |
mean |
|
Milne |
aa |
From the initials of the poet A A Milne |
minister |
rev, see |
From reverend; or Holy See |
model, poser |
t |
From the Model-T Ford motorcar |
model |
elle |
From the name of the model, Elle McPherson |
modern times / our times |
ad |
|
Morrison |
van |
|
mother |
ma |
|
motoring organisation |
aa |
From the initials of ‘Automobile Association’ |
mountain |
alp, tor |
|
new |
ad, n |
‘ad’ from After Christ; ‘n’ from the first letter of new |
note, notes |
A, e, etc |
From the musical notes |
nothing |
o, nil |
|
nut |
pecan |
|
object |
it |
|
odds |
sp |
As in Starting Price for betting odds |
officer |
lt, gen, co |
|
offspring |
issue, son |
|
of the French |
de |
From the French word for ‘of’ |
old |
bc |
From Before Christ |
old city |
ur |
From the name of an old city (Ur of the Chaldees) |
old penny |
d |
|
Oriental |
e |
From ‘The East’ |
our German |
unser |
From the German word for ‘our’ |
page |
p |
|
parking |
p |
As in P for Parking |
party |
do |
From “having a ‘do’…” |
past, previous, etc |
ex |
|
penny, new penny |
p |
|
peak |
mt, alp, tor |
|
piano |
p |
|
poem |
ode |
|
points |
n, s, e, w |
From the compass points |
politician |
mp, ted |
From Member of Parliament; or Ted Heath |
power |
p |
|
princess |
di |
From Princess Diana |
prison |
can |
|
professional |
pro |
|
prone |
lies |
|
proper |
prim |
|
pub |
bar |
|
queen, Elizabeth |
er |
From ‘Elizabeth Regina’ |
races |
tt |
From the Tourist Trophy races |
rear end |
d or r |
|
receiver |
fence |
As in receiver of stolen goods |
record |
lp, disc, tape |
|
record rise |
pl |
As in LP backwards |
relation |
niece |
|
revolutionary |
che |
From Che Guevara, the revolutionary |
revolutionary |
red |
From the colour of revolutionary parties |
right |
r |
|
river |
r, dee, exe, po |
From the names of various rivers |
sailor |
ab, tar, rn, salt, mate |
‘ab’ from Able-Bodied Seaman; ‘rn’ from Royal Navy |
say |
eg |
|
Scotsman |
ian, mac, mon |
‘mon’ sounds like man in Scots |
see |
lo |
|
separatists, rebels |
eta, ira |
From the initials of the rebel groups |
service |
rn |
From the Royal Navy, one of the armed ‘services’ |
shade |
red |
To ‘shade’ means to blush, hence red |
ship |
ss |
|
sick |
ill |
|
singer |
voice |
|
small island |
isle |
|
snake |
asp, viper |
|
soft |
p |
From the ‘soft sound’ of the letter p |
soldier |
re |
From Royal Engineer |
soldier |
para |
From paratrooper |
soldier, US soldier |
gi |
From GI (General Infantry) |
soldiers, army |
ta |
From Territorial Army |
solver |
me, i |
‘solver’ refers to the person doing the crossword, hence ‘me’ or ‘i’ |
son |
s |
|
song |
air |
|
sovereign |
l |
As in leader |
spaceman |
et |
From ‘E.T. – Extra-terrestrial’ |
spirit |
imp, elf |
|
spirit |
gin, rum |
|
Spooner |
reference to Spooner |
Where words have their first letters transposed, eg., ‘blushing crow’ instead of ‘crushing blow’ |
stage |
leg |
As in the ‘stage’ of a race |
state |
reference to states in US |
Answer will often be the abbreviations for US states, eg., Georgia is ‘ga’ |
stop |
ban |
|
strong, force |
f |
From the word ‘force’ |
students, novices, etc |
ll |
From ‘l’ for learner plus another ‘l’ being for plural |
study |
con, den |
‘con’ from conservatory |
support |
leg |
|
tax |
vat |
From the V[alue] A[dded] T[ax] |
team |
side |
|
teetotaller |
aa, tt |
From the initials of Alcoholics Anonymous |
tenor |
t |
|
thanks, expression of gratitude |
ta |
|
that is |
ie |
Standard abbreviation |
that’s right |
ier |
That is (i.e.) + ‘r’ |
the French |
la, le, du |
From the French word for ‘the’ |
the German |
der |
From the German word for ‘the’ |
the Spanish |
el |
From the Spanish word for ‘the’ |
thus |
sic, so |
|
time |
t, sec, min, age, era, h, eon, yr |
|
transport |
van, car, br |
‘br’ from British Railways |
tree |
ash, elm, oak |
|
US spies |
cia |
From the Central Intelligence Agency |
unpopular worker |
scab |
|
Various directions – North
|
n |
|
Various elements – iron
|
fe |
From the ‘symbols’ for the elements |
various numbers – one |
i |
Based on Roman numbers. Clue may use words or Roman numerals. Also may have combinations, eg 51 = li |
vehicle |
car, bus, tram, etc |
|
vessel |
urn |
|
water |
rain |
Can also mean the answer is the name of a lake etc |
way, street, road, highway |
st, rd, mi |
‘mi’ from Motorway 1 |
weight |
g, ton |
‘g’ from gravity |
Wells |
hg |
From the initials of the author H G Wells |
wet weather |
rain |
|
when |
as |
|
wicket |
w |
|
work |
op |
From ‘operations’ |
worker |
ant, hand |
|
world body |
un |
From the United Nations |
writer |
pen |
|
yes, agree |
aye |
|
|
|
|