In the example clues below, I explain the two parts of each: the definition of the answer, given in bold type and the wordplay – the recipe for assembling its letters. In a genuine puzzle environment, of course, you also have the crossing letters, which greatly alleviate your solving load. The explanations contain links to previous entries in this series on such matters as spelling one word backwards to reveal another. And setters’ names tend to link to interviews, in case you feel like getting to know these people better.
When an area of everyday life is so everyday that we can use abbreviations and everyone will know what we mean, those abbreviations are fair game in every cryptic crossword going. So it is with money.
Penny = P
So when a clue appears to be describing something that is happening to a person named Penny, it almost certainly is not. So it is with the setter Pan:
4a Penny finished with favourite doll (6)
[ wordplay: abbrev. for ‘penny’ + synonyms for ‘finished with’ & ‘favourite’ ]
[ P + UP + PET ]
[ definition: doll]
… where the Penny is really a penny, and the P of PUPPET. It works for the plural too, though the story the clue tells then appears to be about a recent vice-president:
26a Looks after Pence’s mates (5)
[ wordplay: synonym for ‘looks’ (as a noun) after abbrev. for ‘Pence’ ]
[ AIRS after P ]
[ definition: mates (as a verb) ]
Brummie, then, is looking for PAIRS.
But also, penny = D
In the era that ended with the children in the image top marvelling at decimal coinage, however, they abbreviated “pounds” to L for the Latin librae and “pence” to D for denarii. “Shillings” was more intuitive, but only by accident (solidi).
This is all within living memory of enough solvers that it’s just about fair in a clue, along with some of the old slang. So here’s Chifonie (born in 1946), in 2019:
2d Convey old Bob’s demise (4)
[ wordplay: abbrev. for shilling (AKA bob, once) + synonym for ‘demise’ ]
[ S + END ]
[ definition: convey ]
For reasons that may or may not relate to church bells, the bob is a shilling, so a Bob might be an S … and so on. (Of course “pound” might equally indicate LB, or that you are to “pound” the words that follow into an anagram.)
Bread
Many are the types of bread with names made up of letters arranged in a way that suit the crossword setter: NAAN, ROTI, RYE and the rest. “Bread”, though, may also mean money, as with this clue from Crucible …
13a Either half of sweetbread (5)
… where “sweet” and “bread” both hint at our answer: LOLLY. See also: brass, gravy, rhino, loot and the rest. Oh, and dough.
Specific slang
Don’t be alarmed by the pre-decimal slang above; you are more likely to come across modern-day epithets, such as the one used here by Tramp:
20d Note from singer on the radio (6)
[ wordplay: soundalike (‘on the radio’) of a kind of singer ]
[ definition: slang for a banknote ]
If someone with the range of Luciano Pavarotti were described on the radio, it would sound the same as our answer, TENNER.
No money
Finally, for now, what if you have no money on you? Here’s Paul:
23a Promise to wrap box, to say the least! (1,4,3)
[ wordplay: abbrev. indicating a promise to pay, containing (‘to wrap’) synonym for ‘box’ ]
[ IOU containing TELLY ]
[ definition: phrase equivalent to ‘to say the least!’ ]
There it is, I TELL YOU.
What, you may be wondering, about foreign currencies? We will return to the topic. In the meantime, beginners: any questions? And seasoned solvers: any favourite references to notes and coins we should add?
More guidance
Cryptic devices: hidden answers; double definitions; defining by example; cryptic definitions; soundalikes; spoonerisms; stammering; containers; reversals; initial letters; alternate letters; cycling; replacing one thing with another; taking most of a word; percentages of a word; naked words; first and last letters; middle letters; removing middle letters.
Bits and bobs: Roman numerals; Nato alphabet; Greek letters; chemistry; abbreviations for countries; points of the compass; more points of the compass; playing cards; capital letters; boys and girls; clothes; apostrophes; cricket; alcohol; the church; politics; Latin; royals; newspapers; doctors; drugs; music; animals; cars; jobs; cities; rivers; boats; when the setter’s name appears; when the solver appears; “cheating”.
Individual letters: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O.
