Clue-reading guide
Question-mark clues
A question mark often warns that the clue is playful, indirect, or using an unexpected sense.
Signals to notice
- a final question mark
- a pun
- a surprising definition
- a literal reading that feels wrong
Worked example
Site of a strike?
AnswerALLEY
“Strike” shifts from its everyday senses to bowling, where a strike happens in an alley.
How to use this in a grid
List two or three meanings of the clue's most noticeable noun or verb. The answer often lives in the less obvious one.