Solving Today’s Minute Cryptic Clue
Today’s Minute Cryptic challenges solvers with the clue “Easy modes for Scrabble, Bananagrams, Chess, Pictionary and cryptics?” The puzzle asks you to look at the words listed and extract a single letter from each, then see how those letters fit the definition “Easy.”
What the Indicator Means
The phrase “modes for” works as the indicator. In cryptic crosswords, “mode” signals you need to find the most frequent element – in this case, the letter that appears most often in each word. That selection step points you toward the fodder.
The Fodder Words
The fodder consists of Scrabble, Bananagrams, Chess, Pictionary and cryptics. From each word we take its mode: the letter that occurs most frequently. In SCRABBLE the mode is B, in BANANAGRAMS it is A, in CHESS it is S, in PICTIONARY it is I, and in CRYPTICS it is C. Putting those letters together spells BASIC.
The Definition
The definition part of the clue is “Easy.” A synonym for easy that matches the letters we have is BASIC, which means simple or straightforward, fitting the clue perfectly.
Answer and Explanation
The answer to today’s clue is BASIC. The indicator “modes for” tells you to take the mode of each fodder word, and the resulting letters B‑A‑S‑I‑C form a word that means easy, satisfying both the wordplay and the definition.
