Clues in cryptic crosswords have two parts: a definition, usually at the beginning or at the end; and a cryptic indication of the solution involving some kind of wordplay. such as an anagram or a hidden word. With &lit ("and literally so") clues, the whole clue plays both roles at once. Here are two examples that appeared recently as "Clue of the Week" in the The Week magazine, a weekly digest of news from various sources in the UK and around the world.
The first example is easy but pleasingly elegant:
The first example is easy but pleasingly elegant:
Male attached to palindromic female. (4 letters)
In the wordplay the palindromic female is Ada and in the definition she's Eve.
The second example is witty, but you need to know a suitable meaning of the word "pitch" and the fact that the cryptic indication is a charade (in several pieces that join together to make the whole word):
The second example is witty, but you need to know a suitable meaning of the word "pitch" and the fact that the cryptic indication is a charade (in several pieces that join together to make the whole word):
Performers with elevated pitch, primarily Italian. (8 letters)
Finally, one of my all-time fa√ourites, a competition winner due to Colin Dexter, creator of Detective Inspector Morse:
Item Gran arranged family slides in. (two words, 5 and 7 letters)
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