Good day to all of you!
Taking one step back from the examples I sent across last time, here are a few basic things you should know about cryptic crosswords:
1) The answers to all the clues will fill in the white squares of a 15×15 grid
2) Each clue will have 2 parts: a meaning and a cryptic or puzzle part
3) Clues may hold symbols, abbreviations & acronyms, for example, Hg, Na, WHO, L (for 50), C or CA (for circa)
4) Knowing that LE, LA, DAS, DER, IL are “the” in other languages is a plus.
5) Every clue will end with the length of the answer (this is one of the biggest helps in solving crossword clues)
6) Anagrams are a big part of Cryptic Crosswords. They are indicated by words like anew, scattered, cooked, confused, mad, tortured, badly, drunk, troubled….well, you get the idea.
7) Some puzzles will have a theme, like WWII or music, but this is rare.

Last week, I sent out a clue for you to solve:
Girl protected by parents offers a view (8)
We can see that the answer is 8 letters long and probably means “a view”. This means that the puzzle part is “girl protected by parents” I asked you to assume the girl’s name is NORA. Since she is protected by her parents, the answer must be PA NORA MA which means a view.

Let’s look at three examples for today. All 3 are from today’s Sunday Hindu (sourced from the Guardian). I shall send out the answers in a later message.
a) African national? Not so: African nation (4)
This is most likely the name of an African country that is 4 letters long. The answer can be arrived at by thinking of an African and removing the letters SO from it.
b) Embroils parents in strife (7)
The answer is 7 letters long and probably means “embroils”. The words ‘in strife’ tells us that we should look to find an anagram of the word ‘parents’ which is naturally 7 letters long too.
c) Archbishop’s skirt (4)
The answer is 4 letters long and means skirt. It must also be the name of an archbishop.

Here’s a clue for you to solve all on your own:
Potato and mouse (with tail removed) cooked as comfort food (6,4)
Hint: ‘cooked’ tells us that the answer is an anagram.

Here are the answers to the above 3 clues:
a) (SO)MALI
b) ENTRAPS (anagram of PARENTS)
c) TUTU

Here’s a clue to mull over for today:
Cordial email sent off to secure taxi (8)
Hint: ‘sent off’ indicates that the letters of ’email’ have to be used in the answer. Note that the answer is 8 letters long.