Deletion Clues

Remove a letter from a word to reveal the answer — head, tail, or middle

Guide › Deletions

What Are Deletion Clues?

In a deletion clue, you take a word and remove one or more letters to produce the answer. The setter tells you which letter to remove using a deletion indicator. There are three main types of deletion:

Head deletion (beheadment): Remove the first letter. Indicated by words like "headless", "beheaded", "topless", "not starting". For example, removing the first letter of WHEAT gives HEAT.

Tail deletion (curtailment): Remove the last letter. Indicated by words like "endless", "curtailed", "short", "trimmed", "almost". For example, removing the last letter of PLANET gives PLANE.

Middle deletion (internal deletion): Remove a middle letter. Indicated by "heartless" or "losing heart". For example, removing the middle letter of a word hollows it out. These are less common but do appear.

Worked Examples

"Endless planet is flat (5)"
PLANE
Indicator: "Endless" signals a tail deletion (remove the last letter). Base word: PLANET (6 letters). Deletion: Remove the last letter T from PLANET: P-L-A-N-E-T = PLANE. Definition: "flat" = PLANE (a flat surface). Check: PLANET minus T = PLANE (5 letters).
"Headless wheat is warmth (4)"
HEAT
Indicator: "Headless" signals a head deletion (remove the first letter). Base word: WHEAT (5 letters). Deletion: Remove the first letter W from WHEAT: W-H-E-A-T = HEAT. Definition: "warmth" = HEAT. Check: WHEAT minus W = HEAT (4 letters).
"Headless bore is a mineral (3)"
ORE
Indicator: "Headless" signals a head deletion. Base word: BORE (4 letters). Deletion: Remove the first letter B from BORE: B-O-R-E = ORE. Definition: "mineral" = ORE. Check: BORE minus B = ORE (3 letters).
"Topless braise is an increase (5)"
RAISE
Indicator: "Topless" signals a head deletion. Base word: BRAISE (6 letters). Deletion: Remove the first letter B from BRAISE: B-R-A-I-S-E = RAISE. Definition: "increase" = RAISE. Check: BRAISE minus B = RAISE (5 letters).

Complete Deletion Indicator Glossary

These words tell you to remove a letter from a word. The specific indicator tells you which letter to remove:

beheaded curtailed cut endless headless heartless lacking limitless losing missing not starting short shortened topless trimmed without

Tips for Solving Deletion Clues

1. The indicator tells you where to cut

"Headless", "beheaded", and "topless" all mean remove the first letter. "Endless", "curtailed", and "trimmed" mean remove the last letter. "Heartless" means remove the middle letter. Match the indicator to the deletion type.

2. The answer is always one letter shorter

In a simple deletion, the base word has one more letter than the answer. If the answer is (5), look for a 6-letter word in the clue that loses a letter to produce a 5-letter answer.

3. Watch for deletions combined with other wordplay

A deletion might be just one step in a more complex clue. For example, a clue might delete a letter from a word and then combine the result with another element in a charade.

4. "Almost" and "nearly" signal curtailment

When a setter says a word is "almost" or "nearly" something, they usually mean to drop the last letter. "Nearly brave" might mean BRAV (BRAVE minus E), contributing those letters to a larger answer.

Deletion clues are elegant in their simplicity. The answer is right there in the clue — you just need to trim one letter off. Always check that removing the indicated letter from the base word produces a real word that matches the definition.

Explore Other Clue Types

Deletions are one of the more straightforward clue types. Explore the others to build your full solving toolkit.

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