The morning cuppa just hits different when it’s accompanied by a fresh, unblemished crossword grid. And today’s cryptic crossword clue really delivered, throwing up one of those delightful little puzzles that immediately scream ‘classic cryptic!’. We’re diving into a five-letter beauty that might have had you scratching your head, or perhaps, like me, drawing a mental blank for a glorious few minutes before the penny dropped.
The crossword clue in question? It’s “Gangling youth leader telephoned before (5)“. Just five letters, yet packed with enough misdirection and subtle wordplay to make you truly appreciate the genius of the setter.
At first glance, ‘Gangling’ seems to be the obvious definition, a clear and concise descriptor that points you towards a particular type of word. That’s always a good starting point for any crossword clue – identifying the ‘what’. But then, the rest of the clue descends into what initially feels like a delightful jumble of words: ‘youth leader telephoned before’. This is where the real fun of a challenging crossword clue begins.
Your mind immediately starts sifting through the possibilities. Is it an anagram? If so, of which words? ‘Youth leader’ looks like a prime candidate for some sort of extraction or manipulation. Does ‘telephoned’ hint at a sound-alike, a classic homophone trick often found in a cunning crossword clue? Or is ‘before’ indicating a reversal, or perhaps a placement – something comes
before
something else? The beauty of a well-crafted crossword clue lies in its ability to simultaneously guide and mislead, creating multiple plausible paths, only one of which leads to the correct answer.
For a five-letter word, the setter has managed to pack an impressive amount of layers into this particular crossword clue. You might find yourself trying to isolate initial letters, searching for hidden words, or even pondering an unexpected charade where different parts of the clue combine to form the whole. The interplay between the definition and the wordplay is key, and in this specific crossword clue, the latter half, ‘youth leader telephoned before’, holds the entire key to unlocking ‘Gangling’.
It’s the kind of cryptic crossword clue that makes you audibly groan when you finally see it – not because it’s unfair, but because it’s so elegantly simple once decoded. That ‘aha!’ moment, the sudden clarity that washes over you as the mechanism clicks into place, is precisely why we keep coming back to these daily mental workouts. It’s a testament to the sheer cleverness involved in constructing such a concise yet complex challenge.
So, how did you tackle this particular crossword clue? Did ‘youth leader telephoned before’ immediately give away its secrets, or did you have to work through a few red herrings before arriving at the solution? The journey of solving a crossword clue, especially one as artfully deceptive as this, is often as rewarding as the destination itself.
Available Answers:
RANGY.
Last seen on the crossword puzzle: Metro Cryptic Crossword Clues Saturday, 21 June 2025