Today, we shall dive into the “embedded” clue. In this kind of clue, the setter buries the answer in the clue itself. We can recognize this type of clue from indicators like ‘some’, ‘within’, ‘partly’, ‘in part’, ‘encapsulates’, ‘holds’, ‘interred’, etc. What makes this type of clue quite hard is that the ‘surface reading’ misleads us beautifully. This type of clue sometimes include words such as ‘sent back’ or ‘returned’ or ‘recalled’ – they tell us that the answer is in the reverse order in the clue.

Let us understand this type with a few examples:

Here is the first example:
Maybe wearing some larger undies (6)
Here the answer is 6 letters long. And perhaps an example of the answer is ‘wearing’. ‘Some’ tells us that the answer is buried in the following letters. And so it is: GER UND.
Here’s another example:
Old poet ensnared by WhatsApp hoaxer (6)
‘Ensnared by’ tells us that the answer is embedded in the text that follows. And the answer, an old Greek poet from around 600 BC, is SAPPHO.
Here’s a third example:
Drink’s a bit unpredictable when sent back (5)
It looks like the answer must be a drink, for example, tea or ale or beer. ‘a bit’ indicates to us that the answer is buried in the clue. “when sent back” tells us that the answer must be in the reverse order. And the answer is in unpREDICtable, i.e. CIDER.

Here’s one for you to try on your own:
Blissful time, usually divine if partly recalled (5)