Solution for 19 April cryptic crossword clue

A danger to shipping, one key diver recalled (7)

Solution – iceberg


Here the clue does split at the comma.

A danger to shipping = iceberg

One key = I for 1 and c (a musical key)

Diver recalled = grebe (a diving bird) backwards. "recalled" is the hint that the word is not straight forward.

So I + c + eberg


The second part of the clue is really tricky.  Luckily the first part is pretty straightforward - particularly in this centenary year for the sinking of the Titanic!




This is an example of a clue involving a reversal of letters.

As the name suggests, reversal clues have one of the definitions spelled backwards in the solution.  The reversed word could be all or only part of the solution.

As with other clues, there will be a definition for the whole solution.  Then there is a part of the clue which yields the word to be reversed.  And then there is the part that is the indicator for there being a reversal – like back, returns, reflected.

The part of the clue that leads to the word to be reversed could be a definition or it could actually contain the letters to be reversed.

Some reversal indicators only work for across clues and vice versa.  Some work for both types.  The most common ones include:

General	About, around, back, backward, coming back, flipped, going back, overturned, retreating, return, reversed, sent back, turned.
For across clues	From the east, going west, from the right, to the left
For down clues	Ascending, brought up, climbing, from the south, going north, going up, raised, sent up, uprising

For the next clue in the series, click here