Cryptic crossword abbreviations are short letter groups that setters use as building blocks in wordplay. Common ones include sailor = AB or TAR, quiet = P, about = C or RE, doctor = DR or MO, love = O, and compass points for N, S, E and W. Learning them makes many clues easier.
Setters do not invent these at random. Most come from ordinary abbreviations (DR for doctor), symbols (AU for gold), music, sport or Roman numerals. Some are traditional in-jokes of the crossword world. The lists below cover the ones you will meet most often in British-style cryptic crosswords.
Abbreviations work in every clue type: they are added together in charades, put inside other words in containers, and so on. Our guide on how to solve cryptic crosswords explains the clue types.
People
| In the clue | Letters |
|---|---|
| artist | RA (Royal Academician) |
| bachelor | B, BA |
| bishop | B, RR (Right Reverend) |
| daughter | D |
| doctor | DR, MO, MB, GP, DOC |
| editor, journalist | ED |
| engineers, sappers | RE |
| fellow | F |
| graduate | BA, MA |
| husband | H |
| king | K, R, REX |
| learner, student, novice | L |
| member, politician | MP |
| police officer | PC, DI, COP |
| queen | Q, R, ER, HM |
| sailor | AB, TAR, OS, SALT, RATING |
| soldier(s) | GI, OR (other ranks), RE, TA, MEN |
| son | S |
| volunteers | TA |
| worker | ANT, BEE, HAND |
Directions and places
| In the clue | Letters |
|---|---|
| north, south, east, west; point, quarter, direction | N, S, E, W |
| left; port | L |
| right | R, RT |
| America, American | A, AM, US |
| city (of London) | EC |
| island | I, IS |
| river | R; also short rivers such as DEE, EXE, PO, CAM, URE |
| road, street | RD, ST |
| railway | RY, RLY, BR |
| church | CH, CE |
| hospital | H |
| hotel | H |
Small words and grammar
| In the clue | Letters |
|---|---|
| a, one, an article | A, AN, I (one), THE |
| about, concerning | C, CA, RE |
| for example | EG |
| that is | IE |
| the French | LA, LE, LES |
| the Spanish | EL, LA, LOS, LAS |
| the German | DER, DIE, DAS |
| the | T (in some clues) |
| hesitation, I’m not sure | ER, UM |
| kiss | X |
| love, nothing, zero, nil, ring, duck | O |
| old, former, ex-partner | O, EX |
| married | M |
| caught | C, CT |
| born | B, NEE |
| good | G |
| fine | F, OK |
| small | S |
| large | L |
| very | V |
| with | W |
Music, measures and science
| In the clue | Letters |
|---|---|
| quiet, soft | P, SH |
| loud | F, FF |
| note | A to G; DO, RE, MI, FA, SO (SOH), LA, TI (TE) |
| key | A to G |
| time | T |
| second, moment | S, SEC, MO |
| hour | H, HR |
| afternoon | PM |
| morning | AM |
| ton | T |
| kilo | K |
| pound | L, LB |
| penny, pence | P, D (old penny) |
| energy | E |
| hot | H |
| gold | AU, OR |
| silver | AG |
| iron | FE |
| copper | CU (also a policeman: PC, COP) |
| tin | SN |
| lead | PB |
Roman numerals and numbers
| In the clue | Letters |
|---|---|
| one | I |
| five | V |
| ten | X |
| fifty | L |
| hundred, many | C |
| five hundred | D |
| thousand | M, K, G (grand) |
| six | VI |
| nine | IX |
| eleven, team | XI, SIDE |
Sport and cards
| In the clue | Letters |
|---|---|
| runs | R (cricket) |
| over | O (cricket) |
| maiden | M (cricket) |
| wicket | W |
| bowled | B |
| duck | O |
| clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades | C, D, H, S |
| ace, one | A, I |
| king, queen, jack | K, Q, J |
Setters’ in-jokes
Some clue words are traditional puns. They look like ordinary words but mean something else:
- Flower can mean a river (something that flows), and so can banker (something with banks).
- Number can mean an anaesthetic (something that numbs).
- Butter can mean a goat or ram (something that butts).
- Tar, salt and AB all mean a sailor.
- Setter, this writer or yours truly often means I or ME.
A worked example
Learner and one politician make a light (4)
- The definition is at the end: “a light”, four letters.
- Learner = L, one = A, politician = MP.
- Put them together in order: L + A + MP = LAMP, which is a light. Both halves agree.
Love about a source of metal (3)
Love = O, about = RE. O + RE = ORE, which is rock that metal comes from: “a source of metal”. Answer: ORE.
Many words have several possible abbreviations. If the parts you pick do not make a word, you probably have the wrong one, so try the alternatives in the tables until the wordplay and the definition give the same answer.
How abbreviations combine with other clue types
Abbreviations rarely appear alone. In a container clue, an abbreviation is often the part that goes inside: “quiet” as P or “love” as O slips into another word. In a charade they are the small building blocks between longer words. In a deletion clue, “losing hesitation” may tell you to remove ER. Knowing the common ones lets you see the structure of a clue faster.
How to learn them
Do not try to memorise the whole list at once. Learn the most common twenty, such as N/S/E/W, P, F, L, R, C, O, AB, DR, MP, RE and ER, then add new ones whenever a published solution surprises you. The cryptic crossword solver lists every word that fits your pattern, which helps you test an idea once you have some of the letters.
Questions and answers
What does sailor mean in a cryptic crossword?
Sailor usually stands for AB (able seaman), TAR, OS (ordinary seaman), SALT or RATING.
Why does love mean O in crosswords?
Love means zero in tennis scoring, and zero looks like the letter O. Nothing, nil, duck and ring can also give O.
What does quiet mean in a cryptic clue?
Quiet usually gives P (from the musical term piano) or SH.
Why can flower mean river in a crossword?
It is a traditional pun: a flower can be something that flows, so setters use it to mean a river.