Here we have a delightful little puzzle that paints a rather vivid picture: “Take the lid off a French hat (5)“. Instantly, the surface reading whisks us away to a Parisian café. We imagine someone playfully lifting the top off a classic beret, perhaps looking for a hidden croissant. It’s a charming, almost cinematic image, which is precisely what the setter wants. A good cryptic crossword clue often creates a compelling but utterly misleading narrative. Our job as the solver is to ignore the movie playing in our heads and look at the words as cold, hard instructions.
Let’s start with the most important piece of data on the table: the number in the parentheses. The “(5)” is our anchor, telling us the solution is a five-letter word. No more, no less. Any theory we develop must ultimately yield an answer of exactly that length.
Now, let’s dissect the clue itself. A cryptic crossword clue is almost always divided into two parts: the definition (a synonym for the answer) and the wordplay (instructions on how to build the answer from other letters or words). The trick is figuring out which part is which.
Let’s explore one possibility. Could “a French hat” be the definition? This seems plausible. We’re looking for a specific type of French hat that is five letters long. This immediately brings a very common candidate to mind. If that’s our definition, then the phrase “Take the lid off” must be the wordplay. This would mean that performing the action of “taking the lid off” on some other word or letters should somehow spell out that five-letter hat. This path requires us to find a clever, non-literal interpretation of that opening phrase.
Alternatively, let’s flip it. What if “Take the lid off” is the definition? In that case, we are looking for a five-letter synonym for “to open,” “to uncover,” or “to reveal.” Words like UNCORK or UNCAP come to mind, fitting the general sense. If this is the definition, then our wordplay is “a French hat.” The letters that make up our answer would have to be derived from that phrase. This might involve an anagram, a hidden word, or some other form of linguistic trickery using the letters in “a French hat.”
This is the central challenge of this particular crossword clue. It presents two very logical, but opposing, ways to interpret its structure. One path asks you to identify a specific object and then figure out how the cryptic instruction creates it. The other asks you to identify a specific action and see how the object can be manipulated to spell it out.
To solve this puzzle, you must decide which reading feels more solid. Is the clue pointing you toward a tangible object or a specific action? Consider the phrasing carefully. Cryptic setters are masters of precision. Every single word, from “Take” to “hat,” is there for a reason. Which part feels more like a straightforward dictionary definition, and which feels more like a peculiar set of instructions? Once you make that crucial distinction, the pieces of this elegant little crossword clue will begin to fall neatly into place.
Available Answers:
UNCAP.
Last seen on the crossword puzzle: Metro Cryptic Crossword Clues Thursday, 20 November 2025