Container indicator

swallow

“swallow” is a container indicator in cryptic crosswords.

One piece of wordplay is wrapped around or inserted into another. Containers use the imagery of holding, enclosing, or swallowing.

Clue types: Container
Forms: swallows, swallowing
Subtlety: moderate
Part of speech: participle, verb
Themes: containment

Worked example

“Communist, swallowing pain, got home (7)”

Answer: REACHED

Definition: "got home". "Communist" gives RED, the colour of the left. "pain" gives ACHE, a dull hurt. "swallowing" tells RED to contain ACHE. RED around ACHE = RE(ACHE)D = REACHED.

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