Today's Parseword cryptic clue lands on Monday, and this puzzle combines multiple wordplay techniques including initial letter extraction, deletion, and abbreviation.
Created by Josh Wardle, Parseword challenges you to decode one cryptic clue each day. We've got progressive hints to guide you.
How Parseword Works
Parseword gives you one cryptic clue per day. Each clue contains two parts: a definition (describing the answer) and wordplay instructions (how to construct the answer through techniques like anagrams, containers, deletions, reversals, or substitutions).
The game offers three modes: Learn (with hints), Play (hints hidden), and Challenge (word length hidden).
New puzzles drop daily at 6:00 AM EDT.
Today's Cryptic Clue
"Goat cheese initially paired with fruit not finished by nurse"
Answer length: 9 letters
Progressive Hints (Stop When Ready)
Hint 1 (The Definition): The definition word in this clue relates to an animal or astrological sign.
Hint 2 (The Technique): This clue uses initial letter extraction, deletion, and abbreviation techniques.
Hint 3 (The Breakdown): The clue asks you to take the first letter of one word, combine it with a fruit, remove the last letter, then add a medical abbreviation.
Hint 4 (The Letters): Starts with C, ends with N. Contains 9 letters total.
Hint 5 (Near-Giveaway): A zodiac sign represented by a horned animal.
Quick Clues Reference
First Letter: C
Last Letter: N
Vowels Present: A, I, O
Rhymes With: UNICORN, ACORN, BICORN
Today's Parseword Answer
Last chance to solve it yourself. The answer is directly below.
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Today's Parseword answer is: CAPRICORN
The Cryptic Clue Decoded
The Clue: "Goat cheese initially paired with fruit not finished by nurse"
Step 1 (Definition): "Goat" is the definition - CAPRICORN is the zodiac sign represented by a goat.
Step 2 (Initial Letter Extraction): "cheese initially" means take the first letter of "cheese" = C.
Step 3 (Word Combination): "paired with fruit" means combine C with "fruit" (APRICOT) = CAPRICOT.
Step 4 (Deletion): "not finished" means remove the last letter from CAPRICOT = CAPRICO.
Step 5 (Abbreviation): "nurse" = RN (common abbreviation for Registered Nurse).
Final Assembly: "by" is the join indicator: CAPRICO + RN = CAPRICORN.
Difficulty Assessment
Difficulty: 4 / 5
Technique Complexity: MEDIUM-HIGH - This clue uses three different cryptic techniques (initial extraction, deletion, abbreviation) in sequence.
What makes this clue hard: Multiple wordplay steps must be executed in the correct order. The "not finished" deletion indicator is subtle, and recognizing "nurse" as RN requires crossword abbreviation knowledge.
Tomorrow's Puzzle
A new Parseword cryptic clue drops tomorrow at 6:00 AM EDT.
Today's "Goat cheese initially paired with fruit not finished by nurse" required initial letter extraction, deletion, and abbreviation techniques. Every puzzle sharpens your cryptic solving instincts for the next one.
