I don't understand what's going on..

Cryptic crosswords are a game, and, like all games, there are rules. Most of the frustration people experience when seeing a cryptic clue for the first time comes from the feeling that they should already know the rules because they have done regular crosswords before. 

To catch you up to speed, here are a few quick rules for cryptic crosswords:

1. (In general) A cryptic clue is divided into two parts: the definition and the wordplay. The definition will be one half and the wordplay will the the other, but you won't know which is which. The definition or wordplay will never be in the middle of the other.

2. The numbers at the end of the clues indicate the number of letters in each word in the solution. A clue with the solution of "puzzle" would have a "(6)" at the end of the clue. A clue with the solution of "cryptic wares" would have a "(7,5)" at the end. 

3. If the clue ends in a question mark, then the definition used in the clue for the answer is slightly more abstract. It's the setter telling you, "The definition is a bit loose here, but you'll understand it when you solve it." For example, giving a definition of "those who never prosper" for the solution of "cheaters" would require a question mark at the end. 

4. Any rearranging, embedding, substitutions, or movement of letters will always be indicated to you. For example, if you see the word "mixed", "rearranged", "upset", or "disturbed", then there is a strong chance the the words before or after it are an anagram of the answer, or part of the answer. There are hundreds of words to indicate an anagram. For example, "rest is disturbed" could be wordplay for the word "resist". 

Think like a setter

Pick a word. Any word. Now look the the letters of your word. Can you rearrange them into other words? If you take out the middle letter does it make a new word? If you take only the first letter, can you use a word or phrase to describe that letter? Does your word sound like another word? 

Let's explore making a simple clue.

Take the word "soak". It has another word in it already: "oak". A way we can break apart "soak" would be "s + oak". Next, we need to find ways to represent both "s" and "oak" so that a solver would be able to solve the clue.

The letter "s" has lots of usage in our daily lives. It can mean the direction "south", it can mean the time measurement of "seconds", and it can mean the clothing size "small". 

The word "oak" could be represented a few ways, but the simplest would be just "tree". 

If we put the two together, some wordplay that could be used for "soak" is "south tree", "second tree", or "small tree". 

To complete the clue, we need a definition. "Soak" could mean "stew", "steep", "pour water on", or "drench".

Combine one of these definitions with one of the wordplays, and we can finish off a cryptic clue:

* Drench small tree (4)
* Pour water on south tree (4)
* Small tree stew (4)

This just scratches the surface of cryptic clues, but the end goal for them is to be enjoyable, and fair to the solver!