You know, sometimes the simplest things end up being the biggest rabbit holes. I’ve been messing around with cryptic crosswords for years now—the kind that show up in the Sunday papers, usually while I’m nursing a lukewarm coffee and trying to avoid yard work. Most of the time, I can sniff out the anagrams or the double definitions pretty fast.
But a few weeks back, I got absolutely owned by one specific niche. The theme was something highbrow and spiritual, and suddenly I hit a massive wall: four clues, all referring to Tarot suits, and they were tricky. Not just “name the suit,” but demanding some obscure, four- or five-letter synonym that only a hardcore enthusiast or a really mean puzzle setter would know.
I got completely stuck. We’re talking staring at the blank boxes, scratching my head, ready to just throw the whole damn newspaper in the recycling bin. That’s when I decided this wasn’t just a puzzle anymore; it was a research project. I had to know what the common traps were and, more importantly, what the quickest, dirtiest answers were that puzzle setters love to use.
My Dive into Suit Synonyms: Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles
The first thing I did was pull out my old, well-worn Rider-Waite deck. I figured the key wasn’t the esoteric meaning—like ‘Wands equal Action’—but the physical representation and the common playing card equivalents. That’s where the short answers hide.
I started with Wands. My initial searches were a mess. I was getting stuff like ‘staves’ and ‘batons,’ which are too long or too obvious. I focused on the imagery. What else is a wand? A stick. A club. The moment I typed in “Wands playing card synonym,” the answer popped up.
- Wands: The physical object is a stick or a rod. The playing card association is Clubs. For crosswords, the setters love to use short words referring to action or fire.
- My Practice Clues/Short Answers Found: I found that if the clue mentioned ‘initiative’ or ‘suit of clubs,’ the answers were frequently RODS (4 letters) or the even trickier STAFF (5 letters), especially when they were looking for a plural synonym for the implement.
Next up was Cups. This seemed easy, right? Chalices, vessels, containers. But the setters make it hard by going for the emotional angle or the shortest possible word that fits the playing card suit (Hearts).
I started digging into old English translations of Tarot, looking for antiquated words for ‘vessel.’ I tried ‘GOBLET,’ too long. I settled on the common synonyms that referenced the object itself, and then the state they represented.
- Cups: Represents emotion, water, love. Playing card association is Hearts.
- My Practice Clues/Short Answers Found: If the setter is feeling generous, they might clue it as ‘chalices,’ but the real killer answers are VESSEL (6 letters) or the incredibly common (and often overlooked) four-letter answer LOVES if the clue is asking for the abstract meaning of the suit.
Then came Swords. This suit is all about intellect, air, conflict, and Spades. Everyone knows swords are blades, but the short, sneaky answers are what I needed. I realized that setters often clue Swords based on their element rather than their appearance.
I spent a solid hour just cross-referencing ‘Air’ words with ‘conflict’ words that were five letters long. The breakthrough came when I realized the focus wasn’t always the weapon, but the action associated with it: cutting or piercing.
- Swords: Represents intellect, conflict, air. Playing card association is Spades.
- My Practice Clues/Short Answers Found: The best answers I uncovered for tricky clues were BLADE (5 letters) or, frustratingly, sometimes just the plural SPADES (6 letters) if the clue was disguised as a synonym for ‘digging tools.’ But the nastiest one I found was when the answer was simply ARMS (4 letters), referencing weaponry in general.
The Final Boss: Pentacles
Pentacles was the suit that originally broke me. Earth, money, material wealth, Diamonds. I had a five-letter slot that screamed “money,” but ‘WEALTH’ was too long, and ‘COINS’ was six letters.
I almost gave up and looked at the solution, but I pressed myself: what is a Pentacle, physically, that is short? It’s a coin, yes, but often a disc or a talisman. I started playing with variations of ‘coin.’
That’s when I finally hit pay dirt. The setter wasn’t looking for ‘COINS’ or ‘MONEY.’ They were looking for the four-letter word that describes the actual shape of the thing when it appears in other esoteric contexts.
- Pentacles: Represents earth, material wealth. Playing card association is Diamonds.
- My Practice Clues/Short Answers Found: If you see a clue related to ‘earthly matters’ or ‘wealth symbol,’ look for DISCS (5 letters) or MONEY (5 letters). But the one that absolutely destroyed me was the four-letter answer: RICH or the slightly less common DEBT if the clue was phrased negatively, referencing financial burden. That small realization—that the answer could be an abstract noun and not the object—was the key to the whole damn puzzle set.
My Handy Takeaway
What did I learn from this whole messy process? It wasn’t just about finishing the crossword. It was about realizing that when puzzle setters use specialized knowledge like Tarot, they immediately look for the intersection between the esoteric meaning (like ‘Love’ for Cups) and the most common, short, physical synonym (like ‘Rods’ for Wands).
Now, whenever I hit a spiritual or niche clue, I don’t try to be smart; I try to be basic. I bypass all the deep symbolism and immediately go for the four or five letter word that describes the object, the element, or the playing card equivalent. It saves a lot of time and, honestly, makes those tricky Sunday mornings a lot less frustrating. Keep this guide handy; trust me, you’ll need it when that sneaky five-letter ‘Air’ clue pops up.
