Reversal cryptic clues

8 worked reversal examples from this practice bank.

What it is

Reversal clues take a synonym or written word and reverse its letters to build the answer. Across clues use leftward language; down clues in full grids may use rising, but a one-clue board still uses going back, returned, or sent back.

Returned beer fit for a king is the classic teaching shape: beer clues LAGER, returned reverses it to REGAL, and fit for a king defines the result.

Always reverse the fodder you named, not the definition. If you reverse the wrong stretch, the letters will not match.

Reversals are licensed direction changes. The indicator is the licence; the fodder is the material; the definition names the finished word. Missing any of those three parts leaves a guess, not a parse.

Classic teaching clues reverse a synonym rather than a written word. Beer becomes LAGER before it becomes REGAL. That synonym step is why beginners reverse the wrong letters: they reverse the surface noun instead of its cryptic stand-in.

How to spot it

Flags include back, going back, returning, returned, sent back, to turn, and in the mirror.

Confirm the fodder is a real word or abbreviation before you reverse it.

Check that the reversed string equals the definition and the enumeration.

Pair each reversal flag with a candidate fodder word of the right length. If the reverse is not a dictionary word, abandon that fodder and try another synonym.

In unlimited play, solve two reversals back to back. The surfaces change; the returned-then-check loop does not. That repetition is the drill.

Common indicators

• back
• going back
• returning
• returned
• sent back
• to turn
• in the mirror

Solving tips

Reversal language is directional. Going back and returned are safe on a one-clue board. Rising belongs to down clues in a grid; this trainer still uses the across-style flags so the instruction stays clear.

Name the fodder as a synonym first. Beer to LAGER, then reverse. If you reverse BEER itself you invent REEB, which fails both gates.

Some reversals hide inside longer surfaces. Cruel to turn part of Internet torrid takes a stretch NETTOR and turns it to ROTTEN. Spot part of before you reverse.

Practice saying the fodder aloud forwards and backwards. The ear catches REGAL from LAGER faster than the eye alone for many solvers.

Returned and going back are enough for almost every reversal in this bank. Learn those two before rarer mirror language.

If a reversal candidate is not a dictionary word, you reversed the wrong fodder or missed a synonym step.

Reversal practice starts with synonym sense. Train yourself to answer what word meaning beer or wolf or trap could reverse into a word meaning kingly or stream or role. The reverse step is mechanical; the synonym step is the craft.

Write the fodder forwards, then underneath write it backwards. Reading the second line against the definition catches REGAL, FLOW, and PART faster than reversing in your head.

Directional language is the licence. Without returned, going back, or sent back, do not reverse. Inventing a reversal because the letters look pretty is the same error as inventing an anagram without mixed.

Full grids distinguish across and down reversal flags. This trainer stays with across-style wording so a single clue stays unambiguous. When you move to a newspaper down clue, add rising and overturned to the same mental list.

Reversals sometimes combine with hides: take a stretch, then reverse it. The rotten teaching example shows that stack. Parse in order: find the stretch, then apply to turn.

Score-wise, reversals reward cold solves. Once you know the flag, spending a definition hint is often unnecessary. Save hints for containers and charades that hide abbreviations.

A practical drill is to take any four-letter word, reverse it, and ask whether the reverse is also a word. When it is, write a miniature clue: definition, returned, synonym for the forward word. That home-made loop teaches the device without a setter. Then compare your homemade clue to the worked examples on this page and notice how indicators sit beside fodder rather than beside definitions. That placement habit stops you reversing the wrong stretch on harder puzzles.

Worked examples

These 8 reversal clues come from this site's practice bank. Read the definition edge, then the construction, then why both sides agree.

Common mistakes

Practice this device

Open unlimited for another clue from the same bank, browse the full puzzles list, or return to all wordplay guides. For the solve order that sits above every device, read how to play.