Abbreviations
Along with recognising what type of clue is in front of you (see the Crossword hints page), it is alsonecessary to be aware of the abbreviations (or acronyms) that are often used when constructing an answer. Here's an exampleof a clue that is solved by using these techniques:
Independent blocks party's cuts (5) → SN(I)PS = snips
Here, the abbreviation for Independent, I, goes inside ('blocks') the initialism of SNP's (Scottish National Party's) to give the answer snips.
Abbreviations are usually combined with other elements (e.g. anagrams) to construct an answer. Not knowing any of these will make it much harder to solve cryptic crosswords. To help with this, some of the most common abbreviations and acronyms are listed below:
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q
R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z | Other things to remember
| A | |||
| A year = pa | About = c, ca, re | Acceleration = a | Account = ac, ca |
| Accountant = ca | Ace = a | Acre = ac | Adult = a |
| Advanced = a | Advert = ad | Advertising = pr | Afternoon = pm |
| Afterthought = ps | Against = v, vs | Agent = rep | Aide = pa |
| Airline = ba | Alien = et | Alto = a | Alumnus = ob |
| America = us | And others = etal | Anglican = ce | Answer = a |
| Arithmetic = r | Armed forces = mod | Armed police = swat | Arrival time = eta |
| Artillery = ra | Artist = ra | Attorney = da | Australia = oz |
| Avenue = ave | Average mark = c | ||
| B | |||
| Bachelor = b, ba | Bad mark = f, u | Ball = o | Basem*nt = b |
| Bass = b | Bearing = e, n, s, w | Beginner = l | Bend = s, u |
| Bible = av, nt, ot | Bill = ac, ad | Bishop = b, rr | Black = b |
| Book = b, bk | Books = nt, ot | Born = b | Boss = ceo, dg, md |
| Bob = s | Bobby = pc | Bowled = b | British = b, br |
| Brother = br | Business = co, inc | By = x | Bye = b |
| Byte = b | |||
| C | |||
| Captain = c | Car = gt, mg, rr, vw | Care of = co | Castle = r |
| Catholic = rc | Caught = c | Celsius = c | Cent = c |
| Centimetre = cm | Century = c | Certificate = u, pg, r, x | Chancellor = ce |
| Chapter = ch | Chief = ch | Chromosome = x, y | Church = ce, ch, rc |
| Circle = o | Circumference = c | City = ec, la, ny | Clubs = c |
| Cocaine = c | Cold = c | Colonel = col | Commandos = rm |
| Commercial = ad | Companion = ch | Company = co, inc | Compare = cf |
| Computer = mac, pc | Computers = it | Conservationists = nt | Conservative = c, con |
| Constable = pc | Constant = pi | Copper = p, pc | Copy = cc |
| Copyright = c | Countries = eu, un | Court = ct | Cricket club = cc |
| Crime fighters = cia, fbi | Cross = x | Current = ac, dc, i | |
| D | |||
| Date = d | Date of birth = dob | Daughter = d | Dead = d, dec |
| Debt = iou | Degree = ba, c, f, ma | Democrat = d | Department = dep |
| Depth = d | Detective = di | Detectives = cid | Diameter = d |
| Diamonds = d | Dictionary = oed | Died = d, dec, ob | Direction = e, n, s, w |
| Director-general = dg | Disc = cd, ep, lp | Disc jockey = dj | Disease = ms, tb, vd |
| Doctor = dr, gp, mb, md | Drip = iv | Drive = dr | Drug = c, e, h |
| Dry = aa, tt | Duck = o | Duke = d | Duplicate = cc |
| E | |||
| Each = ea | Earl = e | Earth = e | East = e |
| Ecstasy = e | Editor = ed | Egg = o | Electricity = ac, dc |
| Electronic = e | Energy = e, j | Engineer = ce, me | Engineers = re |
| English = e, eng | Escape = esc | Established = est | Europe = ec, eu |
| European = e | Excellent = ai | Exercise = pe, pt | Excessive = ott |
| Explosives = he, tnt | Extra = b, lb, nb, w, x | Extra time = et | |
| F | |||
| Fahrenheit = f | Father = fr | Featuring = ft | Fellow = f |
| Female = f | Feminine = f | Fine = f | Firm = co, inc |
| Fleet = rn | Flyers = raf | Following = f, ff | Foot = ft |
| Footballers = fa, fc | For example = eg | Force = f, n | Former = ex |
| Fort = ft | French = fr | Frenchman = m | Frequency = fm, lw, mw |
| G | |||
| Gallon = g | Game = rl, ru | Gas = cs | General = gen |
| German = g | Gigabyte = gb | Glasses = oo | Gold = or |
| Golfers = pga | Good = g, gd | Good man = st | Good mark = a, b |
| Graduate = ba, ma | Gram = g | Grand = g, k | Greek = gk, gr |
| Ground = g | Group = gp | Gun = ak, bb, ppk | |
| H | |||
| Hairpin = u | Hand = l, r | Hard = h | Heading = e, n, s, w |
| Headquarters = hq | Hearts = h | Hectare = ha | Height = h, ht |
| Henry = h | Heroin = h | High definition = hd | Holy man = st |
| Hoop = o | Horse = gg, h | Horsepower = hp | Hospital = h |
| Hospital unit = ent | Host = mc | Hot = h | Hour = h, hr |
| Husband = h | |||
| I | |||
| In charge (of) = ic | Inch = in | Independent = i | Inn = ph |
| Intelligence = iq | Interest = apr | International = i | Investigator = pi |
| Irish = ir | Island = i, is | It = sa | Italian = it |
| J | |||
| Jack = ab, j, os | Jet = mig | Jolly = rm | Journalist = ed |
| Judge = j, ref | Junction = t | Junior = jr | |
| K | |||
| Kelvin = k | Kick-off = ko | Kilo = k | Kilobyte = kb |
| Kilogram = kg | Kilometre = km | King = gr, hm, k, r | Kiss = x |
| Knave = j | Knight = kbe, kt, n | Knockout = ko | Knot = kn, kt |
| L | |||
| Lake = l | Lane = ln | Large = l, lg | Late = dec, ex |
| Lawrence = dh, te | Lawyer = kc, qc | Learner = l | Lecturer = l |
| Left = l | Leg bye = lb | Length = l | Liberal = l |
| Lieutenant = lt | Line = l | Litre = l | Local = ph |
| Longwave = lw | Loud = f | Loudspeaker = pa | Love = o |
| Lunchtime = i | |||
| M | |||
| Magistrate = jp | Maiden = m | Main road = a, m | Male = m |
| Manuscript = ms | Map = os | Mark = m | Marines = rm |
| Married = m | Masculine = m | Mass = m | Master = m, ma, msc |
| Medal = gc, om, vc | Medic = dr, gp | Medium = m | Medium wave = mw |
| Megabyte = mb | Memory = ram | Men = or | Method = mo |
| Metre = m | Metropolitan = met | Mile = m | Military intelligence = mi |
| Military police = mp | Million = m | Miners = num | Minute = m |
| Model = t | Monarch = er, k, q, r | Month = m | Morning = am |
| Motorists = aa, rac | Motorway = m, mi | ||
| N | |||
| National Insurance = ni | Navy = rn | Nazis = ss | Near = nr |
| Network = lan | New = n | New Testament = nt | Newspaper = i, ft |
| Newton = n | No = n, o | No ball = nb | North = n |
| Northern Ireland = ni | Not good = ng | Note = nb | Nothing = o |
| Now = ad | Number = n, no | Nurse = rn | |
| O | |||
| Odds = sp | Officer = co, col, lt | Old = o | Old person = oap |
| Old Testament = ot | On = re | Operation = op | Ordinary = o |
| Ounce = oz | Outside broadcast = ob | Outstanding = os | Over the top = ott |
| Overdose = od | Own goal = og | ||
| P | |||
| Page = p, pg | Pages = pp | Painter = ra | Papers = id |
| Parking = p | Parliament = hp | Part = pt | Party = con, lab, lib |
| Pass = id | Pencil = hb | Penny = d, p | Pensioner = oap |
| Per = p | Phone company = bt | Piano = p | Pint = pt |
| Place = pl | Plane = mig | Plate = l, p | Point = e, n, s, w |
| Pole = n, s | Police = cid, met | Policeman = di, pc | Policewoman = wpc |
| Politician = mp | Port = pt | Post office = po | Postscript = ps |
| Posh = u | Pound = lb | Power = p | Pressure = p |
| Priest = dd, pr, rr | Prime Minister = pm | Prisoner = con | Prisoner of war = pow | Pub = ph |
| Q | |||
| Quarter = e, n, q, s, w | Queen = er, q, r | Question = q | Quiet = p, qt, sh |
| R | |||
| Race = gp, tt | Radio host = dj | Radius = r | Railway = br, ry |
| Rand = r | Reading = r | Recipe = r | Record = cd, ep, lp |
| Referee = ref, ump | Regarding = re | Regina = r | Republican = r |
| Republicans = gop, ira | Reserves = ta | Resistance = r | Retired = ret |
| Reverend = rev, rr | Rex = r | Right = r, rt | Ring = o |
| River = r | Road = ave, rd, st | Rolls Royce = rr | Rook = r |
| Room = rm | Roughly = c, ca | Run = r | Run out = ro |
| S | |||
| Sailor = ab, os, po | Saint = st | Salt = ab, os | Sauce = hp |
| Say = eg | Scripture = re | Second = s | Senior = sr |
| Separatists = eta, ira | Shilling = s | Ship = hms, ss | Ships = rn |
| Silence = sh | Silk = kc, qc | Singular = s | Sister = sr |
| Small = s | Soft = p | Soldier = gi | Soldiers = or, ra, re |
| Son = s | Soprano = s | Sound level = db | South = s |
| Space = en | Spades = s | Special forces = swat | Speed = kph, mph |
| Spies = cia, mi, sis | Start = ko | States = us, usa | Stone = st |
| Stormtroopers = ss | Street = st | Student = l | Students = nus |
| Stumped = st | Succeeded = s | Suit = c, d, h, s | Sun = s |
| T | |||
| Tar = ab, os | Tax = ni, vat | Teachers = atl, nut | Tear gas = cs |
| Teetotal = aa, tt | Television = tv | Temperature = c, f | Tennis players = atp, lta |
| Tenor = t | Tense = t | That is = ie, sc | Theatre = nt |
| Thousand = g, k | Time = t | Times = x | To be advised = tba |
| To be confirmed = tbc | Toilet = wc | Ton = t | Tonne = t |
| Trains = br | Tory = con | ||
| U | |||
| Union = tu | Unionist = u | United = u | University = u |
| Unknown = x, y, z | |||
| V | |||
| Variable = x, y, z | Velocity = v | Versus = v, vs | Very = v |
| Very good = pi | Very large = os | Very loud = ff | Very quiet = pp |
| Vice president = vp | Victory = v | Volt = v | Voltage = v |
| Volume = cc, vol | Volunteers = ta | Vote = x | Voting system = av, pr |
| W | |||
| Walkover = wo | Watt = w | Way = ave, rd, st | Weapon = vi |
| Week = wk | Weight = w, wt | West = w | Wicket = w |
| Wide = w | Width = w | Wife = w | With = w |
| Without = wo | Writing = r | Work = op | |
| Y | |||
| Yard = yd | Year = y, yr | Yen = y | Yes = y |
| Z | |||
| Zero = o |
Along with the abbreviations listed above, there are some words that setters use to denote lettersthat can be grouped into different categories. The most widely used are given below:
American states → The abbreviated forms of US states can be used when solving a clue; here's a selection:CA or CAL (California), FL (Florida), GA (Georgia), RI (Rhode Island), VA (Virginia), WA (Washington).
Chemical elements → Knowing the abbreviated symbols for chemical elements often proves useful; some commonly used ones include Ag (silver), Au (gold), C (carbon), Cu (copper), Fe (iron), H (hydrogen), O (oxygen), Sn (tin) and W (tungsten).
Country codes → If a country is given in a clue, it may be that a country's vehcile registration code is required for the answer, e.g. CH (Switzerland), D (Germany), F (France), GB (United Kingdom), I (Italy), J (Japan).
Days & months → Shortened forms of both days and months can be used in answers, for example: Mon, Thu, Jan, Jul etc.
Greek letters → Some Greek letters have English equivalents, such as a for alpha,b for beta and k for kappa.
Roman numerals → The fact that Roman numerals are expressed as letters means they are often usedin crosswords. They are I for 1, V for 5, X for 10, L for 50, C for 100, D for 500 and M for 1000. If a clue contained the number six or 54, for example,then it may require the letters VI or LIV respectively to be used in the answer.
Musical notes → A, B, C, D, E, F or G.
Phonetic alphabet → The NATO system assigns a word for each letter of the letter, i.e. Bravo for B. Other examples areEcho for E, Golf for G, Oscar for O, Tango for T and Uniform for U.
