Charade · Acrostic indicator
lead
“lead” 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.
Depending on the clue, “lead” can also act as an acrostic indicator.
- Clue types
- Charade, Acrostic
- Forms
- leads, leading
- Subtlety
- subtle
- Part of speech
- participle, verb
“Female's weak attack online (5)”
Answer: FLAME
Charade: F (standard abbreviation for 'female', from 'Female's') + LAME (synonym for 'weak') concatenate to FLAME. The definition is 'attack online' — to flame is to send hostile messages online. Surface reads as a natural description of a pathetic piece of internet aggression, misdirecting away from the fire/flaming-rant answer. No indicator is needed; the components join as natural English.
Related indicators
- above
- abut
- adjoin
- after
- ahead of
- alongside
- and
- at first
- at last
- at the end
- at the end of
- at the outset
- at the start of
- attach
- backs of
- become
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