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Cryptic clues
We are now moving into the area of cryptic clues. The `abbreviations' and `codes' have an important role in solving many clues. For instance, `Abdomen love minimum can snowman (4)' can baffle even a master if he is clue-less on this front. The common abbreviation of `abdomen' is `ab', `love' in tennis is `zero', which resemble `o', `minimum' can be shortened to `min', and `capable' means `able'. This gives `abominable' which is the adjective we use to describe `yeti', the snowman.
The clue `... elephant (adj): headgear, a brief rigorous imprisonment, male offspring and a short journalist (11)' resolves into `caparisoned' thus: `cap' is a headgear, `a-r-i' is brief rigorous imprisonment, `son' a male offspring and `ed' a short journalist is `editor'. `Caparisoned' is an adjective used in association with elephants.
Abbreviations are drawn from all activities man has involved himself in.
These are the resources for codes as well.
For this reason, it is impossible to give an exhaustive list of abbreviations and codes, but some common ones are given below:
Abbreviations:
Abdomen - AB
Account - AC
Advertisement - AD
Air-conditioned - AC
Anonymous - ANON
April - APR
Archdeacon - AD
Army Intelligence - AI
Billion - B
Born - B
Company - CO
December - DEC
East - E
Farthing - D
Female - F
Gravity - G
High - H
High Tension - HT
Learner - L
Left - L
Low - L
Male - M
Maximum - MAX
Minimum - MIN
Month - M
Morning - AM
North - N
Penny - P
Pound - L, LB
Prime Minister - PM
Right - R
South - S
University - U
Vitamin - VIT
West - W
Year - 7
Codes:
America - US, USA
American - US
Article - A, AN, THE
Bachelor - BA
Britain - UK
Capital of... (e.g. Italy) - I
Colony - ANT
Cross - X
Direction - E, N, W or S
Editor - ED
Example - EG
Father - PA
Five - V
Former - EX
French - LE, LA, DE, DU
Gold - AU
Graduate - BA
Journalist - ED
Legislator - MLA
Love - O
Master - MA
Mother - MA, MOM
One - 1
Parliamentarian - MP
Point - E
Quiet - P
Ship - SS
Silent - P
Silver - AG
Six - VI
Snore - Z
Soldier - GI, MAN
Ten - X
Uncle Sam - US
With - C
Without - EX
These examples are only illustrative and not exhaustive.
It is rarely that abbreviations and codes form the clue; on the contrary, they are often only a part of the clue.
The presence of the words, brief, mini, miniature, short, shortened, small etc., in the clue is a hint to the use of abbreviations.
K.T.R.
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