A Collection of Elements Commonly Used in the Wordplay of Cryptic Crosswords

Cryptic Crosswords from Big Dave
The Usual Suspects
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A collection of elements commonly used in the wordplay of cryptic crosswords.

This list is not intended to be exhaustive and does not, for example, include:

• chemical symbols such as AG for silver or FE for iron (see Chemical Elements ),
• cricketing terms such as BAT for cricketer or ON for leg (see Cricketing Terms and Abbreviations),
• French words such as DE for of and LE for the (see French Words ),
• heraldic terms such as OR for gold or SABLE for jet/black (page of Heraldic Terms coming soon),
• Latin abbreviations such as R for take/recipe (page of Latin words and abbreviations coming soon),
• IVR codes such as CH for Switzerland or E for Spain (see Countries - Capitals Cities and IVR Codes ),
• musical terms such as P for quiet/soft or F for loud (see Musical Terms ),
• regular abbreviations such as I for island or O for old,
• word elements greater than four letters in length.

Word in the clue / Word element in the answer
a / an / PER (as in tuppence a/per pound, penny an/per ounce)
abstainer / TT (Teetotaller)
actors / CAST
airman / AC (aircraftsman); LAC (leading aircraftsman); PO (pilot Officer)
airmen / RAF (Royal Air Force)
alien / ET (Extra-Terrestrial – movie)
ambassador / HE (His Excellency)
American soldier(s) / see soldier(s)
ancient city / see old city
Anglican(s) / CE (Church of England)
any number / see number
article / A, AN (indefinite articles); THE (definite article)
artist / RA (Royal Academician)
at home / see home
at university / UP
banker / name of a river, e.g. CAM, DEE, DON, PO; see also flower and runner
bearing / E, N, S, W (compass bearings)
beer / ALE
bible / AV (Authorised Version aka the King James Bible); RV (Revised Version)
bill / A/C (account); ACT (legal); TAB (tabulation)
bird / any one of the many species of bird, including, but not limited to, AUK, EMU, JAY, OWL, TIT, CROW, DOVE, ERNE, GULL. HAWK, KIWI, KNOT, LARK, MINA, MYNA, RAIL, RHEA, ROOK, RUFF, SKUA, SWAN, TERN & WREN; TIME (in prison / Cockney rhyming slang bird lime)
bishop / B (chess notation); RR (Right Reverend)
blood group(s) / A, AB, B, O
book(s) / ACTS (book in the New Testament); EDDA (Scandinavian book); NT (New Testament); OT (Old Testament); VEDA (Hindu scripture)
broadcaster / BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation); RTE (Radio Telefis Éireann); SKY
by / X (as in 2 by 3 ≡ 2 x 3)
cardinal / HE (His Eminence)
century / C (one hundred in Roman numerals); TON
chessman / man on board / B (bishop); K (king); N (knight); P (pawn); Q (queen); R (rook)
chimney / LUM
china / MATE (Cockney rhyming slang china plate); PAL
church / CE (Church of England); RC (Roman Catholic church)
cigarette / FAG; TAB
city / EC (postcode of the City of London); ELY
cleaner / CHAR (charlady, charwoman)
closed / TO (as in “he pulled the door to behind him”)
communist / RED
companion / CH (Companion of Honour)
concerning / RE
conservationist(s) / NT (National Trust)
constant / C (mathematical constant); G (gravitational constant); K (Boltzmann constant)
copper / PC (Police Constable)
corporation / TUM (stomach)
criminal / CON (convict); LAG
currency / name of a river, e.g. CAM, DEE, PO
current / I (symbol for electric current); AC (alternating current); DC (direct current)
debt(s) / IOU(S)
deliveries / OVER (cricket)
detective / DC (Detective Constable); DI (Detective Inspector); DS (Detective Sergeant); PI (Private Investigator)
detectives / CID (Criminal Investigation Department)
dictionary / OED (Oxford English Dictionary)
doctor / GP (General Practitioner); MB (Medicinae Baccalaureus / Bachelor of Medicine); MD (Medicinae Doctor / Doctor of Medicine); MO (Medical Officer); NO (Doctor No – movie); VET (veterinary surgeon); WHO (Doctor Who – TV program)
doughboy / GI (American soldier)
drug / E (ecstasy); C (cocaine); H (heroin)
economists / LSE (London School of Economics)
Edward – King / ER (Edwardus Rex, King Edward)
Edward – King and Emperor / ERI (Edwardus Rex Imperator, Edward, King and Emperor)
Elizabeth – Queen / ER (Elizabeth Regina, Queen Elizabeth)
(the) enemy / TIME
engineer(s) / RE (Royal Engineers); REME (Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers)
exercise / PE (Physical Exercise); PT (Physical Training)
expert / ACE, DAB, PRO
fashion / CUT; FAD; TON
fashionable / IN; HIP
favourite / PET (as in teacher’s pet)
feathers / DOWN
fifty / L (fifty in Roman numerals)
fighter / MIG (Soviet Russian fighter aircraft)
fish / ID, LING etc.
five / V (five in roman numerals)
five hundred / D (five hundred in roman numerals)
flag / IRIS (plant)
flier/flyer / name of a bird, e.g. TIT, WREN
fliers / RAF (Royal Air Force)
flower / name of a river; see also banker
fool / ASS; CLOT, NIT; TWIT
footballers / FA (Football Association)
former husband / see former partner
former partner / former husband / former wife / EX
former taxman / see taxman
former volunteer(s) / see volunteer(s)
former wife / see former partner
Frenchman / EMIL; FROG; RENÉ
gangster / AL (Al Capone)
George – King / GR (Georgius Rex, King George)
George – King and Emperor / GRI (Georgius Rex Imperator, George, King and Emperor)
German article / DER (German definite article)
good man / S, ST (Saint)
graduate / BA (Bachelor of Arts); BSC (Bachelor of Science); MA (Master of Arts)
gunner(s) / RA (Royal Artillery)
hand(s) / L (left) and/or R (right); E (East), N (North), S (South) and W (West) – (bridge hands)
hat / TILE
heather / LING
home / at home / IN
home counties / SE (South-East England)
honour / A, J, K, Q (honours in bridge); CBE, CH, MBE, OBE (honours / awards)
hooligan / old hooligan / TED (Teddy boy)
hospital / SAN (sanatorium)
hospital department / ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat, a specialized field of medicine)
hundred / C (one hundred in Roman numerals); TON
indefinite number / see number
island / isle / IONA; IOW (Isle of Wight); MAN (Isle of Man)
Italian article / IL (Italian definite article)
Japanese drama / NOH ( traditional Japanese masked drama with dance and song)
jolly / RM (Royal Marine)
journalist / ED (editor); HACK
judge / REF (referee)
king / HM (His Majesty); LEAR (King Lear – Shakespeare); see also “Edward – King”, “Edward – King and Emperor”, “George – King” and “George – King and Emperor”
learner / L (from the L-plate carried by learner drivers)
local / BAR; INN; PH (Public House); PUB
London police / MET (the Met, Metropolitan Police Service)
love / O (a score of zero in tennis)
low / MOO (sound made by cattle)
man on board / see chessman
many / C (one hundred in roman numerals); D (five hundred in roman numerals); K (Kilo – metric prefix for a thousand); L (fifty in roman numerals); M (one thousand in roman numerals)
measure / printer’s measure / space / EM or EN (a unit of measurement equal to the width of the lower-case letter ‘m’ or ‘n’ in 12-point)
medic / MD (Medicinae Doctor / Doctor of Medicine); MO (Medical Officer)
member / ARM; LEG; MP (Member of Parliament)
military group / political group / NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
miners / NUM (National Union of Mineworkers)
motorists / AA (Automobile Association); RAC (Royal Automobile Club)
motorway / MI
Newcastle area / NE (North-East England)
news / NN (N[ew] + N[ew])
newspaper / FT (Financial Times; RAG (low quality newspaper)
nil / O (a score of zero in football)
note / A, B, C, D, E, F, G (notes of the diatonic scale); DO, DOH, FA, FAH, LA, LAH, ME, MI, RAY, RE, SI, SO, SOH, SOL, TE, TI, UT (notes of the scale in sol-fa notation); MEMO; PS (PostScript)
notice / AD (advertisement)
number / any number / indefinite number / N (used in mathematical formulae)
nurse / EN (Enrolled Nurse); SEN (State Enrolled Nurse – obsolescent); SRN (State Registered Nurse – obsolescent);
old / EX
old city / UR (an ancient Sumerian city, formerly on the Euphrates in what is now southern Iraq)
old hooligan / see hooligan
old soldier / VET (veteran)
on horseback / UP
one / A; I (one in Roman numerals)
opponents / bridge opponents: EN, ES, NE, NW, SE, SW, WN or WS (combinations of east, north, south and west)
partners / bridge partners: EW, NS, SN, WE (combinations of east, north, south and west)
party / BASH; CON (Conservative); DO; LAB (Labour); LIB (Liberal); RAVE
pass / COL
peacekeeper(s) / UN (United Nations) or UNO (United Nations Organization)
pet / CAT; DOG; SULK; TIFF
physicists / CERN (Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire (French), European Organization for Nuclear Research); NPL (National Physical Laboratory)
piece / MAN; see also chessman
playing / ON
point / E, N, S, W (compass points)
pole(s) / N, S, NS, SN (North and South poles)
police department / CID (Criminal Investigation Department)
policeman / COP (copper); DI (Detective Inspector)
political group / see military group
politician / MP (Member of Parliament)
popular / IN
posh / U (upper-class)
presenter / DJ (Disk Jockey); MC (Master of Ceremonies)
priest / ELI (Old Testament)
printer’s measure / see measure
prison / CAN; JUG; NICK; PEN (penitentiary); STIR
prisoner / CON (convict); LAG
prophet / AMOS; ELI
promise(s) to pay / IOU(S)
promotion / AD (advertisement)
provided / IF
province / NI (Province of Northern Ireland)
queen / CAT (female cat); HM (Her Majesty); see also “Elizabeth – Queen”, “Victoria – Queen” and “Victoria – Queen and Empress”
record / EP (extended play record); LP (long play record)
religious / PI (shortened form of pious)
rescue boat / rescue craft / (Noah’s) ARK
rescue service / AA (Automobile Association); RAC (Royal Automobile Club)
revolutionary / CHE (Guevara); RED
right / LIEN (legal right)
runner / name of a river; see also banker
sacred river / ALPH (from Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge)
sailor / AB (Able-Bodied seaman); OS (Ordinary Seaman); PO (Petty Officer); SALT; TAR
sailors / RN (Royal Navy)
salesman / REP (representative); TOUT
sapper(s) / RE (Royal Engineers)
scientists / RS (Royal Society, a body of eminent scientists)
Scotsman / IAN; MAC
see / ELY (diocese)
service / RAF (Royal Air Force); RN (Royal Navy)
sex appeal / IT
sheep / EWE; LAMB; RAM; TEG/TEGG (in second year); TUP (ram)
ship / SS (steamship)
socialite / DEB (debutante)
soldier / ANT (soldier ant); GI (American soldier); MAN; PARA (paratrooper); RA (Royal Artillery); RE (Royal Engineers);
soldiers / MEN; OR (Other Ranks); RA (Royal Artillery); RE (Royal Engineers); other plurals such as ANTS, GIS
space / see measure
Spanish article / EL, LA, LAS, LOS (Spanish definite articles)
speed of light / C (as in e = mc2)
spies / CIA (Central Intelligence Agency); MI (Military Intelligence)
sport / RL (Rugby League); RU (Rugby Union)
spy / MOLE
students / NUS (National Union of Students)
support / TEE (a support for a golf ball)
supporter / BRA (brassiere)
tantrum / PET
tax / SCOT; VAT (Value Added Tax)
taxman / former taxman / IR (Inland Revenue, now superseded by HMRC / Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs)
teachers / NUT (National Union of Teachers)
ten / IO (visual representation of 10); X (ten in roman numerals)
test / vehicle test / MOT (A compulsory annual check made by order of the Ministry of Transport – now Department for Transport)
the German / DER (German definite article)
the Italian / IL (Italian definite article)
the Spanish / EL (Spanish definite article)
theologian / DD (Divinitatis Doctor, Doctor of Divinity)
thousand / K (Kilo – metric prefix for a thousand); M (one thousand in Roman numerals)
times / BY (as in 2 times 3 ≡ 2 by 3); TT (T[ime] + T[ime]); X (as in 2 times 3 ≡ 2 x 3)
tom / CAT (male cat)
training / PE (Physical Exercise); PT (Physical Training)
US soldier(s) / see soldier(s)
variable / X, Y, Z (mathematical variables)
vehicle test / see test
Victoria – Queen / VR (Victoria Regina, Queen Victoria)
Victoria – Queen and Empress / VIR (Victoria Imperatrix Regina, Victoria, Empress and Queen); VRI (Victoria Regina et Imperatrix, Victoria, Queen and Empress)
volunteer(s) / former volunteer(s) / TA (Territorial Army, now called the Army Reserve)
wife / RIB (from Bible, Genesis 2.21–23)
wine / ASTI; CAVA; HOCK; RED; ROSÉ; SACK; SEC; TENT; VIN; VINO
work / OP, OPUS (a work, especially a musical composition)
worker / ANT (worker ant); BEE (worker bee)
workers / TU (Trade Union)
working / ON
writing(s) / MS (manuscript); MSS (manuscripts)

22nd August 20171Version 1.18