Reversal Clues in Cryptic Crosswords — How to Spot and Solve Them

Reversal clues reward you for reading right-to-left. A word in the clue is spelled backwards to form the answer — or part of it. The mechanism is mechanical, but the indicators are direction-sensitive: across clues and down clues use different signals.

A reversal clue contains a definition of the answer and a description of another word which, spelled backwards, gives the answer. An indicator tells you to reverse.

How Reversal Clues Work

The setter picks an answer that, read backwards, forms another common word. The clue defines the answer in the normal way, and cues the backwards word elsewhere. A reversal indicator specifies the direction.

The three parts:

1. Definition — a straight synonym of the answer, at the start or end of the clue
2. Reversal indicator — a word suggesting backwards motion (across) or upward motion (down)
3. Fodder — a word (or clue to a word) which, reversed, spells the answer

Worked Examples

Example 1: STAR / RATS

"Celebrity returning is a pest (4)"

Step by step:

1. Spot the indicator: "returning" — reversal signal (valid in across clues)
2. Identify the definition: "a pest" at the end — 4 letters
3. Work out the fodder: "celebrity" = STAR. Reverse STAR → RATS
4. Check: are RATS pests? Yes. Enumeration: 4. Match.

Answer: RATS

Clean pair. The setter disguises the mechanism in a smooth sentence about a celebrity, but the cryptic grammar says: reverse "star" to get the answer.

Example 2: PARTS / STRAP

"Bits reversed form a band (5)"

Step by step:

1. Spot the indicator: "reversed" — works in any direction
2. Identify the definition: "a band" at the end — 5 letters (meaning a strip or strap)
3. Work out the fodder: "bits" = PARTS. Reverse PARTS → STRAP
4. Check: is STRAP a band (as in a leather band)? Yes. Enumeration: 5. Match.

Answer: STRAP

Example 3: A Down-Clue Reversal

"Piece climbing up is a snare (4)" (down clue)

Step by step:

1. Spot the indicator: "climbing up" — down clue reversal
2. Identify the definition: "a snare" at the end — 4 letters
3. Work out the fodder: "piece" = PART. Reverse PART → TRAP
4. Check: is TRAP a snare? Yes. Enumeration: 4. Match.

Answer: TRAP

Note that this only works as a down clue. In the grid, the answer TRAP reads top-to-bottom (T-R-A-P). The fodder PART, climbing from bottom to top, spells P-A-R-T going up — which equals T-R-A-P going down. Reading "up" and reading "reversed" amount to the same letter order when the clue is vertical.

Example 4: SMART / TRAMS

"Clever vehicles returning (5)"

Step by step:

1. Spot the indicator: "returning" — reversal signal
2. Identify the definition: "clever" at the start — 5 letters
3. Work out the fodder: "vehicles" = TRAMS (5 letters, fits). Reverse TRAMS → SMART
4. Check: does SMART mean clever? Yes. Enumeration: 5. Match.

Answer: SMART

The definition here sits at the start of the clue rather than the end — fine, either position is valid. The setter uses "returning" to signal the backwards read of "vehicles".

Example 5: DESSERTS / STRESSED

"Puddings returned are stressful (8)"

Step by step:

1. Spot the indicator: "returned" — reversal
2. Identify the definition: "stressful" at the end — 8 letters, adjective
3. Work out the fodder: "puddings" = DESSERTS. Reverse DESSERTS → STRESSED
4. Check: does STRESSED mean stressful (feeling stress)? Yes. Enumeration: 8. Match.

Answer: STRESSED

DESSERTS and STRESSED is one of the best-known reversal pairs in English — the sort of coincidence setters delight in finding. The surface reading ("puddings, returned, are stressful") even hangs together as a gentle joke.

How to Spot Reversal Clues

The indicator tells you direction. Reversal indicators split into three groups: across-clue, down-clue, and either-direction.

Across-Clue Indicators (Backwards Motion)

Backward motion: back, backward, backwards, returned, returning, going west, retreating, in retreat, heading west, westward, coming back, reverting

About-face: turned, turning, about, about-turn, overturned, flipped, wheeled round

Written right-to-left: from the right, right-to-left

Down-Clue Indicators (Upward Motion)

Upward motion: rising, rising up, up, going up, climbing, climbing up, ascending, elevated, lifted, raised, heading north, uphill, northward, skyward

From below: from below, reaching up, coming up

Either-Direction Indicators

Generic reversal: reflected, reversed, the wrong way, mirrored, inverted, inside out, round the wrong way, back-to-front

The Check: Which Direction Is the Clue?

Before applying a reversal indicator, verify the clue's direction:

1. Across clue — reading left-to-right in the grid. Only backward-motion indicators apply.
2. Down clue — reading top-to-bottom in the grid. Only upward-motion indicators apply.
3. Either — a handful of indicators work in both directions ("reflected", "reversed").

A setter using "rising" in an across clue is committing a fairness error. If an indicator doesn't match the direction, try the either-direction interpretation.

Common Mistakes

Applying a direction-specific indicator in the wrong direction. "Rising" reverses only in down clues. "Going west" reverses only in across clues. Check the clue's direction before reversing.

Reversing the definition half. The fodder gets reversed, not the definition. A typical structure is: definition + indicator + fodder, or fodder + indicator + definition. Identify the definition first, then look for the fodder.

Forgetting compound reversals. A reversal can be one component of a larger clue — sometimes only part of the answer reverses. Look for "part of", "in", or other connector words signalling where the reversal applies.

Palindromes. Words like LEVEL, MADAM, RADAR, and REFER read the same forwards and backwards. Reversal clues for palindromes still work mechanically but offer no misdirection — setters generally avoid them.

Overlooking reversed hidden words. A clue with a hidden-word indicator plus a reversal indicator ("concealed, going back, in...") is a reversed hidden word. The answer hides backwards in the clue text.

Keep Going

Reversals share DNA with hidden word clues — both use letters from the clue text in a fixed order, just with or without a reverse. If you liked one, you'll probably click with the other.

Try our cryptic crossword solver for the clue you're working on — it'll show you the wordplay breakdown, including direction-sensitive reversals.

Anagram clues are the logical next step. Reversals are a one-step rearrangement; anagrams are any rearrangement. Learning the anagram indicators expands the number of clues you can crack.