Acrostic indicator

leaders of

“leaders of” 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
phrase
Worked example

Leaders of long, intense negotiations keep stalling ties (5)

Answer: LINKS

Definition: "ties" — connections or bonds. "Leaders of" signals an acrostic — take the first letter of each following word. "long, intense negotiations keep stalling" gives L, I, N, K, S. Reading those initials in order spells LINKS.


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