Acrostic indicator

initially

“initially” is an acrostic indicator in cryptic crosswords.

Also called letter-selection: you read the initial or final letters of consecutive words to spell part of the answer. Indicators point to beginnings, ends, or leaders.

Clue types
Acrostic
Subtlety
moderate
Part of speech
adverb
Worked example

Initially stir the eggs well for a hearty dish (4)

Answer: STEW

Definition: "hearty dish". "Initially" tells you to take the first letter of each following word. "stir the eggs well" gives S, T, E, W. Reading those initials in order spells STEW.


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