Reading the clue: enumeration, part of speech and tense

A clue and its answer are meant to be interchangeable. Not roughly equivalent, not close in meaning, but swappable in a sentence without any repair work. Once you hold clues to that standard, a large share of wrong answers rules itself out before a single crossing letter arrives.

The substitution test

Write a short sentence using the clue, then put your candidate answer in its place. If the sentence still works, the answer is plausible. If you have to change a tense, add a word or shuffle the grammar, the answer is wrong however good its meaning looks.

Take the clue Sat down heavily. FLOPPED substitutes cleanly: he flopped into the chair, he sat down heavily into the chair. FLOP does not, because the tense is wrong, and SITS does not, because the number is wrong. The same test settles arguments about near synonyms. For Extremely tired, EXHAUSTED substitutes and TIREDNESS does not, because one is an adjective and the other is a noun.

Number and tense must match

This is the most reliable rule in mainstream crosswords, and setters on both sides of the Atlantic keep to it.

• A plural clue takes a plural answer. Garden tools gives RAKES; Garden tool gives RAKE.
• A past tense clue takes a past tense answer. Departed quietly gives SLIPPED OFF, never SLIP OFF.
• An -ing clue takes an -ing answer. Getting ready to fire gives AIMING.
• Comparatives and superlatives match. Less common gives RARER; Least common gives RAREST.
• An agent noun takes an agent noun. One who bakes gives BAKER, not BAKES.

One caution about the final S. A slot ending in S is not proof of a plural. It can be a third person verb, as in Competes in a marathon for RACES, or simply a word that ends in S, such as GLASS or CHAOS. Treat a terminal S as likely, not certain.

Enumeration tells you the shape

British and Australian puzzles print the answer's shape in brackets after the clue. (7) is a single seven letter word. (4,2,3) is three words of four, two and three letters, nine letters in total. A hyphen replaces the comma where the answer is hyphenated, so (5-2) points at something like HANDS-ON.

That shape rules out more candidates than most definitions do. A clue reading Give up entirely with the enumeration (5,2,3,5) can only be a four word phrase in that rhythm, and THROW IN THE TOWEL fits it exactly. Without the enumeration you would be considering SURRENDER, CAPITULATE and a dozen others.

American puzzles print no enumeration. Multi word answers run together in the grid with no marker at all, so ONE AT A TIME simply occupies twelve squares. The grid still tells you the total length, and the clue's phrasing usually hints at a phrase rather than a word. Working from the numbers first is covered in reading the enumeration before the clue.

Part of speech traps

Single word clues are ambiguous on purpose. Fast can be an adjective for SPEEDY, a verb meaning to go without food for ABSTAIN, or a noun for a religious observance. Left can be the past tense of leave for DEPARTED, a direction for PORT, or a noun in politics. The crossing letters decide, but knowing the three readings exist stops you insisting on one.

Capitalisation deserves a warning. The first word of a clue is always capitalised, so a capital at the start proves nothing about proper nouns. A capital in the middle of a clue is meaningful and usually signals a name, a place or a title.

Signals that change the rules

Some clues announce that the normal substitution test will not apply directly.

Shortened answers are flagged, and the flags are listed in abbreviations in clues. Punctuation carries meaning of its own, covered in question marks and other clue signals. A foreign word in the clue usually means a foreign word in the answer: Friend, in France gives AMI. Any unfamiliar term here can be looked up in the glossary.

When a definition genuinely will not resolve, a dictionary is a legitimate tool rather than a defeat. Merriam-Webster is the usual reference for American puzzles and Chambers for British ones, and the setters themselves work from those books. The daily puzzles at the Guardian crossword page print enumerations on every clue, which makes them useful practice for this lesson.