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.
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.
This month’s prize crossword
A complete cryptic crossword with a prize up for grabs — the same gentle, hint-friendly solving you’ll get to know here, in a full grid.
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.”
A full crossword is waiting for you.
Settle in with this month’s prize crossword and put your solving to the test.
Play the full prize crosswordCryptic 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.
Play the full prize crossword.
A complete cryptic crossword, with a prize up for grabs.
Play the full prize crosswordFree to play · A new prize every month