Charade indicator

before

“before” is a charade indicator in cryptic crosswords.

The answer is built by placing chunks next to each other in sequence. Charade indicators use the imagery of following, addition, and joining.

Clue types: Charade
Subtlety: moderate
Part of speech: adverb

Note: X before Y: X comes first in answer.

Worked example

“Employed toil at home before golf (7)”

Answer: WORKING

Definition: "Employed" — meaning at work, in a job. "toil" → WORK (to labour). "at home" → IN (present, not out). "golf" → G (the phonetic alphabet letter). "before" tells us to line the pieces up in order: WORK + IN + G. WORK then IN then G gives WORKING.

Related indicators

above
abut
adjoin
after
ahead of
alongside
and
attach
become
behind
below
beneath
beside
by
cap
carry

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