The thrill of the chase, the slow burn of contemplation, the sudden burst of revelation – that’s the magic of a cryptic crossword. There’s nothing quite like the satisfaction of cracking a truly tricky crossword clue, especially one that initially seems to defy all logic. It’s a dance between precise definitions and clever wordplay, a test of lateral thinking wrapped in a seemingly innocent sentence. Every seasoned solver knows the feeling: staring at a string of words, convinced it’s speaking in tongues, only for the penny to drop with an audible clang.
Today, we’re shining a spotlight on a particularly engaging crossword clue that recently caught my eye and, frankly, held it captive for a good long while: “Decree that horrid nation is not odd (6)“. Six letters. Just six letters, and yet so much packed into that seemingly straightforward sentence. This is the beauty and the beast of cryptic puzzles, where every word is a potential breadcrumb or, conversely, a masterfully laid red herring.
Deconstructing any cryptic crossword clue begins with a fundamental understanding of its two primary components: the definition and the wordplay. One part of the clue will directly define the answer, much like a dictionary entry. The other part, usually a larger portion, provides a cunning linguistic puzzle that, once solved, spells out the very same answer. The art lies in discerning which is which, and then, of course, in untangling the wordplay itself.
For our clue, “Decree that horrid nation is not odd (6)“, the first step is to consider which part might be the direct definition. “Decree” stands out immediately as a strong candidate. If that’s our definition, then our six-letter answer must be a synonym for a formal order or command. That narrows down the possibilities, but doesn’t give us the answer on a silver platter. The real work begins with the rest of the clue: “that horrid nation is not odd”. This is where the constructor’s brilliance (or deviousness!) truly comes into play.
Cryptic wordplay is a vast landscape of techniques. We’ve got anagrams, where letters are jumbled (“horrid” in a clue can often indicate one), charades where parts of the answer are clued separately and then joined, deletions where letters are removed, and even hidden words lurking within the clue itself. The phrase “horrid nation” immediately piques interest. Is “horrid” an indicator for an anagram of “nation”? It’s certainly a common type of indicator, hinting at a mess or a disarray. But then there’s the intriguing addition: “is not odd”.
This phrase, “not odd,” is a classic example of cryptic constructors playing with language. Does “not odd” mean “even”? If so, how does that translate into manipulating the letters of “nation”? Or does “not odd” literally mean to remove the letters O-D-D from somewhere? Or, and this is where the truly mischievous constructor earns their stripes, is “is not odd” simply part of the surface reading, designed to create a plausible (if slightly peculiar) sentence, and entirely irrelevant to the wordplay itself? This kind of misdirection is a hallmark of truly elegant crossword clue construction.
The number in parentheses, (6), is our crucial check. Whatever solution we arrive at through our wordplay deciphering must be exactly six letters long and must fit our definition of “Decree”. It’s the final confirmation, the locked gate that only the correct key will open.
So, take a moment with this crossword clue. Dissect it. Ponder the possibilities. Which part defines the answer? How does the rest of the phrase lead you there, and what role does “is not odd” truly play? The journey of solving a crossword clue like this is as rewarding as the solution itself. Happy puzzling!
Available Answers:
ORDAIN.
Last seen on the crossword puzzle: Metro Cryptic Crossword Clues Friday, 18 July 2025