Cryptic crosswords, decoded
The best way to crack cryptic crosswords
Cryptic clues look like nonsense until you learn the handful of rules behind them. Daily Cryptic teaches you one clue at a time, with hints that nudge instead of spoil, so the penny-drop is always yours.
Stuck on a clue? Get a nudge, not the answer.
Every clue comes with layered hints. Each one reveals a little more of the trick: the type of wordplay, where the answer hides, how it’s built. Keep going until it clicks. Try it:
Dangerous beast hides out in ship port (5)
Tap Reveal a hint to see the first nudge.
This is the real thing: the same hints and explanations you get on every daily clue.
How do cryptic crossword clues actually work?
Almost every cryptic clue is two clues in one: a straight definition and some wordplay that spell the same answer. Tap each part to see it.
From baffled to hooked in three steps
Learn the patterns
Cryptic clues follow a handful of repeatable rules. Bite-size lessons teach anagrams, hidden words, containers and more.
Practise every day
Fresh clues land daily. Solve them with layered hints that nudge, never spoil, so the penny-drop stays yours.
Build your skills
Track your progress as your solving sharpens, and step up to full weekly and prize crosswords when you’re ready.
Not just clues. Full crosswords too.
When a single clue isn’t enough, settle in with a complete cryptic crossword. There’s a fresh weekly puzzle and a monthly prize crossword, built on the same gentle, hint-friendly solving you’ll get to know here.
You’re in good company
“At 93, I’d long since decided cryptic crosswords just weren’t for me, and I’d never finished one in my life. Daily Cryptic got me there, one clue at a time. I solve the Daily every morning now, and my goal is to crack the Sunday Times cryptic by the end of the year.”
“I’d bounced off cryptics for years. They just looked like a wall of nonsense. The daily clue and its hints became my morning ritual, and one day it simply clicked. Now I do it with my coffee before anything else.”
“The hints don’t hand you the answer, they show you the trick. After a few weeks I was spotting the anagrams and hidden words myself. It’s the first thing that’s actually made me better, not just busier.”
There’s a clue waiting for you right now.
Today’s cryptic clue is free, with no sign-up needed. Get a nudge whenever you want one and see how quickly it starts to click.
Play today’s clueCryptic crossword questions, answered
No. Daily Cryptic starts you at clue one, and the hints teach you the patterns as you go, so you build the skill clue by clue.
A cryptic crossword is a puzzle where each clue combines a straight definition with wordplay that spells the same answer.
Nothing. Today’s clue and the full indicator directory are free, with no card needed.
No, today’s clue is free to play with no sign-up. Sign in to save your streak and progress.
Yes. Once you sign in, your streak, XP and solves are saved to your account, so you never lose your place.
Just a few minutes. Today’s clue is built to be a quick daily habit, with hints on hand the moment you get stuck.
Today’s clue is waiting.
Your first solve is free, no account needed. Sign in to save your streak.
Play today’s free clueNo credit card · A new clue every day · Free to play