Initials

I feel like I’ve said this before but initials clue types are really very easy, it’s just a matter of identifying them. As the name suggests, the solution to an initial clue is formed from the initial letters of some or all of the words in the clue itself.

Place amorous romance is started initially? (5)

This is probably one of the simplest solutions I’ve seen so I’m not even going to reveal what it is. The hint for an initial type clue is of course the word ‘initially’.

As with all other clue types, occasionally you’ll find that initials are combined with others so you might find that you’ll need to take the initials and then form the solution as an anagram. Sometimes you won’t use all the words in the clue for initial letters and may have to form a solution as part of a word construction.

Initially is obviously a big hint word but others might be at first or heads. Be warned though that these terms are not always pointers to an initial type solution. I’ve seen ‘initially’ at least twice where it was the straight clue and ‘head’ is often used for just one word’s first letter.

As always, make sure you don’t get trapped into thinking a clue is one thing. Every now and again take a deep breath and look at it from another angle.