Clue Type

Hidden Word Clues

A hidden word clue conceals the answer inside a span of consecutive letters within the clue text itself. The indicator tells you the answer is literally hiding in plain sight among the words of the clue.

How to identify hidden word clues

Look for indicator words that suggest concealment or containment within the clue's own text. Then scan consecutive letter sequences across word boundaries for the answer.

Common indicators

hiddeninwithininsidepart ofheld bycontainedsomeburiedconcealedamong

Worked examples

#10904 Jun 2026

“Roused by a worker striking - rights won at last!”(6)

Definition

Our definition here is 'Roused', and our answer will be another word for that.

Indicator

This clue's indicators are 'striking' and 'at last'. One of these is a selection indicator, naming the position of one or more important letters in some neighbouring fodder. The other is a deletion indicator - we'll need to eliminate some fodder from other fodder.

Fodder

This clue's fodder is 'a', 'worker', 'rights', and 'won'. We'll need to find a short substitute for one of these and use it with the letters of the others to construct our answer, as guided by the clue's indicator(s).

Answer: AWOKEN

Full breakdown

#10803 Jun 2026

“Loyal members organised in order to form a union?”(5)

Definition

Our definition here is 'a union?', and our answer will be a union of sorts.

Indicator

This clue's indicator is 'members organised in order' and it's a quite specific anagram indicator. We'll need to organise the members or letters of some neighbouring fodder into a well-defined order.

Fodder

This clue's fodder is 'Loyal'. We'll use these letters to construct our answer, as guided by the clue's indicator(s).

Answer: ALLOY

Full breakdown

#10601 Jun 2026

“Recalibration reveals the scale of the cosmos?”(5)

Definition

Our definition here is 'the scale of the cosmos?', and our answer will be some kind of cosmic scale...

Indicator

This clue's indicator is 'reveals', and it's a hidden word indicator. Some neighbouring fodder is revealing our answer, hiding within it.

Fodder

This clue's fodder is 'Recalibration'. We'll use these letters (or some of them) to reach our answer, as guided by the clue's indicator(s).

Answer: LIBRA

Full breakdown

#10531 May 2026

“Screaming half the weekend for ice cream”(6)

Definition

Our definition here is 'ice cream', and our answer will be a kind of ice cream treat!

Indicator

This clue's indicator is 'Screaming' and it's a homophone indicator telling us to vocalise a neighbouring piece of fodder or its substitute.

Fodder

This clue's fodder is 'half the weekend'. Tricky fodder, because 'half the' looks so much like a selection indicator! We'll need to find a substitute for 'half the weekend' and use it with the clue's indicator(s) to reach our answer.

Answer: SUNDAE

Full breakdown

#10430 May 2026

“Assemble Avengers to Stark monument?”(10)

Definition

Our definition here is 'Stark monument?', and our answer will be a kind of stark monument.

Indicator

This clue's indicator is 'Assemble' and it's an anagram indicator. We'll need to take the letters of some neighbouring fodder and assemble them to construct our answer.

Fodder

This clue's fodder is 'Avengers to'. We'll use these letters to construct our answer, as guided by the clue's indicator(s).

Answer: GRAVESTONE

Full breakdown

Practice tips

1Run your finger across the clue text, ignoring spaces, and look for the answer spanning word boundaries.

2The answer length (enumeration) is your best friend — count letters carefully.

3Hidden word clues are often the easiest to solve once you recognise the indicator.

4The definition is at whichever end of the clue the hidden span is NOT.

Related glossary terms

Hidden Word Indicator Surface Reading

Hidden Word Clues

How to identify hidden word clues

Common indicators

Worked examples

Practice tips

Related glossary terms

Explore other clue types

Anagram

Charade

Container

Reversal

Double Definition

Deletion

Homophone

Cryptic Definition