Symbol cryptic clue
Swap in a letter that stands for something: N = north, P = parking, O = nothing.
How it works
A single letter stands for something everyone knows: N = north, P = parking, O = nothing or love, R = river, D = 500 in Roman numerals. The clue describes the referent; you substitute the letter.
There is no indicator — you either know the code or you do not. Fortunately the codebook is short, and it comes from maps, road signs, tennis scores, and Rome.
Worked example
One road sign plus an ordinary word builds the answer.
Parking next to the arty makes a celebration (5)
AnswerPARTY
- Definition: celebration — a PARTY.
- Parking = P, the road sign. "Next to" joins it to ARTY.
- P + ARTY = PARTY (5).
Spotting it in the wild
- Memorise the starter set: N/S/E/W (compass), P (parking), L (learner), R (river), O (love, nil), I V X L C D M (Roman numerals).
- A lone capital letter in the middle of a clue is almost always a symbol.
- Symbols stack with everything else — containers love a good N.