Anagram Clues in Cryptic Crosswords - Complete Guide

What Are Anagram Clues?

Anagram clues are the most common type of cryptic crossword clue. In an anagram clue, the setter takes a word or group of words from the clue text (known as the fodder) and jumbles the letters to form the answer. Your job is to identify which letters to rearrange and what they spell.

Every anagram clue contains three key ingredients: a definition of the answer (usually at the start or end of the clue), the fodder (the letters to rearrange), and an anagram indicator — a word or phrase that signals something is being mixed up, broken, or changed.

Anagram indicators are words that suggest disorder, movement, change, or destruction. Words like "broken", "mixed", "crazy", "dancing", "ruined", and "cooked" all hint that letters need rearranging. Once you learn to spot these indicators, anagram clues become much easier to crack.

Worked Examples

"Altered taste is from a particular region (5)"

STATE

Indicator: "Altered" signals an anagram. Fodder: TASTE (5 letters). Rearrangement: T-A-S-T-E rearranges to S-T-A-T-E. Definition: "a particular region" = STATE. Check: S, T, A, T, E are the same letters in both words.

"Criminal stole new items (6)"

STOLEN

Indicator: "Criminal" signals an anagram. Fodder: STOLE + N (abbreviation for "new") = 6 letters. Rearrangement: S-T-O-L-E-N rearranges to S-T-O-L-E-N (the letters already spell STOLEN). Definition: "items" that were taken = STOLEN. Check: STOLE + N contains S, T, O, L, E, N.

"Cooked meats produce vapour (5)"

STEAM

Indicator: "Cooked" signals an anagram. Fodder: MEATS (5 letters). Rearrangement: M-E-A-T-S rearranges to S-T-E-A-M. Definition: "vapour" = STEAM. Check: M, E, A, T, S appear in both MEATS and STEAM.

"Shaken lemon makes a fruit (5)"

MELON

Indicator: "Shaken" signals an anagram. Fodder: LEMON (5 letters). Rearrangement: L-E-M-O-N rearranges to M-E-L-O-N. Definition: "a fruit" = MELON. Check: L, E, M, O, N appear in both words.

Complete Anagram Indicator Glossary

Any word suggesting disorder, change, destruction, movement, madness, or transformation can serve as an anagram indicator. Here are the most common ones:

about abroad adjusted altered amended around arranged awful bad bizarre broken changed chaotic cocktail confused converted cooked corrupt crazy criminal crude crushed dancing demolished designed destroyed different disturbed doctored drunk edited erratic exploding fantastic fixed free fresh funny ground jumbled mad mangled mashed messy mixed modified muddled new novel odd off out peculiar perhaps playing possibly rebuilt recycled reformed remodelled reshaped revised revolutionary rotten rough ruined running scattered scrambled shaken shifting shuffled silly smashed sorted spinning strangely swimming tangled terrible troubled twisted unfortunately unusual upset volatile wandering wrecked wrong

Tips for Solving Anagram Clues

1. Count the letters first

Once you spot an anagram indicator, count the letters in the suspected fodder. They must match the answer length shown in brackets. If the count is wrong, you have the wrong fodder.

2. Look for multi-word fodder

The fodder can span multiple words. For example, in "Bad ice cream (6)", the fodder might be ICE + another word's abbreviation. Always consider that the fodder could include abbreviations like N (new), E (energy), or S (south).

3. Write the letters in a circle

When you have the fodder letters, write them in a circle or scramble them on paper. This breaks the visual pattern of the original word and makes it easier to spot the answer.

4. Use crossing letters

If you already have some crossing letters from solved clues, these dramatically narrow down the possible anagrams. Even one confirmed letter can make the answer obvious.

5. The indicator is never part of the fodder

The anagram indicator tells you to rearrange — its letters are never included in the rearrangement. The indicator, the fodder, and the definition are three separate parts of the clue.

Explore Other Clue Types

Anagrams are just one of several cryptic clue types. Learn them all to become a confident solver.

Hidden Words Double Definitions Reversals Containers Homophones Deletions

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