How to solve Whodunit Clues: a beginner’s guide to cryptic clues
Whodunit Clues is a gentle introduction to cryptic crosswords. Every answer is a murder weapon hidden in the wordplay. Once you know the three tricks, you can solve any of them.
Every clue has two halves
A cryptic clue is a definition plus wordplay. The definition is an ordinary description of the answer, usually at the very start or end of the clue. The wordplay builds the same answer out of the clue’s own letters. The number in brackets is the answer’s length.
Trick 1: hidden words
The answer runs straight through the letters of the clue, often across the space between two words. Signal words include in, partly, some, holds and hides. Example: “Even omens couldn’t save him. (5)” hides eVEN OMens → VENOM.
Method: write the clue without spaces and slide a window the length of the answer along it.
Trick 2: reversed hidden words
The same idea, but the answer reads backwards. Signal words include back, returned, reversed and going west. Write the run of letters out backwards and slide the window again.
Trick 3: anagrams
A word or two in the clue gets shuffled into the answer. Signal words suggest disorder: ruined, wildly, badly, broken, mixed. Find words whose total letter count matches the number in brackets, then rearrange them.
Using hints wisely
There are up to three hints: the type of wordplay, where to look, then the first letter. Each lowers your rank by one step, from Chief Inspector down to Constable. The first hint is the most valuable, because knowing the type of trick usually cracks the clue on its own.
Questions people ask
What is the answer always?
A “killer”: a weapon, a poison, a cause of death, or something stranger, like a falling piano.
How many guesses do I get?
As many as you like. Wrong suspects are listed so you do not accuse them twice.
Is the Spanish version a translation?
No. Pistas del Crimen has its own clues written in Spanish, because wordplay does not survive translation.
Can I write my own clue?
Yes. Use Write a case: the game checks that your answer really is hidden in the clue, then gives you a link to share.
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