Editing Crossword (section)

==== Indirect clues ====
{{original research section|date=March 2021}}
Many puzzles feature clues involving wordplay which are to be taken metaphorically or in some sense other than their literal meaning, requiring some form of [[lateral thinking]]. Depending on the puzzle creator or the editor, this might be represented either with a question mark at the end of the clue or with a modifier such as "maybe" or "perhaps". In more difficult puzzles, the indicator may be omitted, increasing ambiguity between a literal meaning and a wordplay meaning. Examples:
* "Half a dance" could clue ''CAN'' (half of ''CANCAN'') or ''CHA'' (half of ''CHACHA'').
* If taken literally, "Start of spring" could clue ''MAR'' (for March), but it could also clue ''ESS'', the spelled-out form of the starting letter ''S''.
* "Nice summer?" clues ''ETE'', summer in [[Nice, France]] (''[[wikt:été|été]]'' being French for "summer"), rather than a nice (pleasant) summer. This clue also takes advantage of the fact that in American-style crosswords, the initial letter of a clue is always capitalized, whether or not it is a proper noun. In this clue, the initial capitalization further obscures whether the clue is referring to "nice" as in "pleasant" or "Nice" as in the French city.
* "Pay addition", taken literally, clues ''BONUS''. When taken as an indirect clue, however, it could also clue ''OLA'' (the ''addition'' of ''-ola'' to ''pay-'' results in ''PAYOLA'').